Hallelujah! Polyphony, youth singers to perform the 'Children's Messiah'

Dec. 12—The eighth annual "Children's Messiah" will ring in the holidays at the Episcopal Cathedral of St. John on Saturday, Dec. 16.

From 80 to 100 young choristers ranging from the sixth grade through high school from Placitas, Rio Rancho, Tijeras and Albuquerque will perform alongside the professional singers of Polyphony: Voices of New Mexico. The program will include five choruses from the George Frideric Handel classic, as well as some arias and recitatives and storytelling.

"This year the orchestra is comprised of all UNM (University of New Mexico) music students," said conductor Maxine Thévenot. "This is a wonderful new partnership. It has a lot to do with the international music students in the string department. A lot of them are from Brazil."

The 45-minute concert is free; audiences are asked to donate two nonperishable food items to the cathedral food pantry.

"Last year we collected over $600 worth of food," Thévenot said. "It was an amazing generosity."

Participants are encouraged to sport Handelian wigs, bring pillows to sit on, and wear festive clothing to mark the occasion. The composer himself will make a special appearance.

"Everybody is just spellbound," Thévenot said. "We sing one carol together — 'Joy to the World' — because it's also by Handel."

Handel based his 1741 masterwork on the story of the nativity and its prophecy; that of the crucifixion and redemption of mankind; and a commentary on the Christian soul and its victory over death. Originally an Easter offering, the Baroque oratorio was first performed in Dublin in 1742 to benefit three charities. The audience swelled to a record 700, as ladies had heeded pleas by management to wear dresses "without hoops" in order to make "room for more company."

Today it is, of course, a permanent fixture of the holiday season.

"If we didn't include the 'Hallelujah' chorus, people would be upset," Thévenot said. "People are attracted to something that is almost otherworldly."

Early attendees are invited to a free breakfast with Santa at 8 a.m.