Handel's Messiah - 150th Anniversary Concert

The York Musical Society are performing Handel's Messiah at St Lawrence Parish Church on Lawrence Street on Saturday 12 December, from 7:30pm to 10:00pm. It's a full run of the oratorio, with soprano Juliet Montgomery, mezzo-soprano Lorna Day, tenor Jason Darnell, bass Jonty Ward, and organist Shaun Turnbull on the solo parts, all under the direction of David Pipe.

The date is a bit of a full circle for the society. They trace their roots back to 1767, but they re-launched as a choral society in 1876 after the 'York Amateur Musical Society'. Their very first grand concert was on 28 December 1876, when 200 vocalists and instrumentalists came together to perform Messiah at the city's Festival Concert Room. They've sung without interruption ever since, moving into York Minster in the mid-1950s. This December's performance falls just a few weeks shy of that 150th anniversary.

Looking back, the society's 20th-century podium was held by just four principal conductors, all of them well-known composers and organists at the Minster: Thomas Tertius Noble, Edward Bairstow, Francis Jackson, and Philip Moore. Robert Sharpe took over in 2010, and David Pipe has been musical director since 2012. Along the way, Elgar conducted his King Olaf cantata with the choir in 1910, and in 1993 they began a relationship with the Philharmonischer Chor Münster, a choir from York's twin city, as a gesture of reconciliation. Archivist Dr Rosemary Anderson marked the anniversary with a history booklet, 150 Years of Choral Singing: York Musical Society 1876-2026.

So, on 12 December, the society returns to the piece that started it all. The soloists are Juliet Montgomery, Lorna Day, Jason Darnell, Jonty Ward, and Shaun Turnbull on the organ, with David Pipe conducting. It runs from 7:30pm to 10:00pm at St Lawrence Parish Church on Lawrence Street.