2017 Concert Series Messiah | Page 5

us a son is born” was made to light up with toe-tapping, dance-like joy. The music still carries a unique blend of sympathy and solemnity in the salutation “Behold the Lamb of God”. Even the bewildering complexity of the Doctrine of Last Things seems immediately clear through the mighty music that Handel conjured up for “The Trumpet Shall Sound”. Most of all, one doesn’t have to be a Christian and/or a believer to get the full impact of this music and its message. Here, an immortal story is told in unforgettable music, and at the end we all feel so much better for having been led through the experience one more time. Copyright © Heath Lees 2017 An open-air performance of Messiah in front of the site of Neal’s Great Musick Hall, Fishamble Street, Dublin. 5