Some weeks ago, I had a conversation with Masterwork’s longest-standing member, Priscilla Hartwell. I asked her what her favorite Messiah performance was (she’s done hundreds with Masterwork). She related a moment decades ago, when the chorus was still under the direction of David Randolph.
The chorus was getting ready to sing “And with his stripes we are healed,” which is usually sung at a pretty fast pace. Randolph was, in fact, known for conducing fleet Messiahs, usually running through the piece in well under three hours. This performance, however, was different. He raised his baton to begin the piece, and all of a sudden, an idea hit him.
“Watch me,” he mouthed to the orchestra and chorus members.
And then, unrehearsed and unplanned, he began conducting the song in half time, slower than they had every performed it.
Every chorus member, she reported, watched him intently, as they had no idea where he was going with this. He started pianissimo, and gradually brought the volume up so the piece swelled.
“And oh, it gave me chills!” Priscilla recalled.
From then on, Randolph conducted it that way every single time, making it his signature with Masterwork.
Here is the piece for reference (not Masterwork) – and for the record, it’s one of my favorite sections of the Messiah!