Rockford Choral Union puts on 73rd annual presentation of Handel's 'Messiah' Nov. 24-25

George Frederic Handel's "Messiah" will be presented at 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 24 and Sunday, Nov. 25, at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Rockford.

These annual concerts will be held at a new location this year, returning to where it all started after World War II in 1945 to help bring peace and hope following the many years of trials and sorrows.

The performances feature four internationally know soloists, more than 120 singers representing 55 area churches with full Baroque chamber orchestra, pipe organ and harpsichord. This year Mike Beert, principal cellist with the Rockford Symphony Orchestra and professor of music at Rock Valley College, will be taking the baton in his first year as conductor of the Rockford Choral Union.

After 276 years the message of the "Messiah" remains a living testament to the One who came to bring peace and hope to the world, "The Lord Jesus Christ..." Every Thanksgiving weekend for 73 years Handel's "Messiah" has been presented by the RCU as a gift to the community. The work is one of the most performed of all in the classical genre.

The three-part oratorio written in the form of operas of the period without staging and acting tells the story of salvation of sinful man through Jesus Christ from prophecy, birth, rejection, death, resurrection, and His second coming. The complete libretto (text) uses 79 verses from both the Old and New Testaments as written in the King James Version of the Bible.

Donations will be appreciated. For more information please go to www.rockfordchoralunion.com.