By PETER GILLMAN
On song: the Croydon Philharmonic Choir performs the Messiah at the Fairfield Halls next month
Andrew Moore’s first performance as the music director of the Croydon Philharmonic Choir will be none other than Handel’s Messiah, one of the greatest – and most testing – pieces of the entire choral canon.
Moore took over as music director at the CPC in September. He will be conducting the Messiah at the Fairfield Halls on Saturday December 19 at 2.30pm, guiding the 70-strong choir and the orchestra of the renowned London Mozart Players, together with some distinguished soloists and guests from the Bromley Youth Music Trust Adult Choir.
Moore says he is expecting to feel “both thrilled and a little nervous” on the big day.
“Messiah is a work every conductor must reckon with sooner or later, and I am delighted that my time with the Croydon Philharmonic begins with one,” he said.
The Messiah also occupies a significant place in the choir’s 112-year history.
The Croydon Philharmonic has been rehearsing the Messiah for two months, getting to grips with its complex rhythms and harmonies, as well as its soaring high notes and extended running note sequences (known as melismas). “It asks a great deal of every singer and gives back more,” Moore said.
Mighty challenge: music director Andrew Moore
Most of the choir members, it should be said, relish the challenges the Messiah poses. “You finish rehearsals feeling drained but happy,” said one.
Handel composed the Messiah in 1741, completing it in just over three weeks. It was first performed in Dublin in April 1742, the proceeds from that concert going to charities including one for men held in the Dublin debtors’ prisons. The work quickly became part of the regular choral calendar, originally performed at Easter, now a fixture at Christmas.
The performance will be especially meaningful for the choir in light of its distinguished history. The Croydon Philharmonic Choir sang the Messiah soon after it was founded at the start of World War I, the proceeds of that concert assisting Belgian refugees fleeing from the German invasion.
The choir sang it again at a Thanksgiving for Peace concert in 1919. That was the concert at which the choir adopted its current name (having previously sung as the Croydon Sacred Harmonic Society).
The Messiah was sung again at a concert to celebrate the end of World War II. The choir’s historians calculate that next month’s concert will be the 15th time Croydon Philharmonic Choir has performed the Messiah.
The Messiah tells the Christian story from the prophecies of the Messiah’s coming, through the nativity and to the crucifixion and resurrection. It touches universal themes of grief and pain, joy and awe.
The Messiah features four soloists who relate the narrative, but it is mostly the chorus who convey the emotion of the work. The best-known section is the Hallelujah Chorus, which transports the mood from quiet reverence to triumphant jubilation.
The Chorus will be familiar to the seven members of the Croydon Male Voice Choir who are joining their musical neighbours for the concert. The Chorus is part of the CMVC’s repertoire – although with some subtle variations that will keep the seven on their toes.
Moore is also the CMVC’s music director. From Northern Ireland, at 28 Moore is younger than most members of both choirs. He was selected for the CMVC post in 2024.
He recalls that a conducting teacher once told him that the Messiah has “a little bit of everything” for anyone who hears it – a key reason why it was chosen for the December 19 concert.
“It is deeply loved, and belongs to everybody.”
Standard tickets for the concert cost £30 (£5 for under-16s).
Click here to book: https://www.fairfield.co.uk/events/handels-messiah-2026
The Croydon Philharmonic Choir will be singing again on Tuesday December 22 at its traditional Christmas Cheer Concert, staged at St Matthew’s Church in Chichester Road (start 7.30pm).
The Croydon Male Voice Choir performs its own Christmas Concert at West Wickham’s Emmanuel Church on Saturday December 12 (start 7.30pm).
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