Join us for a breathtaking performance of Handel’s Messiah! Experience the masterpiece on 29 March at Croydon Minster.

Handel’s Messiah is a cherished choral masterpiece often performed in grand venues. However, its origins are quite different. Handel, a German émigré, came to London to pursue a career in Italian opera. When opera was banned during Lent and Advent, he adapted by composing oratorios, which were musically similar but not staged theatrically. Messiah was composed in just three weeks in 1742 and first performed in Dublin’s Great Music Hall, owned by The Bull’s Head Tavern. Handel even borrowed Dublin’s Cathedral Choirs for the performance. This piece, born out of pragmatism and creativity, has since become a cornerstone of classical music.

The Choir of Croydon Minster
Whitgift Chamber Choir
Oxford Bach Soloists

Philippa Hyde, soprano
Katherine Nicholson, mezzo soprano
Sebastian Hill, tenor
Jonathan Brown, baritone
Justin Miller, conductor