And from that time [1743] to the present, this great work has been heard in all parts of the kingdom with increasing reverence and delight; it has fed the hungry, clothed the naked, fostered the orphan, and enriched succeeding managers of Oratorios, more than any single musical production in this or any country. (Charles Burney)

At the beginning of the twentieth century, Handel’s Messiah still enjoyed a special reverential status as the most widely performed oratorio in Britain. In her autobiography, Isobel Baillie notes that ‘practically every Anglican and Non-Conformist church of any size would give an annual rendition of Messiah.’ It is surprising, therefore, that the Oxford Harmonic Society did not perform Messiah for over twenty years until 1943. Partly this was because the early concerts were made up of shorter pieces, often by contemporary composers, and it was only gradually that oratorios and the more substantial works of the choral repertoire were introduced, starting with Haydn’s Creation, Bach’s Christmas Oratorio and Purcell’s King Arthur. Perhaps also this was something to do with the Bach revival that had taken place in Oxford with the formation of the Bach Choir. In the war years, the choir performed the St John Passion once and the St Matthew Passion twice. Be that as it may, on 7 March 1943, George Thewlis conducted the choir’s first performance of Messiah with the Oxford Chamber Orchestra and Isobel Baillie, Eileen Pilcher, Eric Greene and Henry Cummings as the soloists.Continue Reading