A centuries-old musical tradition comes to Haines

Nancy Nash’s first Messiah was with a choir in Bismarck North Dakota. This year, she’s bringing the centuries old tradition back to Haines. Haines residents will have the opportunity to take part in an international tradition that’s over 250 years old this weekend. Nancy Nash is mounting a secular, classical performance of Handel’s Messiah.

“I’ve just been thinking myself, why am I organizing this thing? It’s a musical performance, but not really a performance. It’s just a chance for people to sing together,” she said.

George Frideric Handel was a German composer, but he wrote Messiah in English while living in London. He wrote in the mid-1700s, in the Baroque style. The Messiah also has a history in Haines. Nash is using songbooks from when the oratorio first came to the Upper Lynn Canal.

“And so we have all these books, these very historic books from at least the 1950s. There are about 30 of them floating around of the complete score of Messiah,” she said.

She found some programs from past performances dated in the 1970s and 80s,  with soloists that locals may remember: Lou Bennett, Steve McPhetres, Gary Matthews and Claudia Everly. She hopes to make it an annual tradition from now on. The Messiah is an oratorio, an opera without staging. It’s also a piece of polyphonic music, which means its melodies create the harmony.

“Everyone gets a melody at some point in every song,” explained Nash.

“So it’s not like a soprano or a tenor singing a melody and everyone else is doing very dull parts because they’re just making chords. The chords come when the melodies intersect.”

For this reason, polyphonic music is easier to sing. So the messiah is often performed by singers with little or no practice. That’s why Nash is putting together a “scratch” Messiah. Any one who comes will sing the chorus. No practice necessary.

There will be some trained soloists. Haines’ library director Caroline Goolsby is operatically trained and will sing the alto oratorio. She practices in the Nash living room, where there are not one, but two pianos.

All the words in Messiah come from the King James Bible. Most music at that time was church music. Goolsby’s part is literally about the Christian prophecy, but she says the message is for anyone.

“It’s about taking your joy in the world. And being confident in yourself and being confident in your happiness and seeing what’s good around you. For me at least that’s what I’m thinking when I’m singing,” she said.

She gestured to the lyrics on sheet music in front of her.

“Get thee up into the high mountains and lift everybody up.”

And for Nash, that’s really the point.

“We are in very fractious times, and you know, you come to this and you don’t care what the person next to you thinks politically or religiously or anything. You’re just singing together in a very positive, very positive thing,” said Nash.

The public is invited to participate in singing Handel’s Messiah at the Chilkat Arts Center on Saturday, December 21st at 3 o’clock.