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On December 8, 2002 I attended The Adelphian Concert Choir & University Madrigal Singer’s Christmas concert. I was excited although not surprised to see Handel’s Messiah at the end of the program. A former choir member myself, I am accustomed to singing or hearing the Hallelujah chorus every winter during the Christmas season. However, the Adelphian’s performed a much larger and more difficult selection of the Messiah than I sang in my high school chamber choir. It was a wonderful to have the experience of hearing new portions of one of my favorite traditional holiday pieces. The Messiah is a Sacred Oratorio which was composed by George Frideric Handel in 1741. (Kelly, 2000:62) The Messiah is the only composition of its time that has been performed continuously and frequently since its first appearance in Dublin, Ireland in April of 1742. (Kerman, 2000:146; Kelly, 2000:88) The piece was immediately renowned by Dublin audiences and critics. The book First Night by Thomas Forrest Kelly quoted the Dublin News-Letter’s April 10 review of Handel’s Messiah in stating the following: “The Messiah, Mr. Handel’s new sacred oratorio, in the opinion of the best Judges, far surpasses anything of that nature, which has