Perth Voice Interactive

HANDEL’S Messiah will get interactive when members of the public sing along in a special Christmas performance at the Perth Concert Hall.

In a quirky twist, Joe Public can pay extra to be in the Christmas choir, which will get to sing four of the 17 choruses.

No audition is required, but the dress code specifies “no plunging necklines please!”

“Everyone who has come along to sing has been really good, and thankfully we have never had anyone who is tone-deaf,” laughs conductor Margaret Pride.

“We have five rehearsals with the Christmas choir to ensure everyone is in good shape.”

Dr Pride, who hails from Winthrop, is one of Australia’s leaders in choral music and was musical director of choral studies at UWA for nine years and the WA Symphony Orchestra Chorus for eight.

“It will be a very dramatic rendition of the Messiah and will feature top international soloists,” she says.

The oratorio was written in 1741 by George Frideric Handel and first performed in Dublin a year later. It initially received a cool reception from the public, but went on to become one of the most popular and frequently performed choral works in western music.

“Every solo is a masterpiece and it is very tuneful and accessible to the layman: I think that’s why it has enjoyed such longevity and popularity,” says Dr Pride.

Handel’s Messiah will be performed by the Perth symphonic chorus—with a little help from the Christmas choir—at Perth Concert Hall on December 19.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK