2016-17 Season

Robert Harris, The Globe and Mail. In this season of goodwill and compassion, spare a moment for the forgotten man of Christmas.
His name is Charles Jennens. You probably have never heard of him, but every Christmas, you probably listen to, if not sing, at least some of the words he crafted together.

Jennens is the man who assembled the texts for Handel’s Messiah. The very fact that we call it Handel’s Messiah demonstrates exactly how much we value Jennens’s contribution to the oratorio. Yet a compelling case can be made that it is Jennens’s compilation of biblical texts, most from the Old Testament, that is as responsible for Messiah’s enduring power as Handel’s music. A radical suggestion.

Michael Vincent, Musical Toronto. As for the chorus, the Toronto Mendelsohn Choir were on stage arranged on risers behind the orchestra. The aural effect was worthwhile. Rather than the typical arrangement of situating the chorus in the choir loft, on stage allowed for a centralised and cohesive reference emanating through the orchestra. TMC’s female voices were in particularly fine form, and the overall balance was both polished and powerful. I think we all agree how lucky we are in Toronto to have a choir like the TMC to keep choral music at such a high standard in our city.

Arthur Kaptainis, Montreal Gazette. Messiah watch: There was a time when I offered a ritual recommendation of the 1987 EMI Toronto Symphony/Toronto Mendelssohn Choir recording of Handel’s oratorio under Andrew Davis, which even at the time was swimming against the historicist flow by using fairly large forces. Now the British conductor has created a recording of his own “new concert edition,” which applies all manner of modern instrumental accoutrements to the masterpiece, marimba not excluded. Again the TSO and Toronto Mendelssohn Choir are the ensembles. The label is Chandos. I am sure Sir Andrew would agree that this should not be the only Messiah on your shelves. Certainly, it has its striking and high-spirited moments, but I find it rather like a walk through the toy department.

Brad Wheeler, The Globe and Mail. Captured live in December, 2015 (Sir Andrew Davis's reimagined Messiah), the recording features soloists Erin Wall, Elizabeth DeShong, Andrew Staples and John Relyea, along with the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. And while this second-coming album affords you the luxury to bust out your hallelujahs in the comfort of your own living room, automobile or wherever, there’s nothing like witnessing the Messiah in person.

Rupert Christiansen, Daily Telegraph. Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and Toronto Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir Andrew Davis, Chandos. 5 stars ... "For Unto Us a Child Is Born" and "All We Like Sheep" are highlights, sung by the superb 150-strong Toronto Mendelssohn Choir with a fugal exhilaration that doesn't preclude exemplary diction and precision. They are the starts of the show, but all four soloists are excellent too.

David Olds, The Wholenote December 2016 review of Chandos recording of Handel Messiah: this new recording does the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and, indeed, Toronto itself proud.