Have you ever been to a National Chorale Sing-in of Handel's Messiah?

December 4, 2009 7:38 AM

Have you ever been to a Sing-in of Handel's Messiah?

I'm looking into attending the National Chorale sing-in event at Lincoln Center (http://www.nationalchorale.org/) and gather that you need sheet music to participate. I love the idea of singing along, but how formal is the audience participation? I'm a huge fan of the music and I enjoy singing, but I can't sight read well, and I'm not familiar with the various choral parts.

posted by cymru_j to Media & Arts (24 answers total)

I've never been to that one, but I've been to a few here in town. I can't speak to how easy it is for a non-sightreader, since I've actually been an oratorio soloist and can barely stop myself from singing along with the arias. What I DO know, however, is that they're tons of fun. I switch between the soprano and alto parts whenever I feel like it, and I've been known to skip out on the boring ones in favor of blasting "And HE shall REIGN for EVV err and EH EH-EH VERRRRRRR!" over and over again at the end. Because it's awesome.

So no, I don't think you'll feel out of place. You might try to listen to the music ahead of time and follow along with the music (probably available in a library if you don't want to buy it) to note where the lines go and what parts are particularly difficult/high/fast/loud/whatever. Especially if you can sing passably well, you'll be fine.
posted by Madamina at 7:52 AM on December 4, 2009

I spent years going to these in different cities in Canada. Even if you're totally chicken, do it anyway!! Get the music, practice, listen, whatever. Don't stand at the back if you have a choice, sit in the middle of the section you're "singing". That way you can hear the part clearly when everybody sings it around you. Even if you never sing a note, go for the sheer amazing awesomeness of having so many singers sing this beautiful piece of music around you. Take that as your "fall back plan" and if you sing more then that then "Hallelujah!" for you! Wow I'm jealous! There isn't a Come Sing Messiah near me these days. Tell us how it went!
posted by kch at 8:02 AM on December 4, 2009

I did one of these a few years ago - it's amazing!

You'll definitely need to bring a score, though there may be an enterprising vendor there to sell you one at a ludicrous markup.

The one that I went to was in Chicago, so of course things might be different, but here's how mine went. We divided roughly into sections in the seats of the theatre - really more a male/female divide than an actual SATB sort of thing. A lot of people cheated to stay close to friends/spouses in different vocal parts, too. Wasn't a big deal.

Basically, the conductor got up and explained what movements we'd be doing and skipping, and ran us through some basic vocal warmups. Introduced the soloists, and off we went. No requirement to sing every time, etc. Folks were basically there to sing and hear the whole group, I didn't notice any kind of critical attitudes or anything like that.

That said - Messiah is hard! Some of the lesser-known choral bits have some seriously wonky rhythms/tricks to them, and I think it wouldn't be real fun to go in and desperately attempt to sight-read them. It'd be a great idea to just throw Messiah on repeat in the car/at work/wherever between now and the sing-in date just to get it in your head, and if you get your hands on a score beforehand, just try to sing through the pieces you haven't seen before a time or two to find the tricksy parts.

Really, though, I think it'd be worth it even just to sit there silently except for the Hallelujah chorus. Hearing hundreds and hundreds of people do Messiah with professional soloists/orchestra is one of the coolest things ever.
posted by Rallon at 8:03 AM on December 4, 2009

My college dormitory has an annual Messiah Sing. It was always very informal, with people generally grouping together into voice part clumps. I can't sight read either, and would always just try to stand near some altos or tenors (since both parts are in my range) and try to match them. I'm sure there are parts I got wrong, but it was always incredibly fun.
posted by ocherdraco at 8:04 AM on December 4, 2009

It's totally fun. Sing the parts you know and wing it in the parts you don't know. They might have scores available, but if you can get your hands on your own copy, so much the better. ENJOY!
posted by Sidhedevil at 8:06 AM on December 4, 2009

