http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/19/arts/music/messiah-by-the-philharmonic-and-the-trinity-choir.html 2014-12-19 01:25:41 ‘Messiah’ by the Philharmonic and the Trinity Choir Tradition and change were on the bill in the annual performances of “Messiah” by the New York Philharmonic and the Choir of Trinity Wall Street. === The perennial “Messiah” productions in New York split between change and sameness in varying degrees. The two that returned this week — those by the A certain amount of change has been built into the Philharmonic performances in recent years, as the orchestra has turned to a rotating roster of early-music conductors. This year, The changes can be subtle and hard to detect amid an orchestra of modern instruments playing at modern pitch (a half tone higher than Baroque). This year, for example, Mr. Wedow introduces a theorbo (a twanging, long-necked lute, played here by Daniel Swenberg) into the continuo mix, though its “marvelous sonorities,” as Mr. Wedow rightly calls them in a program note, scarcely register. More obvious is his introduction of a boy soprano in the recitatives of angelic prophecy. The 11-year-old Connor Tsui is utterly charming in his short proclamations, which he performs from memory (being, after all, a member of the Metropolitan Opera Children’s Chorus). But Mr. Wedow’s playing of a virginal, a small harpsichordlike instrument, to accompany those brief numbers, with a harpsichordist available, seems mere affectation. The curious-looking instrument stands in front of him throughout, almost wholly unused, as a mere distraction. Other elements of change include the vocal soloists, different from year to year. The standout this time is The Trinity performances, conducted over the last decade or so by Especially notable among the vocal soloists this year are Marie-Eve Munger and Jessica Muirhead, sopranos; Luthien Brackett, mezzo-soprano; Clifton Massey, countertenor; and Stephen Sands, tenor. Christopher Burchett, who handled most of the bass arias well on Wednesday, hit the shoals in his big number, “The Trumpet Shall Sound.” Was it a matter of trying too hard to impress? That, in any case, is where the performances at Avery Fisher and Trinity Church converged. In both, there were numerous instances of melodic embellishment run riot. Graceful (yes, the appropriate little ornaments used to be called graces), tasteful little turns and flourishes can add immeasurably to performances of Baroque music. But each of these offered several instances of gross display, with the music sometimes almost rewritten. It is hard to believe that much of this was, in the motto that Trinity has arrogated to its performance, “the way Handel intended.”