Handel's Messiah

Last night I enjoyed a full performance of Handel's Messiah at the Vassar College Chapel in Poughkeepsie, New York.

I sat up front, right near the cellist David Bakamjian, who was playing an instrument from 1780. I sketched the central group of performers with the pipe organ in the background, using a water-soluble graphite pencil.

The singers of the Cappella Festiva and the Vassar College Choir really threw their heart into it, and together with the fine playing by the professional baroque orchestra (complete with trumpets from the period) the effect was triumphant and glorious. With three hours of concert time, there was lots of time to sketch.