Handel's Messiah

Every December, I travel into the city to watch a performance of Handel’s Messiah.

Most will be familiar with the Hallelujah Chorus, not far fewer are aware that it’s part of a larger concert, complete with Orchestra, pipe organ and soloists.

Sydney Town Hall has the largest pipe organ in the Southern Hemisphere (and it feels like it during the Hallelujah Chorus and Lamb of God…) and has hosted annual performances for 85 years (with a short break during the peak COVID Years).

In case the title didn’t make it obvious, the concert is about the birth, death and resurrection of the Christian Messiah, Jesus Christ, split into two parts. Part 1 revolves around the Birth, and part 2, which includes the famous Hallelujah Chorus, covers the death and resurrection.

I’m not even a Christian, and I still find it an incredibly moving performance.

Part of that is the fact that unlike most Church-based hymns, no one is there because their parents made them, or grumbling in the back about how long before they can leave.

Every one of the performers is there and giving their all, their passion and love of their deity or their art, or both. Everyone performing has dedicated 8-10 weeks of rehearsals toward this one weekend. The fact that Handel was an incredibly gifted composer, with several of his compositions still being performed in the modern day, over 200 years later.

December is a time for community as well as family, and watching this community of performers welcome everyone who cares to give it a go, as well as the regular performers who have been doing it for years, is a lovely thing to watch.

Continuity, Unity, Love and Community feel especially important now, when every other piece of news seems aimed at creating division and hatred and fear. It's important to take joy where we can find it, to celebrate in the little moments. Reach out to friends, find common ground with strangers, and rejoice in community.

Happiness doesn't come on its own, sometimes we have to seek it out.

That's why I attend Handel's Messiah performance every year; because basking in other people's joy is its own happiness. Because I love watching my partner's joy and excitement leading up to the event, culminating with dinner with my Beloved's close friends in the choir (often mutual friends). Because knowing I'm somewhere in the crowd makes them happy, and I love the smile on their face when we meet on the front steps and I can loudly complain about whichever God-Botherer is taking advantage of captive crowds that year while everyone decides where we're having dinner and bickers over the best route to get there.

Sometimes, our winter rituals and celebrations are their own kind of magic, and regardless of what you believe in, you can enjoy the happiness for as long as it lasts.

Especially with a thundering pipe organ in the back ground, and the choir experiencing residual vibrations through dinner. At least there's a built-in excuse for dropping or spilling things.

I know that this is a difficult time of year for a lot of people.

Some of you are mourning loved ones recently passed, or remembering those not-so-recently gone. Some are estranged from family, or emotionally close but geographically distant. Some are in lifesaving roles that demand that someone be on shift even (especially) during the holidays and will be missing your loved ones.

If there is any way that I can help, even if it's just that you need someone to listen and sympathise during a difficult time, please don't hesitate to reach out.