Messiah

A 57-year-old George Frederick Handel composed his most famous oratorio, "Messiah," in a shockingly short 24-day span in the summer of 1741.His career had been foundering. Indifferent reactions by the London public to his recent works made him wonder whether he had overstayed his welcome in the British capital. Some thought he might be on the verge of returning to his native Hanover, Germany.That fall, Handel set off for a lengthy tour of Ireland. Packed in his bags were the score and parts of his latest oratorio, which was set for its premiere in April 1742 in Dublin.

"Messiah," by Andrei Codrescu. Simon & Schuster. 366 pages. $25.The ending of every story, according to this book, is an illusion.Stories, it declares, go on long after both the teller and the telling are finished."Messiah" could have gone on for another thousand pages and still Codrescu -- serving up Scheherazade on the half-shell -- would not have been done.By turns, the story takes place in two of the most fascinating cities on Earth: New Orleans and Jerusalem. The simultaneous sanctity and profanity of those capitals allow the author, the world-class free associator known as the poet Andrei Codrescu, to twist his Transylvanian heart out.Because the novel is about the end of the world (as we know it)

"Signs and Wonders," by Melvin Jules Bukiet. St. Martins Press. 376 pages. $26.It must have seemed like a good idea at the time, an over-the-top novel about the millennium in which the messiah reappears in Germany as a Jewish youth last seen alive on his way to the ovens of Bergen-Belsen.And how much better if this messiah first reveals himself to a group of 11 convicts -- including the last incarcerated Nazi war criminal -- sharing a cell on a prison barge (read ark) that breaks apart during a storm, then walks on water with his cellmates to the shore, recruits a local fisherman as a 12th disciple, raises the aforementioned Obersturmbannfuhrer from the dead twice (no less)

THE COMMUNITY spirit in Taneytown is contagious these days. It seems that not too many weekends go by without the city or one of its community groups sponsoring a festival, cleanup or other function or celebration.Beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday, the town's economic council will sponsor the Home and Garden Show. Begun last year as the Plant and Flower Mart with 12 vendors, the event's purpose is for people to visit Taneytown, leave their cares behind and enjoy a day at the park -- and in the process learn what a good place Taneytown is, according to Pam Harlow and Melissa Harris, co-chairs of the event.

THE REV. LAURA Schultz of Messiah United Methodist hopes that every church with extra space in her community would take in every child in town for nurturing, guidance, sharing of positive values and fun.Nearly two years ago, at her church's annual strategic planning meeting, church members decided that what they could best offer in their role of a small church in a small town was an outreach to teens in the neighborhood.Taneytown was growing, and too many kids were without something to do after school.

Four days after the 12 days of Christmas, two area high schools are joining forces to celebrate the holidays.It may seem an odd time to do Handel's "Messiah," says Carole Frederick, choir director at Severna Park High School, but the weeks before Christmas were "too hectic, with all the other concerts we have to do.""Besides, I wanted it to be set apart and special," she says. "And it's close enough to Twelfth Night [Jan. 6] to count."So she and Jane Daugherty, choir director at Broadneck High School, are combining their best ensembles, each with 62 voices, with the 12-member Maryland Hall Chamber Orchestra, seven soloists and choral alumni of the two schools to do the Christmas portion of "Messiah."

The No. 4 Maryland women's team brushed aside 12th-ranked Dartmouth, 16-7, yesterday at College Park for its fourth straight victory since beginning the season with losses to Duke and North Carolina."

GRANTHAM, Pa. -- Down 3-1 in penalty kicks in sudden-death overtime, Johns Hopkins' soccer team converted its last five, tTC including the game-winner by Rosario Chiarenza, to overcome Messiah, 5-4, in last night's NCAA Division III Mid-Atlantic Regional final.The Blue Jays (18-1-2) will face the winner of today's Rowan/Richard Stockton game in next weekend's Division III quarterfinal.Jake Sauer gave Messiah (17-4-1) a 1-0 lead at the 64-minute mark before Sam Steinman tied the score at the 84th minute.

ONE OF THE great mysteries of life -- ranking right up there with the Bermuda Triangle -- is exactly how Jesse Jackson became the country's premier black leader. It couldn't have been by election. I certainly don't remember ever voting for this fool.But premier black leader he is. Polls show it. But more than the polls attest to Jackson's primacy as a leader. We owe the fact that black Americans now call themselves African-Americans to Jackson's charisma.It was he who proposed the change years ago. Blacks didn't accept it as a suggestion to be discussed.

Here richly, with ridiculous display,The Politician's corpse was laid away.While all of his acquaintance sneered and slanged,I wept; for I had longed to see him hanged.-- Hillaire Belloc, ''Epitaph on the Politician Himself''BOULDER, Colo. -- Few would have believed that Ferdinand Marcos would be as interesting dead as alive. The few who did were right. The rest of us are simply surprised.Following Marcos' death, it will be recalled, there was an extended period during which neither his corpse nor his widow was permitted to return to the Philippines from Hawaii, the state to which they moved in 1986 after deciding the Philippines was no longer hospitable.

