Hallelujah for “Too Hot to Handel”
By Sydney Milligan With Wes Hessel
Hallelujah for “Too Hot to Handel”
Originally a mid-January annual tradition started in 2006, the Chicago Philharmonic’s interpretation of George Frideric Handel’s well-aged 280-year-old oratorio “Messiah” made for a haute holiday harmonic. Done with elements of gospel, jazz, funk, and rock, this modern musical masterpiece is a great bring of the venerable virtuosity to contemporary classic.
The stage was set with a pre-show slideshow presentation of artist and audience members recalling their “Hallelujah moment”. Then three vibrant vocalists (Karen-Marie Richardson, Rodrick Dixon, and Alfreda Burke), backed by chorus, chamber orchestra, and jazz combo, combined to breathe new spirit into the sterling seasonal standard. The awesome acoustics of the Auditorium added ascendant animation to the soaring sounds. The voices and harmonies of the gifted choir blended magnificently. Always completely cohesive, the instrumentalis and vocalists were united and precise in a way that has rarely been experienced before.
The concertgoers were encouraged to enjoy right along in song, sway, shout – whatever the spirit moved – to the point of providing a “free expression zone”. This added to the unbridled enthusiasm of the musicians’ masterwork. This holiday honorific of the Heavenly Highness is well worth being there for its next go-around. For tickets or information on future events at the vaunted Auditorium Theatre, please see their website at www.auditoriumtheatre.org.
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