Handel: Messiah – (Beecham / Goosens version) 2026

Musical Director Robert Dean comments:

When I was a young boy, my sister bought a 7 inch EP of choruses from this beloved piece. She had primarily bought it for the “Hallelujah” chorus but it also contained “And the glory of the Lord” and “Glory to God” choruses, This was recorded well before the authentic movement re-imagined the piece and these choruses were taken from a complete recording of a version orchestrated by Sir Eugene Goossens, commisioned and conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham. Being a maverick when it came to his realisations of Baroque choral works, he had wanted a new version orchestrated as Handel might have done it had he had the resources of a modern orchestra available to him and so he asked Goossens “to throw the kitchen sink at it”. As a result, for some years I always assumed the Hallelujah Chorus began with a cymbal crash! Roll on some 40 years when the late Richard Hickox revived the ‘Goossens Messiah’ for a performance in the Royal Albert Hall for which I was the Chorus Master. On hearing again the wonderfuly outlandish colours conjured up, I determined there and then to conduct this version myself if ever the opportunity arose, however disapproving the authenticists might be. I am happy to say this opportunity has now presented itself and I am thrilled to be conducting a performance where the astonishing and colourful re-imagining of the score, set for a Verdi Requiem size orchestra but which also includes a harp and three percussionists, will startle and intrigue you! Because of its very inauthenticity, it is nowadays seldom performed but deserves an outing, particularly accompanying the size of choir which we hope to field for this.

Robert got his wish on 28 February 2026 when 178 Oxford Orpheus singers, and an Oxford Sinfonia Orchestra of 50, performed at the Town Hall before a delighted audience of 275.

A retiring collection raised £1092 for the Choir with No Name. Our Trustees are deciding how best to distribute our overall final surplus of more than £10,000 between Choir with No Name, our other charity for 2026 the Oxford Bach Choir’s Schools Choral Project, and the charities we have supported in previous years.