Trinity Church Wall Street Presents Handel’s Messiah in Three Performances (Dec 20-22)
Trinity Church Wall Street’s historically informed performances of Handel’s Messiah are critical favorites; just last season, the New York Times called Trinity’s rendition “the best ‘Messiah’ in New York.” On December 20 and 21 at 7:30pm and on December 22 at 3pm, the Grammy-nominated Choir of Trinity Wall Street, Trinity Baroque Orchestra and Director of Music Julian Wachner give three accounts of Handel’s masterpiece. The performance on Saturday, December 21 at 7:30pm will be streamed live on Trinity’s website and Facebook Live, and will be made available on demand the following week. Performances will take place at St. Paul’s Chapel at Broadway and Fulton Street and tickets can be purchased here.
Almost 250 years ago, Trinity Church Wall Street was instrumental in pioneering Handel’s Messiah in the Americas, hosting one of the first American performances in 1770. Today, Wachner, The Choir of Trinity Wall Street and Trinity Baroque Orchestra rank among the foremost exponents of the perennial holiday favorite. Early music experts who play on period instruments and specialize in Baroque performance practice, they offer an authentic approach unique in its immediacy and dramatic impact. The intimate space of St. Paul’s Chapel only enhances the effect. As Wachner elaborates:
“There are many elements that make Trinity’s Messiah unique. We do it with period instruments, which means we’re trying to use the instruments and the performance techniques that Handel might have used in the 18th century so that it sounds as Handelian as possible. We are a small choir, it’s only about 24 voices, and the fact that the soloists come from the choir is also uncommon. In addition, performing Messiah in St. Paul’s Chapel is a very different experience than hearing it in a concert hall. We’re actually in a sacred space that dates to the time of the piece, and that’s pretty incredible.”
Complementing the Messiah performances, the Trinity Youth Chorus performs Benjamin Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols, led by Associate Director of Music Melissa Attebury, on December 22. Trinity’s holiday offerings also include a Festival of Lessons and Carols featuring the Youth Chorus, St. Paul’s Chapel Choir and Downtown Voices, conducted by Associate Organist Janet Yieh, Downtown Voices conductor Stephen Sands and Melissa Attebury, on December 15.
About Music at Trinity Church Wall Street
Trinity Church Wall Street’s groundbreaking music program – “the top of musical life in New York” (New York Times) – has changed the landscape of performing arts in New York City, re-envisioning the impact arts organizations have with its peerless ensembles, a uniquely broad range of expertise from early to new music performance, a long tradition of championing underrepresented composers, and an extensive and growing discography. A pioneer in amplifying the voices of female artists, Trinity has helped incubate many new compositions, including three large-scale Pulitzer Prize-winning works by women: Julia Wolfe’s oratorio Anthracite Fields, Du Yun’s opera Angel’s Bone and Ellen Reid’s opera p r i s m. Conductor and composer Julian Wachner serves as the director of music at Trinity and the principal conductor of The Choir of Trinity Wall Street, NOVUS NY and the Trinity Baroque Orchestra.
Anchor components of Trinity’s music program include the midday Bach + One and Pipes at One concert series, improvised Sunday evening Compline by Candlelight services, annual performances of Handel’s Messiah that the New York Times declares to be “New York’s best,” annual Time’s Arrow and 12 Nights themed festivals, and additional new programs each season.
Trinity’s musical education initiatives reach more than 400 children in New York City’s underserved schools. Students perform in their local community, as well as at least once a year at Trinity, and the church offers an annual music camp for children involved with its partner organization, Hour Children. The Trinity Youth Chorus program, now in its 14th year and with 100 young singers enrolled, has its own schedule of performances and collaborations, and provides support for liturgical music, concerts and recordings. Trinity also provides opportunities for adults in the community to further their own musical education and experience, with the semiprofessional choir Downtown Voices and the volunteer St. Paul’s Chapel Choir.
Concerts at Trinity are professionally filmed, streamed live in high definition, and available on-demand at http://www.trinitywallstreet.org/videos. The Rev. Dr. William Lupfer is rector and the Rev. Phillip Jackson is vicar of Trinity Church Wall Street.
High-resolution photos can be downloaded here.
www.trinitywallstreet.org/music
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Trinity Church Wall Street: Music Programming 2019-20
All events are free and take place in St. Paul’s Chapel unless otherwise indicated.
