(Dr Robin Walton &
Jacques Heyns - front row extreme left – with members of the choir. Pic by Andy
& Marlise Pepperell)
The Pietermaritzburg Amateur Music Society (PAMS Choir) will
present a performance of Handel's Messiah
on November 15 together with other welcome Messiah
singers some of whom have come from distant places to augment the choir. The
choir will be accompanied by the Pietermaritzburg City Orchestra whose musical
director is Dr David Plank.
Handel's Messiah
holds an exceptional place in the world of classical choral music. Performances
are held every year by Messiah choirs
worldwide and the wonder is that the people who regularly perform excellent Messiahs, many of whom have sung the
work over 100 times, continue to find new enjoyment, inspiration and solace while
singing Messiah. Likewise, the people who come year after year to listen find
that no two performances of Messiah
are the same. The time in which Handel composed the music to accompany the beautiful
words of librettist Jennens seems impossible being 21 to 14 days in different
accounts written at the time and confirmed by his friends and colleagues.
Handel himself said "Whether I was in my body or out of my body as I wrote
it I know not. God knows"
Dr Robin Walton will conduct Messiah 2015. Messiah has
been performed annually in Pietermaritzburg maintaining a tradition started in
1864 and continuing virtually unbroken ever since apart from a few years at the
end of the 19th century. Every year PAMS Choir performs other concerts of
classical choral music giving performing opportunities to young singers and
musicians and has sung an extensive repertoire under Walton's musical
direction.
For the first time in many years Messiah returned to the PMB City Hall in 2014 with a massed choir
of 150 singers and a large orchestra. 2014 reviewer Mary-Ann Hartley wrote
"This was an event that from the first note to the last exuded passion,
energy and enjoyment on the part of musicians and singers. The real star of the
show was Robin Walton whose dedication to music in PMB has helped to keep alive
this tradition which means a great deal to many people."
Jacques Heyns, a well known Pietermaritzburg musician who
has been 2015 PAMS choir accompanist for rehearsals, will be playing the
keyboard continuo during the performance.
This performance will pay tribute to the memory of the
renowned Pietermaritzburg choir conductor, Dr Joshua Radebe, who died in July
aged 79. Dr Radebe was awarded an honorary doctorate by the then University of
Natal for his contribution to the arts in KwaZulu-Natal. The founder of the Pietermaritzburg
Choral Society, he is acknowledged as an inspiration to young and old South
Africans as a teacher, but more especially for his immeasurable contribution to
the promotion of arts and culture in the form of his dedication to choral
music. He took the choir to great heights by participating in - and winning - several choral competitions,
especially at National Eisteddfod level.
Messiah will be
performed on November 15 at 14h30 in the NG Kerk, corner of Beverley and Morcom
Roads in Prestbury, Pietermaritzburg (opposite the Botanic Gardens). Tickets R100
booked through Ruth on 033 347 5464 or 072 235 1138 or from Pink Heather
(Quarry Centre, Hilton) on 033 343 1965. Remaining tickets can be bought at the
door.
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