Nthing bringing your own score--many places run out early.
posted by Melismata at 8:17 AM on December 4, 2009

I've gone to San Francisco's version. I can't sing and didn't know the songs at all. I faked my way through it and had a blast.
posted by bottlebrushtree at 8:32 AM on December 4, 2009

I've been to the one at the Kennedy Center, and yes, you should have a score.
posted by jgirl at 8:48 AM on December 4, 2009

nthing totally fun, practice before if you want, but don't sweat it. many times you will be able to rent a score for a nominal fee, but check ahead to see if your event is one that does this, and come early if they do and you want one.
posted by somanyamys at 8:50 AM on December 4, 2009

I've been to them in Chicago, San Francisco, and Philadelphia. All fun and so worth doing. I have my own score (cheap to buy online) but you can usually get one if you go early. The events have varied in terms of how amateur the audience/chorus was but there's room for all kinds of singers and no one will care if you don't sing certain parts or if you hold back or if you even are singing badly. I'm a somewhat decent singer and know most of the score but even so I usually staked out a seat near someone who I could tell was really into it and knew the ropes. Go and have fun!!!!!
posted by otherwordlyglow at 8:59 AM on December 4, 2009

Definitely pick up a score, and don't worry if you don't know the parts well. This is actually your first sing-in. As you go in succeeding years, even if it's only once or twice a decade (and you should go - it will only get better and more moving), you'll have picked up more of the choral parts. Also, being able to read the words off the page helps a lot.
posted by amtho at 9:02 AM on December 4, 2009

Absolutely you should go. I'll bet you can find someone to share with, but if you can get your own music that would make it easy. It's a blast -- great music to sing in a big group.
posted by Pantengliopoli at 9:03 AM on December 4, 2009

I've been to a few scratch messiahs, and they are lots of fun, and it was expected that there would be singers of all standards along. I don't know what part you normally sing, but I think if you're a woman it will be easier to follow the soprano line (and to pick it up again if you get lost) than the alto, and if you can listen to a recording beforehand it's probably easier to pick out. There will be people who really know the piece, or are good sight-readers, so if you can find one of them to sit nearby you'll be able to hear what you should be doing if you get stuck.

It's also a great way to improve your sight-reading for future events.
posted by penguinliz at 9:19 AM on December 4, 2009

I've done the Lincoln Center sign-in several times. And my choir director has even conducted one movement (hi, Mr. Housholder!).

But just so you know... I think there is a certain level of expectation for singers. Not that you'll be "called out" for anything. But, in my experience, the conductors seem to expect people to have a passing knowledge of the chorale pieces. So if you're an experienced singer, that's good. But be prepared to get lost occasionally if you don't read music well.

All that said, it is a fun time!
posted by ObscureReferenceMan at 10:11 AM on December 4, 2009

I've done it, and yes, it's amazing fun. In the situations I've been in, they organize sections, so that you are singing along with others singing the same part as you. You more or less get swept along with the tide.

There was an expectation that you could either sightread or knew your part off by heart. I have the score, so I was golden. If you're a student, or have a card to the local university library, you might be able to borrow the score for the day.

One caveat, speaking as a singer: you will be sorely tempted to belt, particularly at well known bits like the Hallelujah Chorus. You may even give in to this temptation. If you do, arm yourself with cough drops and water to soothe your throat afterwards.
posted by LN at 10:45 AM on December 4, 2009

I've never been to such an event, nor do I have any real experience in music, but this site has freely-available PDF scores you could print, or load onto some kind of e-book reader if you want to get fancy.
posted by tellumo at 10:45 AM on December 4, 2009

I guess the question here is how well you read music at all. As others have noted, the music is tough and some editions are so old and squished that it is easy for an experienced singer to get lost in the score as you're trundling along at a mighty clip. "For unto us a child is boo-ooo-ooo-ooo-oo- uh... uh oh... where are we...?"

