Handel's "Messiah" by the Paul Kuentz Choir and Orchestra - Sunday, December 31 at 3:30 pm

On Sunday December 31st at 3.30pm, an exceptional New Year’s Eve concert will take place in Chartres Cathedral: Paul Kuentz, his famous orchestra and choir (100 artists), will perform a program devoted to Handel’s masterpiece: Messiah, an oratorio for choir, vocal soloists and orchestra.

After abandoning opera, Handel composed his Messiah in 1741 (in 24 days…). It was in Dublin that he premiered his most accomplished work, the one that audiences have always recognized as an imperishable masterpiece. The Dublin Journal noted: “The Sublime, the Great, and the Tender, adapted to the highest words, majestic and lively, conspired to transport and charm the heart and ear with rapture”. The musician had to redo his work twice more. Between 1741 and 1759, Messiah was sung 69 times during the composer’s lifetime, and Handel conducted it a further 8 days before his death.


Handel composed in terms of dramatic visualization: “As I wrote the Alleluia, I saw heaven open and God appear before me”, he would confess. If Messiah inspires such vivid emotion in the audience – all audiences, believers and atheists alike – it’s precisely because every moment was lived intensely and felt by the composer in a tremor of his whole being.

Paul Kuentz will be conducting for the third time at Chartres Cathedral. The first time was with the celebrated flautist Jean-Pierre Rampal, and the second on June 10, 2022, to celebrate the restoration of the choir tower.
On the last day of 2023, at 3:30 p.m., he will give this sacred concert, featuring Handel’s greatest masterpiece, Messiah.

Admission is free for this concert – a free contribution to costs is welcome.

This concert is supported by the Chartres Sanctuaire du Monde association.