Philip Norman: MESSIAH!! A brilliant blunder??

Philip Norman was introduced to Messiah in December 1960. "It's a great choral work," he was told, "you should go and hear it." He knew all about choirs: he'd been in one for three months.

Well, "a great choral work??" It started off with a long piece for orchestra and then someone stood up and sang about geography. At last, the choir was let loose, but they seemed to be singing different things and words at the same time, so it was all very confusing. Eventually they finished - so good. The time elapsed was about the same as that of an episode of Robin Hood on ITV Children's Television, so he was fully prepared to leave, be given a lemonade and iced bun in Liverpool Street station restaurant - and home. Well, it went on and on, and by time it had finished there was no time for the bun.

Sixty six years later, Philip (former organist of St Marien mit St Georg in London and Kantor of Orkdal Kommune in Norway) has deeper insights to reveal. He'll look at the sixteenth century Italian roots from which Messiah grew, compare it to other blooms in the Handel garden, and then see where the winds of time blew the seeds.

The talk includes audio examples. Be prepared!! If Philip forgets to keep an eye on the clock, he could go on for 70-75 minutes.