Thursday, Nov 21 at 1pm
Pipes at One
Erik Suter, organ
Sunday, Nov 24 at 8pm
Compline by Candlelight
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street
Thomas Tallis: If Ye Love Me
Sunday, Dec 1 at 8pm
Compline by Candlelight
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street
Palestrina: An Advent Responsory
Thursday, Dec 5 at 1pm
Pipes at One
First Thursdays Conservatory Series
Students of Ken Cowan from Rice University, Houston, TX
Thursday, Dec 5 at 5pm
Holiday Warmup Concert
Trinity Youth Chorus Juniors and Peppercorns
Sunday, Dec 8 at 8pm
Compline by Candlelight
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street
Benjamin Britten: Hymn to the Virgin
Thursday, Dec 12 at 1pm
Pipes at One
Janet Yieh, organ (Trinity Church Wall Street)
Sunday, Dec 15 at 3pm
Festival of Lessons and Carols
Downtown Voices; St. Paul’s Chapel Choir; Trinity Youth Chorus; Janet Yieh, Stephen Sands and Melissa Attebury, conductors
Sunday, Dec 15 at 8pm
Compline by Candlelight
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street
Sergei Rachmaninoff: Bogoroditsye Dyevo
Thursday, Dec 19 at 1pm
Pipes at One
Karen Christianson, organ
Friday and Saturday, Dec 20 & 21 at 7:30pm; Sunday, Dec 22 at 3pm
Messiah
Ticketed
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street; Trinity Baroque Orchestra; Julian Wachner, conductor
George Frideric Handel: Messiah
Sunday, Dec 22 at 8pm
Chorister Compline by Candlelight
Trinity Youth Chorus; Melissa Attebury, conductor
Benjamin Britten: A Ceremony of Carols
Thursday, Dec 26 at 1pm
Pipes at One
Victoria Shields, organ (First Presbyterian Church of New Canaan, CT)
Sunday, Dec 29 at 8pm
Compline by Candlelight
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street
Francis Poulenc: O magnum mysterium
Thursday, Jan 2 at 1pm
Pipes at One
First Thursdays Conservatory Series
Sunday, Jan 5 at 8pm
Compline by Candlelight
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street
J.S. Bach: Komm, Jesu, komm
Thursday, Jan 9 at 1pm
Pipes at One
Donald Meineke, organ
Sunday, Jan 12 at 8pm
Compline by Candlelight
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street
William Harris: Faire is the heaven
Thursday, Jan 16 at 1pm
Pipes at One
David Briggs, organ
Friday, Jan 17 at 8pm; Saturday, Jan 18 at 3pm and 8pm
New York, NY
Prototype Festival
REV. 23
Ticketed
Gerald Lynch Theater, John Jay College
NOVUS NY
Julian Wachner/Cerise Jacobs: REV 23
James Darrah, stage director
Daniela Candillari, conductor
Colleen Daly, Persephone
Alexander Elliot, Lucifer
Kyle van Schoonhoven, Hades
Paul An, Sun Tze
Anna Schubert, Fury 1
Naomi Louise O’Connell, Fury 2
Melanie Long, Fury 3
Michael Maniaci, Michael the Archangel
Brian Giebler, Adam
Sophia Byrd, Eve
Sunday, Jan 19 at 8pm
Compline by Candlelight
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street
Julian Wachner: Regina Coeli
Thursday, Jan 23 at 1pm
Pipes at One
Renée Anne Louprette, organ (Rutgers University, Bard College)
Sunday, Jan 26 at 8pm
Compline by Candlelight
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street
Charles Wood: Hail gladdening light
Thursday, Jan 30 at 1pm
Pipes at One
Janet Yieh, organ (Trinity Church Wall Street)
Sunday, Feb 2 at 3pm
Trinity Youth Chorus Concert
Congregation Beth Elohim, Brooklyn, NY
Trinity Youth Chorus; Melissa Attebury, conductor
Sunday, Feb 2 at 8pm
Compline by Candlelight
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street
Edward Naylor: Vox dicentes: clama!
