Pardon the tardy post – but the holidays are upon us, and blogging time is scarce. But I’ve just GOT to tell you about the CSO’s jaunty, very different performance of Handel’s Messiah: the world’s most popular large-scale choral work. It happened Thursday before last at the Citadel’s well-filled Summerall Chapel.

Compared to what most of you have heard before around here, this Messiah was very different: lean, lithe, and fast. Conductor Scott Terrell’s interpretation was obviously influenced by the “Period Performance” (PP) movement that has emerged in recent decades. This important musical trend seeks to restore authentic sound and spirit to ancient music, reviving performance characteristics that have been lost over the centuries. PP advocates seek to deliver such music as its composers originally meant it to sound.

That generally means smaller ensembles, brisker tempos, and lighter sound. Singers and players alike are coached to produce thinner-sounding “straight tones,” mainly by avoiding heavy vibrato. It also means an entirely different stylistic approach: “push-pull” phrasing, more rhythmic energy and a more freewheeling, improvisatory delivery.

The final PP ingredient is, of course, original period instruments, or their replicas; the use of gut strings and special bows – plus other “precursor” instruments: like the bassett horn (clarinet), the recorder or transverse flute, and the Oboe d’Amore – among others. The CSO, of course, is stuck with their “modern” instruments: just about the only PP component that was missing from this performance.

Otherwise, Thursday’s outing was about as “Baroque” as it gets. The 40-voice CSO Chamber Chorus sounded appropriately lean and clear, with crisp execution and sprightly style. They generally kept up well with Terrell’s often headlong tempos and period dynamics – but they sounded a bit “pushed” here and there, and a couple of their tricky, high-speed melismatic passages were a little smudgy. That sometimes happens when you try to sing difficult music too fast (and nobody will tell you that Messiah is easy to sing).

Likewise, my first impression was that the orchestra’s playing often sounded behind-the-beat … but then I remembered Summerall Chapel’s infamous acoustics. And well I should; I sang there every Sunday for four years as a member of the Cadet Chapel Choir.

I speak of that spacious stone edifice’s heavy, often frustrating reverberation. Echoed sound, taking several seconds to die away, fosters the “aural illusion” that notes are being held longer than they should be – and that also tends to make fast or intricate passages sound muddy. But careful attention to downbeats revealed (to me, at least) that the musicians were mostly dead-on. And they did a great job of simulating the authentic Baroque sound on their modern instruments.

The soloists were, for the most part, true to essential Baroque vocal conventions. They delivered fleet, florid singing, with the freedom to improvise vocal embellishments as they wished. Scott Scully was an ideal “oratorio tenor,” blessed with a sweet, clear instrument – but he could make it ring at need. Ryan Taylor’s powerful baritone impressed – especially his resounding high notes and awesome breath control. But I wondered why one of the signature bass arias (“Why do the nations so furiously rage”) was omitted, along with several other solo and choral numbers.

Soprano Angela Gilbert’s singing was a shimmering, emotionally intense delight – and Mezzo-soprano Fenlon Lamb sounded juicy and heartfelt. But, as a friend pointed out, her vocal richness and big vibrato made her sound sometimes like she was singing Carmen – not Handel.

Summing up, perfect it wasn’t – but most enjoyable it was … and it certainly introduced many local listeners to a vital and far-reaching musical trend.

And the CSO isn’t finished with Messiah yet: grab your score and join me at 6:00 p.m. this Sunday (Dec 21) at Citadel Square Baptist Church for their “sing-along” performance.