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Sir Andrew’s Messiah

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Program GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL Messiah (excerpts) (orch. Sir Andrew Davis) Video excerpts of the MSO were recorded 7 & 8 December 2019 at Arts Centre Melbourne, Hamer Hall, with Sir Andrew Davis conducting, and soloists Siobhan Stagg (soprano), Fiona Campbell (mezzo-soprano), Topi Lehtipuu (tenor), James Clayton (bass) and the MSO Chorus (Warren Trevelyan-Jones, chorus master).

Presenter Nicholas has always had a strong commitment to music education and community engagement. In 2010 he was awarded the Dame Roma Mitchell Churchill Fellowship to study the LSO’s iconic Discovery program and the use of improvisation in training classical musicians at the Guildhall School of Music.

NICHOLAS BOCHNER After training in Adelaide and London, Nicholas spent 3 years as Artist-in-Residence at the University of Queensland as part of the ensemble Perihelion, forging a strong reputation as an exponent of contemporary music. He joined the MSO as Assistant Principal Cello in 1998. Since then he has appeared as a soloist, chamber musician and recitalist. He has also taught cello and improvisation at the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM).

In 2016, Nicholas’ considerable experience as an orchestral musician and his passion for communication led him to undertake a fellowship at ANAM where he developed, conducted and presented educational concerts for primary school children. During the fellowship he was mentored by Paul Rissmann, Graham Abbott and the legendary Richard Gill AO. Since then he has presented educational concerts for children and adults for MSO, ANAM and the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra.

In 2020 he was named the MSO’s Cybec Assistant Conductor for Learning and Engagement. He is also the conductor of the Melbourne University Biomedical Students’ Orchestra. In support of his work as an education presenter, Nicholas has been studying conducting with Benjamin Northey and won a coveted place at the TSO’s 2019 Australian Conducting Academy.

PERFECT

PAIRING Ears Wide Open is proudly supported

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Glossary Aria An accompanied, elaborate melody sung (as in an opera) by a single voice.

Dotted rhythms Rhythms in which long notes alternate with one or more short notes.

Melisma A group of notes or tones sung on one syllable in plainsong.

Recitative A vocal style that imitates the natural inflections of speech and that is used for dialogue and narrative in operas and oratorios.

Stile Concitato An Italian name given by Claudio Monteverdi to a musical style expressing anger and agitation.

Oratorio A lengthy choral work usually of a religious nature consisting chiefly of recitatives, arias, and choruses without action or scenery.

Quick Facts GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL (1685–1759) Handel was truly famous in his lifetime and celebrated by his adoptive country Britain, where he lived for over 49 years.

He is honoured with burial in Westminster Abbey in such illustrious company as 17 British monarchs, Isaac Newton and Charles Dickens. Like so many celebrities, little is known about his true self with most insights stemming from accounts by contemporary admirers and jealous detractors. He was at once feared for his temper and applauded for his generosity. As a philanthropist he donated generously to hospitals, retired musicians and orphans. A generous portion of the proceeds from the Messiah premiere were donated to his favourite charity, the London Foundlings Hospital.

Orchestration by Sir Andrew Davis In 2010 Sir Andrew Davis premiered his orchestration of Messiah, which includes instruments not used in the original version, such as the marimba.

His arrangement of Messiah belongs to a long tradition of reorchestrations. In 2018 a recording of Davis’ version was nominated for a Grammy Award. Rather like a digital remastering of a classic film, Davis’ orchestration provides delicate enhancement, demonstrating deep understanding of Handel’s original intention.

Sir Andrew says of his arrangement: “ My aim was to keep Handel’s notes, harmonies, and style intact, but to make use of all the colours available from the modern symphony orchestra in order to underline the mood and meaning of the individual movements.”