Hallelujah Syndrome : Like clockwork, Handel's ‘Messiah’ shows up at Christmas-time, as it did in the Santa Barbara Choral Society's wonderful performance at The Granada over the weekend

JOSEF WOODARD, NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT

There may be an operative irony in the fact that the greatest and deepest cultural tradition of the Christmas season, Handel's oratorio "Messiah," wasn't originally intended for the season. And it is an irony that is trotted out annually, like Aunt Zelda's fruitcake, and moves us still.

Reputation has it that the great Baroque composer penned the work in 1741, with a focus spanning Christmas, Easter and other Biblical themes, for a fundraiser for a prison. He intentionally pared down its level of complexity compared to other examples of his music, allowing access for musicians of a humbler ilk.

Humble, foggy beginning aside, here we are, all these centuries later, and the thought of a "Messiah"-free Christmas might make for a far emptier season. Thankfully, Santa Barbara is blessed with an inspired "Messiah" delivery system in the form of the Santa Barbara Choral Society, which has presented the oratorio for years on end, and kicked off the Christmas concert season at The Granada on Saturday night.

In this case, repeat exposure to the music rarely fails to move us. In fact, hearing Handel's perennial oratorio once again, like thankful clockwork, the music-loving Scrooge within might bemoan the general absence of programming of music by Handel — even in this 250th anniversary of his death — in the non-Christmas period of our music calendar. But such a gripe would be unseasonably curmudgeonly.

Suffice to say, Handel's greatest hit is always worth another listen each year, especially when realized with the kind of sharp, clean-burning energy and reverence heard at The Granada. Then again, this group very much "knows how it goes."

At age 62, the Santa Barbara Choral Society, firmly led by director/conductor JoAnne Wasserman, is the city's oldest performing group — and a mighty, polished group at that. In the ad hoc orchestral ranks gathered for this occasion, also under Ms. Wasserman's guidance, the sound was occasionally raggedy but mostly a solid supportive fabric of a performance.

For soloists, the performance drew on soprano Elissa Johnston, mezzo-soprano Cynthia Jansen, tenor Jonathan Mack and bass Dean Elzinga, each bringing a lucid approach to successions of solos between chorus pieces. The contrast of singular voices and the choral sweep filling the risers at the rear of the stage is part of what energizes the oratorio, as when the chorus emboldened the landmark "For unto us a Child is born," sandwiched between leaner solo parts by bass and soprano.

Mr. Mack, especially, can be counted on to summon up a richly toned and incisive, interpretive sound, as he did on Saturday, in his featured moment in Part II. Other highlights included Mr. Elzinga's "Why do the nations so furiously rage together?" and Ms. Johnson's "I know that my Redeemer liveth," leading toward the chorus' glorious finale, "worthy is the lamb/Amen."

Handel's music, as in his operas and other writing, summons up great variety of expression in his large-scale work. In "Messiah," we hear waves of jubilation, introspection and intonations of feelings from somber to majestic. The score is altogether grand in design and pacing, right up to, and beyond, the famed "Hallelujah" chorus, at which point any public performance becomes musically diluted by the not-ready-for-prime-time singers among us amateurs. Here is our annual spotlight, a chance to stand and deliver, even if the only word we remember is "Hallelujah."

That humble, all-for-one sound is part and parcel of the power of the "Messiah," regardless of the professional performing body onstage. We come together this time of year, comforted by tradition and suspending cynicism about such things as intonation and vocal quality. The spirit is what counts, and it was flowing nicely in The Granada.