{"id":1124,"date":"2016-11-17T18:39:36","date_gmt":"2016-11-18T00:39:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.praeclara.org\/?page_id=1124"},"modified":"2018-03-24T17:16:37","modified_gmt":"2018-03-24T22:16:37","slug":"handels-messiah-christmas-selections","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.praeclara.org\/?page_id=1124","title":{"rendered":"Handel&#8217;s Messiah: Christmas Selections"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Thursday, Dec. 8<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>&#8212; 7:30 p.m.<\/strong><br \/>\n800 Scott St., Little Rock, AR \u00a072201<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Music by\u00a0George Frideric Handel\u00a0|\u00a0Conducted by Bevan Keating<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.praeclara.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/first-pres-organ-pipes.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-1125\" src=\"https:\/\/www.praeclara.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/first-pres-organ-pipes-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"First Presbyterian organ pipes\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.praeclara.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/first-pres-organ-pipes-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.praeclara.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/first-pres-organ-pipes-113x150.jpg 113w, https:\/\/www.praeclara.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/first-pres-organ-pipes.jpg 750w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/a>Performances of Handel\u2019s Messiah are a popular Christmas tradition, typically sung by large choirs accompanied by rows of symphony players. This December, however, Praeclara offers a completely different take on Handel\u2019s holiday standard, performed in the stunning acoustic of First Presbyterian Church in downtown Little Rock.<\/p>\n<p>This concert spotlights First Presbyterian\u2019s exceptional organ in place of the more familiar orchestra. The First Presbyterian Church organ is a world-class instrument built in 2004 by Little Rock\u2019s own organ-building company, Nichols &amp; Simpson. Constructed according to the highest standards of craftsmanship and quality, the assembly of the organ took more than a year, and it is recognized by both local and national organists as the premier instrument of its kind in the state.<\/p>\n<p>Virtuoso organist Adam Savacool will demonstrate the magnificent power and range of this instrument during this performance by using it not as a baroque keyboard, but as an entire orchestra in its own right. He is joined by the sixteen members of the Praeclara vocal company, a group of professional singers who will perform both the choral movements and the soloist movements from the Christmas section of Handel&#8217;s oratorio with no backup\u00a0from a large ensemble. This concert offers Arkansas classical music lovers a rare opportunity to experience precise and passionate singing combined with some of the world\u2019s finest organ music in an intimate setting.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Photo credits: Organ photo courtesy of First Presbyterian Church of Little Rock.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thursday, Dec. 8\u00a0&#8212; 7:30 p.m. 800 Scott St., Little Rock, AR \u00a072201 &nbsp; Music by\u00a0George Frideric Handel\u00a0|\u00a0Conducted by Bevan Keating Performances of Handel\u2019s Messiah are a popular Christmas tradition, typically sung by large choirs accompanied by rows of symphony players. This December, however, Praeclara offers a completely different take on\u2026<\/p>\n<p class=\"continue-reading-button\"> <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.praeclara.org\/?page_id=1124\">Continue reading<i class=\"crycon-right-dir\"><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":1383,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1124","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.praeclara.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1124","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.praeclara.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.praeclara.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.praeclara.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.praeclara.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1124"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.praeclara.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1124\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.praeclara.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.praeclara.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}