Resurgam, IBO/Skidmore

Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin

Handel — Messiah.

HANDEL INTENDED his seminal oratorio Messiahas an opera for the mind's eye. Its division into three parts is a relic of pious rebranding: the composer's preferred term was acts.

Act I represents the most sustained application of Handel's theatrical genius to the patchwork of biblical references concocted by his librettist Charles Jennens. Act II contains some of the most enduring music of all time, yet at its core a sequence of short-winded arias and choruses threatens the drama with disintegration. Needless to say, with the Hallelujah chorus and the meaty numbers of Act III, things more than regain their poise.

In this unabridged, period-instrument performance by the Irish Baroque Orchestra and the Resurgam chamber choir, guest conductor Jeffrey Skidmore took a sweeping and ebullient approach to the work's vast proportions and dramatic inequalities. This brought out both the cogency of Act I and the patchiness of Act II, and meant that while there was no risk of protraction in the more extended arias, some of the shorter movements seemed to whizz past without fully making their point.

Textbook niceties of Baroque rhythm and articulation were clearly lower on Skidmore's list of priorities than the sheer pleasure of melody making, and tuneful sonorities characterised not only the violin parts but also, and conspicuously, those of the bass instruments. The slick sixteen voices of Resurgam dispatched their decorative chorus work with precision, clarity, and seeming effortlessness.

With only a few exceptions, the alto solos proved impracticably low for the specialised range of countertenor Stephen Wallace, while soprano Deirdre Moynihan's agility and stylish rhythmic sense were offset by some pronounced vibrato and a slight dryness of voice. Baritone Gregory Skidmore and tenor Eamonn Mulhall, however, delivered sustaining power and tonal panache in equally impressive share.