Thursday, Feb 6 at 1pm
Pipes at One
First Thursdays Conservatory Series
Sunday, Feb 9 at 3pm
Beethoven Mass in C
Downtown Voices; Stephen Sands, conductor
Brahms: Geistliches Lied
Beethoven: Mass in C
Sunday, Feb 9 at 8pm
Compline by Candlelight
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street
Julian Wachner: Hospital Anthem
Thursday, Feb 13 at 1pm
Pipes at One
Avi Stein, organ (Trinity Church Wall Street)
Sunday, Feb 16 at 8pm
Compline by Candlelight
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street
Arnold Bax: Lord, thou hast told us
Thursday, Feb 20 at 1pm
Pipes at One
Jeremy Filsell, organ (St. Thomas Church, NYC)
Sunday, Feb 23 at 8pm
Compline by Candlelight
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street
Trevor Weston: Given Sound
Thursday, Feb 27 at 1pm
Pipes at One
Julian Wachner, organ (Trinity Church Wall Street)
Alexandre Guilmant: Sonata No. 1, Op. 42 – Finale
J.S. Bach: Doric Toccata and Fugue, BWV 538
J.S. Bach: Little Fugue in G minor, BWV 578
J.S. Bach: Prelude and Fugue in A minor, BWV 543
Sunday, March 1 at 8pm
Compline by Candlelight
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street
John Shepherd: Gaude, Gaude, Gaude Maria
Thursday, March 5 at 1pm
Pipes at One
First Thursdays Conservatory Series
Sunday, March 8 at 8pm
Compline by Candlelight
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street
William Byrd: Domine, Exaudi Orationem Meam, Inclina
Monday, March 9 at 1pm
Bach + One
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street; Trinity Baroque Orchestra; Julian Wachner, conductor
J.S. Bach: Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen, BWV 12
Herbert Howells: Take him, Earth for Cherishing
Thursday, March 12 at 1pm
Pipes at One
Geoffrey Ward, organ (The University of the South, Sewanee, TN)
Friday, March 13 at 7:30pm; Saturday, March 14 at 2pm
Washington, D.C.
Kennedy Center Presents p r i s m
The Kennedy Center
Ticketed
NOVUS NY; The Choir of Trinity Wall Street
James Darrah, director; Julian Wachner, conductor
Ellen Reid: p r i s m (fully staged opera)
Sunday, March 15 at 8pm
Compline by Candlelight
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street
Bo Holten: In nomine
Monday, March 16 at 1pm
Bach + One
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street; Trinity Baroque Orchestra; Julian Wachner, conductor
J.S. Bach: Meine Seufzer, meine Tränen, BWV 13
Johann Adolph Hasse: Sinfonia in G minor, Op. 5 No. 6
Thursday, March 19 at 1pm
Pipes at One
Eric Plutz, organ (Princeton University)
Sunday, March 22 at 7pm & 8pm
Chorister Lenten Concert and Compline by Candlelight
Trinity Youth Chorus; Melissa Attebury, conductor
Pergolesi: Stabat Mater
Monday, March 23 at 1pm
Bach + One
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street; Trinity Baroque Orchestra; Julian Wachner, conductor
J.S. Bach: Wär Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit, BWV 14
Johann Bernhard Bach: Suite in D
Thursday, March 26 at 1pm
Pipes at One
Janet Yieh, organ (Trinity Church Wall Street)
Sunday, March 29 at 8pm
Compline by Candlelight
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street
Josquin Des Pres: Qui habitat
Monday, March 30 at 1pm
Bach + One
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street; Trinity Baroque Orchestra; Julian Wachner, conductor
J.S. Bach: Herr Gott, dich loben wir, BWV 16
Francesco Geminiani: Concerto Grosso in C, Op. 5 No. 3 (after Arcangelo Corelli)
Thursday, April 2 at 1pm
Pipes at One
First Thursdays Conservatory Series
Sunday, April 5 at 8pm
Compline by Candlelight
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street
Gabriel Jackson: Hymn to St Margaret of Scotland
Monday, April 6 at 1pm
Bach + One
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street; Trinity Baroque Orchestra; Julian Wachner, conductor
J.S. Bach: Wer Dank opfert, der preiset mich, BWV 17
J.S. Bach: Missa in G, BWV 236
Thursday, April 16 at 1pm
Pipes at One
Peter Sykes, organ (Boston University, Juilliard School)
