Seattle Symphony’s ‘Messiah’ an entrancing holiday masterpiece

Concert review

“Messiah” productions are like fingerprints: No two are exactly the same. Handel’s beloved oratorio, composed in 1741 and an important staple of orchestral repertoire ever since, is a little different every time, as conductors and performers put their own stamp on this masterpiece. 

Luckily for Seattle Symphony audiences, the current “Messiah” (with performances through Sunday) is a winning combination of vocal excellence and imaginative interpretation — led by Aram Demirjian, a dynamic conductor who kept the intensity level of this production remarkably high in Thursday’s opening performance.  

From the first bars of the overture, fleet and nimble and full of contrasts in phrasing, it was evident that this would be no ordinary “Messiah” performance. In his Seattle Symphony debut, Demirjian expertly negotiated all the stops and starts and turns in this complicated score, with its mercurial changes and its succession of solos and choruses. His precise cuing and an extensive repertoire of gestures made his musical intentions clear to the orchestra, the chorus and the soloists. 

The strings played with relatively little vibrato, in the appropriate period style, and Demirjian never allowed the intensity level to flag. He proved an adroit partner for the four excellent soloists: Yulia Van Doren (soprano), Kayleigh Decker (mezzo-soprano), Omar Najmi (tenor) and Daniel Okulitch (bass-baritone). 

Najmi, the first soloist to appear, gave a lyrical account of the lovely “Comfort Ye,” and displayed remarkable breath control in the long, convoluted passages of “Ev’ry Valley.” The tenor’s expressive depth was later evident in “Thy rebuke hath broken his heart,” simple and direct and truly heartbreaking. 

Van Doren’s soprano is a big, expressive voice that’s also very fleet; she can lighten it, making it nimble and almost unbelievably speedy in the aria “Rejoice greatly.”  

Decker shone in “He was despised,” singing with great expression and warmth. Demirjian provided excellent partnership from the podium, perfectly timing the orchestra to her extended phrases. 

Okulitch’s strong musical personality brought an operatic feeling to his arias; his resonant baritone and clarity of diction made “The people that walked in darkness” riveting to hear. His account of “Why do the nations so furiously rage together?” was resoundingly authoritative. Best of all, perhaps, was his performance of the subtle “Behold, I tell you a mystery,” and the commanding “The trumpet shall sound.” 

Okulitch and Decker brought great energy and power to a back-and-forth “But who may abide” and “For He is like a refiner’s fire,” drawing audience applause. Applause, in the context of an oratorio, is a mixed blessing: It’s great to have the audience’s acknowledgment of fine music-making. But it also breaks the mood of the ongoing story and the continuity of the work. After a while, the smattering of applause after every aria or chorus began to sound obligatory. 

According to most sources, Handel composed this massive score in 24 days — just over three weeks — in an amazing feat of both inspiration and perspiration. The current Seattle Symphony production, with its vibrant conducting and excellent soloists, demonstrates that “Messiah” has lost none of its power to entrance us.