Handel’s “Messiah” Sing-along Performed Amid Splendor of Tiffany Stained-Glass Window Masterpieces

 

          According to Brian Burns, Pittsburgh has had a long history of “Messiah” sing-alongs.

          As the music director/organist at Calvary United Methodist Church on Pittsburgh’s North Side, Burns said that years ago, a few members of the congregation thought it would be a good idea for the church to stage a sing-along of its own. The first performance of its “Messiah” included 4 string players and 25 singers. In the years since, the current program has grown to 82 singers, four soloists and close to 20 musicians who somehow comfortably fit into the church’s chancel.

          “At our 125 anniversary and that of our sister church, the First United Methodist Church of Shadyside, we fit 100 singers in the chancel,” Burns said.

          Now in its thirteenth annual year, save for a two-year covid hiatus, the “Messiah” sing-along is scheduled for 4 p.m. on both December 13 and 14. While the entire Handel opus usually takes 2-½ hours to perform, Burns and ensemble feature only the first portion on the work, held to a more manageable 1 hour and 20 minutes.

“The audience is invited to sing along if they want to the eight choruses that occur in the narrative of the Christmas story,” Burns said. “We have some scores those wishing to sing can borrow, but some of our audience also bring in their own.”

Besides the chorus’ core of 15 singers, the choir is joined by others from the region and even one from as far away as Colorado who comes back each Christmas to visit family and participate in the concert.

Soprano Anna Singer Courtesy Photo

This year’s soloists include soprano Anna Singer, mezzo-soprano Kara Cornell. Tenor Kirk Dougherty and baritone Matthew Hunt. Singer, mid-day host on WQED-FM, has sung with the choir in most of its 13 iterations. The other three soloists usually come back year after year.

Tenor Kirk Dougherty Courtesy Photo

Near the end of the Messiah,” we break for a few minutes when a portion of the chorus moves to the back of the church to sing the Hallelujah Chorus,” Burns said.

The interactive concert is family-friendly and includes a treat bag for children and a cookie and snack reception following the concert. Tickets are $20, $15 for students and seniors 65+, free to military, firefighters and police, although complimentary tickets should be reserved in advance. Go to https://www.eventbrite.com/e/13th-annual-handels-messiah-sing-along-concert-tickets-1657312057979?aff=oddtdtcreator. 

Mezzo-Soprano Kara Cornell Courtesy Photo

Scores can be purchased online, allowing you to follow the soloists and sing along during the choruses. Purchased scores can be picked up at the box office's will-call. A limited number of scores are also available to borrow at the door on a first-come, first-served basis.

Baritone Matthew Hunt Courtesy Photo

Located at 971 Beech Avenue on Pittsburgh’s North Side, Calvary United Methodist Church has its roots in Christ Methodist Episcopal Church, once located on Penn and 8th in downtown Pittsburgh.  One of the largest churches in Pittsburgh during the late 1800's, Christ Methodist burned in May of 1891.

Per the church website, after the conflagration, the congregation decided to split and move to the "suburbias.” Calvary was built in Allegheny City, and the First United Methodist Church in Shadyside. Over 3/4 of the Christ Methodist Episcopal Church congregation went to Shadyside. The remaining, 154 people, pulled together their resources and raised over $245,000 to build a church of their own in Allegheny City (now part of Pittsburgh).

Bishop Fowler laid the cornerstones for both Calvary and its sister church the same day on May 18, 1893. It would take four years to finish building Calvary. Although the first service was held Christmas Eve in 1893 in the chapel, the sanctuary wasn’t finished for another two years.

In the spring of 1892, the congregants also hired a young, up-and-coming artist named Louis Comfort Tiffany to design the windows. They contracted him for $15,770 to create 189 windows.

The windows were the largest and most expensive commissions to Louis Comfort Tiffany at the time. When the windows were installed in 1895, Calvary then had three of the largest Tiffany windows in the world.

The building was completed in June of 1895, the same year the Pittsburgh Symphony was formed.  Of interest is the fact that one of the first conductors of the symphony played the organ in the Calvary sanctuary for the first time.

For more information on the church’s history, go to website https://calvarypgh.com/our-history.