Handel's Messiah
Messiah at Home
Handel's complete Messiah, filmed in St. Paul's Chapel in 2019 in HD, is interspersed with at-home holiday greetings from Trinity artists filmed in 2020.
George Frideric Handel
The Choir of Trinity Wall Street
Trinity Baroque Orchestra
Julian Wachner, conductor
Watch the complete 2019 recording without holiday greetings here.
During the pandemic, we continued one of Trinity’s most cherished holiday traditions—taking in, together, George Frideric Handel’s magnificent Messiah, performed by The Choir of Trinity Church Wall Street and Trinity Baroque Orchestra. Our 2019 performance filmed in HD, is offered with a twist—the performance is interspersed with personal video messages from Trinity artists. Through these clips, viewers are given the rare opportunity to go into the artists’ homes, hear how they’ve continued to make music during the pandemic, and share in their messages of hope and connection for our global community.
On December 3, 2020, The New York Times piece by Trinity's Director of Music Julian Wachner describes how he builds what many call the best Messiah in New York. Read the piece here.
Messiah and Trinity have a long history. Trinity presented one of the first performances in North America in 1770, and The Choir of Trinity Wall Street and Trinity Baroque Orchestra are still widely regarded as some of the greatest interpreters of the work. In 2018, The New York Times described Trinity’s presentation as “perhaps the essential New York ‘Messiah.’ With the church’s choir and the Trinity Baroque Orchestra, Mr. Wachner provides gritty, gutsy, edge-of-the-seat performances.”
What Makes Trinity's Messiah Unique?
In a season full of Messiah performances, Trinity’s is unique—performed in a sacred space, on period instruments, with soloists from the choir to best complement each aria, air, and recitative. The New York Times has called it "the best Messiah in New York," featuring The Choir of Trinity Wall Street and Trinity Baroque Orchestra; Julian Wachner, conductor.
