This Easter choirmaster Gareth Malone will be coaching eight people with no experience of classical choral music to sing Handel’s Messiah, alongside the world-class BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Chorus of Wales, at Cardiff’s Llandaff Cathedral, in aid of BBC Children in Need.
Handel’s Messiah is the nation’s favourite choral work and has a deep personal significance for Gareth. But despite having known, loved and sung Messiah since he was a boy, this will be his first time conducting a performance.
It’s Gareth’s toughest challenge yet, offering his new recruits an opportunity of a lifetime.
Gareth Malone said: “Handel’s Messiah was one of the very first concerts that I went to as a child with my parents, and it’s a work that my Welsh grandmother sang in a choir. So, I am shouting Hallelujah to the rafters to be sharing this magnificent work with eight complete newbie choral singers. I will relish going on this adventure with them, many of whom are overcoming personal challenges, building to the concert of a lifetime for both them and me.”
In the series he whittles down hundreds of applications to the chosen eight - Foo Seng, Nia, Harry, Rosie, Aaron, Ami-Louise, Naomi, and Richard. All eight have their own personal stories and motivations, including Naomi, who has been diagnosed with secondary breast cancer, and Richard, who recently lost his wife to the disease.
Naomi said:
“This opportunity shone a great deal of light into those dark weeks of winter. That light it created continues to shine and illuminate my life now. The music, the harmonies, the focus, the challenge, the joy and the comradeship with the other singers really fuelled me through that time and beyond.
“I’ve never been very convinced that my voice was any good. This project has given me a confidence and belief in myself and my voice.
“I feel very privileged and thankful to have had this experience. The beauty, joy and catharsis that I found in listening to and participating in Handel’s Messiah had such a positive impact on my mental health and state of mind.”
All eight singers will be stretched to their limits by a gruelling rehearsal schedule, but will their enthusiasm and hard work for this once-in-a-lifetime challenge be enough for the most important performance of their lives? Will they be able to handle the Handel?
Interwoven with the singing, the series sees Gareth dig deeper into the history of Messiah, its religious meaning and its place in British culture over many generations. He visits Halifax Choral Society which has performed the work annually for 206 consecutive years and meets early music expert Dr Hannah French at Handel’s home in London’s Mayfair. He also spends time with Cardiff vicar, Father Jarel Robinson-Brown, looking at artworks that help explain the theme of Handel’s Messiah: the life of Christ.
This series was produced by Somersault Studio.
The two one-hour documentaries will broadcast on BBC One and BBC One Wales on the mornings of Good Friday and Easter Sunday. The two-hour broadcast of the performance will be shown on the evening of Easter Sunday on BBC Two and BBC Two Wales.
All three episodes will be available to watch on BBC iPlayer.