My stake here used to do a singalong, but then the best accompanist in the state (not a typo) moved out of the stake, and the stake music director decided people were tired of it (I wasn’t). When we used to have it, there was always the question of what to do about the solos. One time they had people volunteer to do them, which worked okay, except that at least one person grumbled that they actually had to listen for three minutes instead of singing all the time (yeah, whatever, get over yourself). We had one time where they had whole sections sing the solos, and then they opted to skip all the solos and just do the choruses (a grievous error, imo). So now they don’t do a singalong any more, per se, but my husband was scheduled to conduct the Hallelujah Chorus at our (canceled-because-of-snow) stake Christmas Choirfest.

My issue with singalongs is the many choruses with extensive melismas, a la For Unto Us a Child Is Born. Middling singers can get most of the non-melismatic choruses, but those measures and measures of rapidly-moving 16th notes are beyond the ability of all but the most-skilled. I advocate skipping them altogether, and substituting some of the more interesting but less-sung choruses, especially the run of perfectly fugal ones in I think part II. Why spend all that energy futilely trying to not butcher “For Unto Us” when you could be learning “He Trusted in God that He Would Deliver Him” (No. 28)?

I vote we have a Messiah Singalong at Sunstone. Just have to find a skilled-enough pianist.

This year attended at the Carmel Basilica. The only accompaniment was a lone pianist. Polyphonic passages were problematic with the acoustics of the venue. They had us all sing the soloist’s part in select arias. Travesty, fun.

When I lived in Boston long ago, our Cambridge ward had a tradition of doing a Messiah sing-along joining with the Quaker community next door. It was great fun. Soloists came up from the audience impromptu — sometimes sharing the solo part with someone else if two people volunteered for the same solo. I shared the piano duties with another pianist and on some choruses we both played together on the tricky parts — one of us playing treble and the other bass parts. It was exhilarating. Certainly not a great musical performance of the Messiah, but a fun experience of people getting together to share in the spirit of that wonderful music.

I’m sitting in the audience of the Houston Symphony’s performance this weekend, and I know I’ll be wishing I was up on the stage.

Our friends had two pianos in their living room, and lots of superb musicians, amateur and professional, lived among the members there. But it was definitely a homey adventure for the participants. We’d dooby-doo the trumpet parts when there were no brass that year…

As for #24: here in Tucson the Symphony’s Christmas extravaganza includes a performance of the Jalapeno Chorus (Jalapeno! Jalapeno! Jalapeno! Jalapeno! Ja-laaaa-peno! Enchiladas! Corn tortillas! and on and on). It would be harmless piffle if it were simply some Baroque warhorse, and not Messiah. I’m with Kristine in finding it sacrilege to abuse this music.