It is the Friday after Thanksgiving and a frigid night – the only warmth comes from the lights of the gingerbread-laced homes along Columbia Avenue, freshly decorated for the holiday season. My steps quicken as I look at the time. I see the glow of activity at Cape Island Baptist Church and as I walk through the foyer and stand looking inside the sanctuary, I am fearful that I have misunderstood because the church is already full – the foyer abuzz with chatter and the cloakroom jammed full with coats. But most significantly, I hear singing. I was told to come to the church at 7:30 p.m. and see the organist and music director, Ruth Fritsch 30 minutes before the 20th Annual Community Messiah Sing Along begins.
But it seems to have already begun. The choir director/conductor – Herb Balian is at the helm, arms poised. The orchestra is crammed on either side of the conductor, above and below the pulpit, at the ready.
I squeeze my way through the audience crammed into make-shift seats at the back of the church and make my way toward Ruth, perched at her organ, her eyes glued to the conductor’s arms. I move past the pianist – Mildred Spriggs Herman – whose father, the late Rev. Forrest Spriggs, was pastor at Cape Island Baptist for many years. Her piano barely fits into the space to which it has been assigned, just below the organ, and leaves barely enough room for the wind section. I am directed to go through the door leading to the pulpit.
Turns out I am not late – “This is just a rehearsal. We start at 8,” said Ruth
struggling to see the conductor’s hand above the organ. How in the world did this come about, I ask Ruth? Handel’s Messiah is not you’re ordinary sign along song. It’s not, say – Kumbaya. It seems a long time ago, the Cape Island Baptist Church choir, under Ruth’s direction, joined forces with the choirs of two other churches – one Methodist and one Presbyterian – to sing Handel’s Messiah in its entirety. “None of the church choirs here have enough voices to sing the whole thing. So we combined them and then I got the idea to invite people to come and sing along,” said Ruth. “And some people don’t do so well, but eventually they get it.”
To pull this off, they needed a conductor. It just so happened that Pastor Spriggs’ brother-in-law, Herb Balian, used to direct a chorus in West Chester, Pa. That was 20 years ago and the Annual Community Messiah Sing Along has been going strong ever since. People travel from all over just to sing and play the 1741 oratorio for four-part chorus of mixed voices, soprano, alto, tenor and bass solo. The Messiah was first performed at a concert given for charitable purposes at Dublin, Ireland. Handel conducted the performance himself, and, according to the score available at the church, knew that “the Dublin orchestral and choral resources were by no means on a par with those of London.” The chorus does not go beyond four-part writing and “he kept the orchestra within the most modest limits, so that no instrument except violin and trumpet plays a solo part.”
Ruth and Ocean City vocal teacher, Nancy Fox, round up the soloists. This year, they had a new tenor – Chris Lorge – come down from Galloway Township to sing Comfort Ye My People and Every Valley Shall be Exhalted. Other soloists included Robert Snodgrass, Brian Robinson, June Willis, Nancy Fox, Carol Meehan and two of Nancy Fox’s young students, Jackie Kenney and Kelly Bruce.
“We never know how many orchestra members we’ll have,” said Ruth, but turnout was pretty impressive on this night. Eight violinists; the wind section included a clarinet, flute and a bassoon; two trumpet players and even a tympani, not to mention the piano and organ.
The chorus is comprised of young and old – maybe more women than men, but there was a strong showing in the bass section. Many, if not all, of the soloists rejoined the chorus when their solo was completed.
The rules are as follows, as they appear in the program: Sopranos and Tenors will sit on the right in the sanctuary. Altos and Basses will sit on the left. Those not singing may sit in the balcony or at the back of the church.
By 8 p.m. sharp, the program is about to begin. Now you wouldn’t think a group this large would be able to sing in such perfect unison without extensive rehearsal and I’m no music major, but to my mind, they sang and played in perfect harmony, and as I sat near the organ and behind the conductor, facing the chorus, it took my breath away to see the entire room stand, both singers and non, for the Hallelujah. Listening to this eager group of singers, it reminded me that music transforms us in a way no other medium can and unites us at a time of the year when we need it most. So, mark this date down on your calendar for next year. You’ll be the better for having participated in this wonderful event.
