Raising our voices: ‘Messiah' sings a tradition in Lima

LIMA — Handel's “Messiah” has long been a Lima tradition.

Composed in 1741, “Messiah” was first performed the following year in Europe. It has become a Christmas tradition, although its text also deals with the Easter season.

As Lima was beginning to come into its own in the 1870s, thanks to an influx of industrial money and a general forward-thinking attitude, the “Messiah” began to be performed locally.

A group of singers started meeting in the 1870s to sing works they considered important and cultured, and Handel's work was near the top of the list. Amelia Halter Davis, a well-known local soprano, was in those early meetings and in her later years shared her thoughts about the group that would become the Lima Choral Society.

“My mother's home was closed to the drama but always open to music, so on Sunday afternoons we put in our time singing, and the ‘Messiah' by Handel was first sung in our home. We only had three or four copies, but the Welsh had most of the oratorio memorized, as also the Germans, for only the works of the great masters was sung in foreign countries at that time,” she wrote in a journal on record at the Allen County Historical Society.

The group first met in February 1875 and in a few months' time had achieved honor. On Oct. 3, 1875, the group took first prize for its performance of the “Hallelujah Chorus” at the Delphos Eisteddfod, a Welsh singing competition.

“We hope that this may not be the last of these concerts and that the citizens of Lima will take an interest in these societies who are striving to master the best style of vocal music,” a newspaper story reported Oct. 21, 1875.

The group gave a program in Lima that Christmas season, but it wasn't well patronized. The Lima Club sponsored a second concert, eager to promote such a cultural event.

A note publicizing the society's regular meetings was published March 11, 1884.

“It is desired that there be a full turnout of the members, as active work on the ‘Messiah' has been commenced, and it is essential that each member be present to have his full share of the work,” the notice reported. All those interested in joining were invited to attend.

The singers were accompanied by piano and a small orchestra for their concert May 28, 1884, at Faurot's Opera House. It was a Wednesday night, and the next day's newspapers described quite the concert.

“They worked hard and have been repaid, not only by a large and pleased audience, but by praises from all who were fortunate enough to listen to the grand and sublime — it reached sublimity — music that is comprised in this great masterpiece of Handel's. ... They sang with the most accurate time, the melody being as distinct at times almost as if it were a single note. The audience, we can safely say, was surprised for they did not expect such excellent training from the chorus. They did well, showing that they had been directed by a man who understood just what to do.”

The only snag was the soprano took ill the night of the concert, but she rallied and performed in the second act.

This performance of the “Messiah” opened the proverbial floodgates for concerts in Lima. In 1893, newspaper notices report it was sung in Delphos and excerpts were performed at the cornerstone laying of Lima College. By the early 1900s, the performances started to be scheduled around Christmas and at churches. The Congregational Church was a favorite location, and Memorial Hall was also a popular venue.

And in 1915, a note from Bluffton reported the Bluffton College Choral Society would sing the “Messiah” with a chorus of 300 voices, a 20-piece orchestra and piano.

“The development of this large chorus in a school that is relatively small speaks for the rapid strides forward that the Conservatory of Music of the college is making since it secured a new building,” a Dec. 15, 1915, newspaper story reported.

That same year, Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church, at Market and West streets, was hosting a concert, and First Christian Church did so in 1919. The Ohio Northern Choral Society soon joined in for an annual presentation, and before long, many church choirs were giving it their all for Christmas services.

By the 1930s, there was a Gomer Community Chorus concert, and combined church choir events in Kenton, Pandora, Delphos and Wapakoneta.

In 1947, Grace Methodist Church, at Kibby and Elizabeth streets, held a Sunday afternoon concert that newspapers reported had some 2,000 people in attendance, eager to listen to the Lima Choral Society in cooperation with 14 church choirs.

Through the years, concerts continued. Although now a bit smaller in scope, concerts of the “Messiah” still include many church choirs in this area with Bluffton University being the usual leader.