Sunday, April 19 at 3pm
Philadelphia Heritage Chorale Exchange
Downtown Voices and Philadelphia Heritage Chorale; Stephen Sands, conductor; Dr. Donald Dumpson, curator
Sunday, April 19 at 8pm
Compline by Candlelight
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street
Antoine Busnois: Gaude caelestis Domina
Monday, April 20 at 1pm
Bach + One
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street; Trinity Baroque Orchestra; Julian Wachner, conductor
J.S. Bach: Gleichwie der Regen und Schnee vom Himmel fällt, BWV 18
Thursday, April 23 at 1pm
Pipes at One
Bradley Burgess, organ (Edenton Street United Methodist Church, Raleigh, NC)
Friday, April 24 at 7pm
Candlelight Baroque
Alana Youssefian, violin and Baroque violin
Sunday, April 26 at 8pm
Compline by Candlelight
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street
William Byrd: Tribulatio Proxima Est
Monday, April 27 at 1pm
Bach + One
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street; Trinity Baroque Orchestra; Julian Wachner, conductor
J.S. Bach: Es erhub sich ein Streit, BWV 19
Johann Christian Schiefferdecker: Concert No. 1 in A minor
Thursday, April 30 at 1pm
Pipes at One
Gail Archer, organ (Columbia University, Vassar College)
May 1 (8pm) & 3 (2pm)
Los Angeles, CA
LA Opera
Angel’s Bone
Ticketed: laopera.org/performances/201920-season/angels-bone
The Broad Stage
Beth Morrison Projects; Julian Wachner, conductor
Du Yun: Angel’s Bone
Sunday, May 3 at 8pm
Compline by Candlelight
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street
Bent Sorensen: In Paradisum
Monday, May 4 at 1pm
Bach + One
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street; Trinity Baroque Orchestra; Julian Wachner, conductor
J.S. Bach: O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort, BWV 20
Antonio Vivaldi: Overture to “L’Olimpiade”
Thursday, May 7 at 1pm
Pipes at One
First Thursdays Conservatory Series
Sunday, May 10 at 8pm
Compline by Candlelight
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street
John Dunstable: Veni Sancte Spiritus
Monday, May 11 at 1pm
Bach + One
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street; Trinity Baroque Orchestra; Julian Wachner, conductor
J.S. Bach: Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis, BWV 21
Richard Strauss: Der Abend
Thursday, May 14 at 1pm
Pipes at One
Nicole Keller, organ (Trinity Cathedral, Cleveland, OH)
Sunday, May 17 at 8pm
Compline by Candlelight
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street
John Taverner: Dum transisset Sabbatum
Thursday, May 21 at 1pm
Pipes at One
Julian Wachner, organ (Trinity Church Wall Street)
Maurice Duruflé: Prélude et Fugue sur le nom d’Alain
Charles-Marie Widor: Symphonie No. 6 in G minor
Sunday, May 24 at 8pm
Compline by Candlelight
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street
Heitor Villa-Lobos: Bachianas Brasileiras No. 9: Prelude and Fugue
Thursday, May 28 at 1pm
Pipes at One
Michael Messina, organ (Trinity Church, Indianapolis, IN)
Friday, May 29 at 5pm
Trinity Youth Chorus and Outreach Choirs Concert
Trinity Youth Chorus Juniors and Peppercorns; CPC Outreach Choruses; Melissa Attebury and Anne Damssa Graff, conductors
Sunday, May 31 at 4pm
Trinity Youth Chorus Concert
Trinity Youth Chorus; NOVUS NY; Melissa Attebury, conductor
Schubert: Mass in G and works by Mendelssohn and Mozart
Sunday, May 31 at 8pm
Compline by Candlelight
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street
Tarik O’Regan: I Sleep, But My Heart Waketh
Thursday, June 4 at 1pm
Pipes at One
First Thursdays Conservatory Series
Sunday, June 7 at 8pm
Compline by Candlelight
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street
Richard Strauss: Der Abend
Monday, June 8 at 1pm
Bach + One
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street; Trinity Baroque Orchestra; Julian Wachner, conductor
J.S. Bach: O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort, BWV 20
J.S. Bach: Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, BWV 2
