The Sackville Festival of Early Music is normally in hibernation at this time of year, making plans behind the scenes for what will be on offer next fall. But this year the festival has partnered with Nova Scotia’s Musique Royale to bring a performance of Handel’s Messiah to the Mount Allison Chapel on December 18.
SFEM co-director Christina Haldane says the partnership is a “joyous connection” between the two groups. The production will have a “chamber music aesthetic,” says Haldane. “Often, when we think of Handel’s Messiah, we imagine large forces and many voices and instruments joining together,” she says. “However, the original scoring for this piece was actually for 10 instruments.” The SFEM production will feature nine, as well as a chamber choir including singers from the Sackville festival’s Ensemble SFEM and Musique Royale’s Ménestral Singers.
