It starts with a message of comfort before listeners are shepherded through the fast-moving and intricate telling of the prophesy, birth and resurrection of Christ.
George Frideric Handel’s “Messiah,” an ornate oratorio, has become a fixture during the holiday season. And this weekend, the Orange Coast College Chamber Singers will present a special rendition: The “El Mesías” performance will be entirely in Spanish.
“Much of the music we grew up on and learned on is from the Western European classical tradition, but our profession, like others, is challenged to branch out more and be more diverse and inclusive,” Eliza Rubenstein, Orange Coast College’s choral director and conductor, said of choosing this particular piece.
“I love the big masterworks of European music,” Rubenstein said, “but I also want to find ways for our music to bridge cultures and offer interesting and challenging experiences to our performers and audience members.”
The Chamber Singers will use a Spanish edition created by San Diego musician Rubén Valenzuela, the founder of Bach Collegium San Diego. Valenzuela thought to adapt the reverent classic into Spanish, he told the San Diego Union-Tribune in 2022, as he grew up hearing only excerpts of it translated into Spanish at his Los Angeles church.
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The Chamber Singers will be one of the first ensembles in the world to perform this version of the timeless work, said Rubenstein.
The ensemble began by learning and familiarizing themselves with the music, said Kayden Begg, a music student who sings bass in the choir.
They started with count singing — singing the notes to learn the rhythm and the music — before adding in the appropriate words. Not everyone in the ensemble speaks Spanish, Begg said, and so many learned the pronunciations together.
The Chamber Singers have performed in several languages, Rubenstein said, so learning the language was “probably the simplest of challenges.” The piece — which includes the boisterous “Hallelujah Chorus” — is fast-moving and complex with many notes.
“Messiah,” originally an Easter performance, was first performed in Dublin in 1742. The oratorio from Handel, a German-British composer, includes text of the King James version of the Bible from both the Old and New Testaments. It starts with the foretelling of a coming Messiah before deftly moving to the birth of Christ and then to the resurrection, iterated through choruses, solos and an orchestra.
“The birth of Christ is such an important story for so many people and so many cultures. To hear it retold in this new light — the same famous music, but in a new translation — really helps the message of deliverance of hope and new life,” said Begg, 22.
And despite the religious nature of “Messiah,” Rubenstein says the performance is meant to be universal for those who hear it.
“When you sing masterworks like this, you’re usually singing religious texts, specifically Christian texts,” said Rubenstein. “We often discuss how we find what’s universal in those stories. We don’t want anyone to feel like the music we make is just for people who believe the words.”
“One of the things that music allows us to do is to tell these well-known, well-worn stories and make them new again, make them surprising again,” she continued. “Most people who live in society know the Christmas story. But in music, we can still have those unexpected moments — silence, trumpet blares — and have the experience of living it in real-time.”
Saturday’s performance will be put on mostly by current OCC students, with a few alumni joining in as well, and a full orchestra.
Apropos of the composer, Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream will be available for purchase after the performance with proceeds benefiting OCC’s music program.
The OCC Chamber Singers will present “El Mesías” at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 9, at the Robert B. Moore Theater. Tickets are $10, and those interested are encouraged to purchase them ahead of time at the OCC Tickets website.
Parking is free and available in Lot C.
