I’m back from a week with La Chapelle de Quebec/ Les Violons du Roy, conducted by Bernard Labadie. I’d forgotten what a genius Handel was. The  work predates his more famous work, “Messiah,” by a few years, but has all the drama and hummable tunes of Messiah, as well as movements which fans of his other works might find familiar.

Best thing about Israel in Egypt, to a chorister? It’s all about us, baby. The choir barely shuts up for the 80-or minutes it takes to perform the work. And what a range of styles — it’s like a little compendium of all of Handel’s choral techniques , as well as seeming prescient of work which will come much later (the pulsing, fragmented line and wind solos of the opening movement   are similar to Mozart’s “Requiem”, and later orchestra moments almost suggest Brahms).

My favourite part as  a singer is not the fire-and-brimstone of the runs in movements such as “he smote all the firstborn of Egypt”, but instead the more sedate “Egypt was glad when they departed.” It starts out like a slice of renaissance polyphony,  before being jolted into the 18th century by the trombone entry. It’s hard to pull off with shape  and emotions yet not overdramatization. The lines are so gratifying—  we altos cut through like laser beams at one moment, then pull back and melt. Good times for a singer!

Our performance: CBC Radio, Choral Concert, April 15, 8 - 10 AM in any Canadian timezones (or you can time shift by listening online)