On May 19, 2009 VIRGINIA W. CULLEY (nee Wilmot); beloved wife of the late Rev. Alfred W. Culley; dear aunt of Preston, Paula and Peter Phelps. A Funeral Service will be celebrated at the Church of the Messiah on Friday 11 a.m. Interment Woodlawn Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to The Church of the Messiah, 5801 Harford Road, Baltimore, MD 21214.

The faces were pink with the season's cold. The eyes - all 50, in fact - were as wide as saucers, following every sweep of the conductor's hand. "Let the music that you play/ Make you joyful all the day," trilled voices that sounded angelic as they soared to the rafters of the old church. At yesterday's rehearsal of the Handel Children's Choir, a vocal group for kids ages 4 to 17, spirits seemed high, given the news the organization had just gotten. The Handel Choir of Baltimore announced last week that it would disband the children's group after eight largely successful years.

Navy introduces warship USS Freedom at Academy The U.S. Navy's newest warship, the USS Freedom, will visit the Naval Academy in Annapolis today through Monday during its maiden voyage from the Great Lakes to Norfolk. The ship will be open for public visitation from 12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. tomorrow, on a first-come, first-serve basis. Visitors may walk through Gate 1 (King George Street) and Gate 3 (Maryland Avenue) and should be prepared to show a government-issued photo identification. Handicapped individuals with proper decals may drive through Gate 1 after a vehicle inspection.

Comfort ye who prefer Handel's Messiah just the way it was written in 1741. The version of the beloved oratorio being performed this weekend by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Morgan State University Choir may seem as if it has gone astray like sheep at first, but ev'ry worry is bound to be made low once the familiar music starts exalting to a new beat. Billed as Too Hot to Handel and subtitled "The Gospel Messiah," this kinetic reworking of a baroque masterpiece refashions the music through several contemporary styles - jazz, R&B and rock, as well as gospel.

The American Opera Theater, founded in 2002 by Peabody alumnus Timothy Nelson, has spiced up recent seasons with such novelties as a circus-themed version of Handel's Acis and Galatea, complete with a soprano singing an aria while slowly spinning upside down. So it ought to be very interesting to see what this group does in what is billed as a "fully staged production" of Handel's oratorio Messiah. Nelson promises "an ecumenical portrait of human struggle and redemption in an abstract, dramatic style that is at once ritual and theater."

It's Messiah time again, when choral groups large and small tackle Handel's stirring oratorio. Looking around at this year's many performances, some offer extra points of interest. Consider American Opera Theater's staged Messiah in Washington and Baltimore. Yes, staged, more or less like an opera. This company, directed by Timothy Nelson, has livened up past seasons with such imaginative productions as Charpentier's David and Jonathan and Handel's Acis and Galatea (set in a circus tent)

Once in his 22 years of directing the Annapolis Chorale, J. Ernest Green decided that the group would not perform George Frideric Handel's Messiah. It was not a wise move. "The public response was fast and vigorous," he said. "People were just absolutely incredulous that we were not doing it." Green quickly reinstated Messiah the next year, and this year he will conduct three performances -- one by candlelight, one with guest student singers and a shorter one for families -- to accommodate the music's fans.

Georg Friedrich Handel conducted 29 performances of Messiah during his lifetime. Laurence Bory of Columbia is about to tie Handel's record. At 7:30 p.m. Sunday, the 93-year-old amateur singer will lift his voice in his 29th performance of Messiah with Columbia Pro Cantare, under the direction of conductor Frances Motyca Dawson. Bory, returning to join in the Handel concert after retiring from the chorus four years ago, relates that Messiah "is an inspiration for me each time I sing it." An amateur chorus of 150 singers acclaimed beyond its home in Columbia, Pro Cantare has offered Messiah to the Howard County community since 1984.

Hallelujah! That word will ring out 78 times during the Columbia Pro Cantare's performance of Handel's Messiah at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Jim Rouse Theatre at Wilde Lake High School. The performance will include most of the music in part one (the Christmas story) of Handel's three-part oratorio, as well as excerpts from part two (Christ's suffering on earth, death and resurrection) and part three (the salvation of humankind). Performances of Messiah are a holiday tradition that can be enjoyed in many ways, but live performances are particularly vivid because of the power of the story and the music.

Salisbury became the first team in NCAA Division III history to win three consecutive field hockey titles with a 1-0 win over Messiah in the national championship game yesterday at Washington and Lee University. "It's unbelieveable. This really hasn't set in yet, but wow," said Sea Gulls coach Dawn Chamberlin, whose team finished 21-1. Defender Sarah Tracey scored the game-winning goal on a pass from Brittany Elliott off a penalty corner at the 40:09 mark to give the Sea Gulls the lone goal of the game.