Concert features traditional and sacred Christmas music

Getting into the Christmas spirit means music and one of the most traditional holiday mood-makers is Handel's "Messiah." On December 13 and 14, Glacier Symphony and Chorale will perform this beloved work along with J.S. Bach's "Magnificat," another sacred but lesser-known piece. The Saturday night concert will be performed at 7:30 p.m. at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center, and Sunday's concert will be held at 3 p.m. at Flathead High School in Kalispell. Chorale Conductor Jim Stanard prepared the singers. John Zoltek, GSC Music Director, will conduct the performances.

The concert will open with the orchestra performing "Adagio in G minor" by Italian Baroque composer Tomaso Albinoni. This beautiful instrumental work offers a well known melody and will set the stage for Bach's sacred masterpiece featuring the Chamber Singers, a select chamber choir from the Glacier Chorale, soloists and a small baroque ensemble from the Symphony.

Bach's "Magnificat" is based on the text of the Gospel of St. Luke, Chapter 1, verses 46-55. It is based upon Mary's words "My soul doth magnify the Lord" when she learns from the angel Gabriel that she will give birth to a Savior. The work is composed of 12 musical numbers with a cast of soloists, five-part mixed chorus, flutes, oboes, trumpets, timpani, strings, continuo with cello, contrabass, bassoon, and organ. It will be sung in the original Latin.

Featured soloists will be Heather Hillstead, Karen Larson McMullen, and Sally Murdock, soprano; Kay Lynn Lee, alto; Josh Holloway, tenor; and Brad Seaman and Kevin Allen-Schmidt, baritone. Hillstead, Larson-McMullen and Seaman appeared in "Carmen" last season and Allen-Schmidt is the Flathead High School Chorale Director.

The second half of the concert will be devoted to Handel's "Messiah" (part 1) featuring the full Glacier Chorale, soloists and a larger classical sized orchestra. Maestro Zoltek chose Mozart's orchestration of the score that expands the original instrumentation to include more winds and brass.

Mozart created this version after the work became more popular for performances in Austria in the later 18th century. He rearranged the string writing and reinforced the "tutti" sections with full brass and augmented the organ writing with a woodwind choir to substitute or enhance the organ. Our performance will close with the great "Hallelujah Chorus" and will offer a reprise for the audience to join in the singing.

General Admission tickets for "Messiah and Magnificat" are priced at $23 for adults, $18 for seniors and $10 for youth. They are available online at www.gscmusic.org and at GSC outlets: Books West in Kalispell; The Village Shop, and Montana Coffee Traders-downtown, in Whitefish; Glacier Wallflower in Columbia Falls; ArtFusion in Bigfork; Sliters Ace Hardware in Lakeside and at the door.

Reserved seat tickets, priced at $30 adult, $25 senior and $15 youth are also available for this concert. They must be purchased directly from the GSC office; call 257-3241 for more information.