| IF YOU GO |
| Handel’s “Messiah” |
| Where: The Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda |
| When: 3 p.m. Sunday |
| Info: $32 to $79, ages 7 to 17 are free; 301-581-5100; strathmore.org; nationalphilharmonic.org |
Handel’s “Messiah” cannot be compared in popularity to a favorite TV show in re-runs, but most would agree that it is probably the singular most magnificent oratorio in the classical canon and, quite simply for millions of devotees, it just wouldn’t be Christmas without it. This, of course, would explain the packed houses each year when, like today, the National Philharmonic, along with the National Philharmonic Chorale under the baton of artistic director Stan Engebretson, will present the glorious, time-honored piece in the great hall of the Music Center at Strathmore.
“The [Messiah] is a very special part of our fabric … very strong in America,” Engebretson said, who notes he sang parts of the work at age 13 in his church choir and has been performing it in one form or the other ever since. “They call such pieces as this, ‘Evergreen.’ It’s ever-fresh [and] always continues to unveil something new every time we perform it.”