J.S. Bach: Christ unser herr zum Jordan kam, BWV 7
Thursday, June 11 at 1pm
Pipes at One
Ed Moore, organ (East Liberty Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh, PA)
Friday, June 12 at 12pm and Saturday, June 13 at 7:30pm
Leipzig Bach Festival Performances
Ticketed
June 12: St. Thomas Church, Leipzig, Germany
June 13: Wartburg Castle, Eisenach, Germany
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street; Trinity Baroque Orchestra; Julian Wachner, conductor
J.S. Bach: O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort, BWV 20
J.S. Bach: Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, BWV 2
J.S. Bach: Christ unser Herr zum Jordan kam, BWV 7
Sunday, June 14 at 8pm
Compline by Candlelight
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street
12 NIGHTS FESTIVAL
Wednesday, June 17 at 1pm
12 Nights Festival
The Handel Project
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street; Trinity Baroque Orchestra; Julian Wachner, conductor
George Frideric Handel: Deborah, Part the First
Wednesday, June 17 at 8pm
12 Nights Festival
Beethoven 250
Trinity Church
Attacca Quartet
Ludwig van Beethoven: Complete String Quartets, Part 1
Thursday, June 18 at 1pm
12 Nights Festival
The Handel Project
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street; Trinity Baroque Orchestra; Julian Wachner, conductor
George Frideric Handel: Deborah, Part the Second
Thursday, June 18 at 8pm
12 Nights Festival
Brandenburg Concertos
Trinity Church
Trinity Baroque Orchestra; Avi Stein, conductor
J.S. Bach: Complete Brandenburg Concertos, Part 1
Friday, June 19 at 1pm
12 Nights Festival
The Handel Project
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street; Trinity Baroque Orchestra; Julian Wachner, conductor
George Frideric Handel: Deborah, Part the Third
Friday, June 19 at 7pm
12 Nights Festival
Beethoven 250
Trinity Church
Attacca Quartet
Ludwig van Beethoven: Complete String Quartets, Part 2
Saturday, June 20 at 7pm
12 Nights Festival
Brandenburg Concertos
Trinity Church
Trinity Baroque Orchestra; Avi Stein, conductor
J.S. Bach: Complete Brandenburg Concertos, Part 2
Sunday, June 21 at 8pm
12 Nights Festival
Compline by Candlelight
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street; Julian Wachner, conductor
Johannes Ockeghem: Deo Gratia a 36
Thomas Tallis: Spem in alium
Monday, June 22 at 8pm
12 Nights Festival
Beethoven 250
Trinity Church
Attacca Quartet
Ludwig van Beethoven: Complete String Quartets, Part 3
Tuesday, June 23 at 8pm
12 Nights Festival
From the Trecento to Josquin
Trinity Church
Jonathan Woody, curator
Wednesday, June 24 at 8pm
12 Nights Festival
Beethoven 250
Trinity Church
Attacca Quartet
Ludwig van Beethoven: Complete String Quartets, Part 4
Thursday, June 25 at 1pm
12 Nights Festival
Pipes at One
Avi Stein, organ (Trinity Church Wall Street)
Thursday, June 25 at 8pm
12 Nights Festival
Beethoven 250
Trinity Church
Attacca Quartet
Ludwig van Beethoven: Complete String Quartets, Part 5
Friday, June 26 at 7pm
12 Nights Festival
Rameau: Dardanus
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street
Trinity Baroque Orchestra
Jean-Philippe Rameau: Dardanus
Zachary Wilder, Dardanus
Mirelle Asselin, Venus
Nola Richardson, Cupid
Melissa Attebury, Iphise
Matt Boehler, Teucer
Tyler Duncan, Anténor
John Taylor Ward, Isménor
Saturday, June 27 at 7pm
12 Nights Festival
Beethoven 250
Trinity Church
Attacca Quartet
Ludwig van Beethoven: Complete String Quartets, Part 6
Wednesday, July 8 at 3pm
John’s Creek, GA
American Guild of Organists Biennial National Convention
John’s Creek United Methodist Church
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street; Avi Stein and Janet Yieh, organ; Julian Wachner, conductor
Gerald Finzi: God is gone up, Op. 27, No. 2
Trevor Weston: Ashes
Cecilia McDowall: Adoro te devote
Leo Sowerby: Psalm 122 “I Was Glad”
Gerre Hancock: Deep River
Herbert Howells: Magnificat and Nunc dimittis (St Paul’s Service)
Julian Wachner: My Cathedral (world premiere)
© 21C Media Group, November 2019