To say the least, he’s off to a promising start. Conducting with broad, sweeping gestures, he led a vital performance that bristled with energy and defied any sense of routine. Familiar moments that often pass without notice had coherence and shape, as did the larger paragraphs of individual movements.
He was also keenly attuned to the theological content of each of the work’s three parts. The first, which deals largely with Christ’s advent and birth, unfolded at a gentle, leisurely pace, which made the extra intensity in Part II - the passion and resurrection - especially lucid. Suddenly there were greater contrasts of dynamics and tempo, and the chorus added bracingly clear diction.
About the only place where Christophers’s strategy didn’t work, oddly, was in the “Hallelujah’’ chorus. (For those keeping score, a little more than half the audience stood, though some seemed baffled by the practice.) Here the abrupt shifts between loud and soft made this iconic moment sound mannered instead of dramatic. Much better was the closing “Amen,’’ which was an unmitigated triumph.
Each of the soloists had something distinct to offer. Tenor Tom Randle and baritone Matthew Brook both had powerful, robust voices that served them well at the most dramatic moments. Soprano Suzie LeBlanc and countertenor Daniel Taylor sounded ethereal and pure, and though both had occasional trouble projecting, they were riveting in their most important arias.
The orchestra had a few rough spots but played vigorously throughout. But the real star of “Messiah’’ is the chorus, and H&H’s did brilliantly, singing with an ideal combination of power and transparency. They deserved, and got, the longest and loudest recognition at the end.