But if you don't actually read music, and are concerned that your novice is going to make you an inappropriate participant: don't worry. At a huge event like this, so long as you aren't singing in the rests or howling "You Aint Nothin But a Hound Dog" nobody will notice if you aren't quite on.

They will, however, notice if you "baa" every time the group sings "All We Like Sheep." Trust me on this one.

Go! And enjoy yourself! This is about people of every skill level coming together to have fun and experience being surrounded by some pretty awesome music!
posted by greekphilosophy at 12:09 PM on December 4, 2009

Also, speaking as a cheapskate who refused to go by his own score, I assure you that you don't want to print up all 300 pages of a PDF score to The Messiah. Just go buy it. My friends and I mostly sing from the Barenreiter edition, but I have a Schirmer edition also and it's fine.
posted by greekphilosophy at 12:17 PM on December 4, 2009

I've done this pretty much every year of my life. I read music, so I can't speak to how difficult it would be for a non-sight-reader, but I bet it would be fun anyway. Try to stand near some experienced people. Listen to recordings ahead of time and try to learn your part - if you're a soprano, this will be easy. Otherwise, maybe you can get something like this - midi files for each part, alone, to help you learn. I bet you could find a free one somewhere.

If you don't have any time to practice, listen to the Hallelujah Chorus ahead of time so you can really sing out and enjoy yourself, even if you're not singing the correct part :)
posted by Cygnet at 12:40 PM on December 4, 2009

Not to be stress-inducing, but the better you know your part, the more you'll enjoy it. So, the more practice, the more fun. To practise, get a recording and sing along to it.
posted by feelinggood at 1:45 PM on December 4, 2009

Also, a quick story for perspective.

Last year, my choir hosted our annual Messiah Sing-Along. There are ten permanent members and plenty of alumni and professional/semi-professional friends around - so we all divide up the solos and everyone sings the choruses. People bring family and friends and while it is an intimate gathering, it's grown considerably. 50-75 people usually attend and most are very accomplished musicians. I picked "He That Dwelleth in Heaven/Thou Shalt Break Them" and was content to just do those bits.

But another flaky tenor "got sick" and couldn't come, and he had agreed to sing just about everything in Part II. Now, knowing that he was kind of a flake, I prepared Part II just in case. So I wasn't shocked when I was asked to stand in for him, and I felt reasonably prepared for it.

But I completely forgot "All They That See Him Laugh Him to Scorn" and never learned it. So we were trucking right along in Part II when the director announced that I'd be singing the next set of solos starting with - "All They That See Him."

I wanted to die on the spot. It was every nightmare that you've ever had about performance anxiety only this time it had a pretty Christmas bow on top. I sight-read it in front of a lot of people I really like and respect, and it was very short, and very bad.

Don't worry, the story has a happy ending: I had the rest of Parts II and III to redeem myself and I did fine. But I assure you, nothing even remotely as embarrassing will happen to you.
posted by greekphilosophy at 3:02 PM on December 4, 2009

Here's my top tip for sightreading: if you miss the train, just find the next station! Listen for everyone else, count (out loud if you have to) and just GET THERE. Nobody cares if you drop out; in fact, they're often just impressed that you're there and they aren't :)

Before I was a singer, I was a cellist. I think that was the biggest difference I found between singers and orchestral players. If singers lose their place, they get all selfconscious and giggle and everything stops and starts. If you did that in an orchestra, you'd get a look of death from those around you, and your conductor would probably make fun of you.

So look for those big giant chords that tell you something's happening, and wait until they show up. And then thank your lucky stars that this is a Baroque piece and everything is more or less predictable and repeats itself!
posted by Madamina at 11:11 AM on December 5, 2009

Scores are cheap and easy to find at used book stores.
posted by neuron at 9:47 PM on December 6, 2009

Thanks, all! Extremely helpful as always! I'll add a note if I end up going.
posted by cymru_j at 12:02 PM on December 7, 2009