Resources for Learning Your Part

To keep our weekly Guided Practice Sessions concise and as widely applicable as possible, we will not spend much time learning individual parts, especially since there are so many resources already out there—at no or low cost. Here are some, of those myriad options, and we'll continue to add as we discover more. Feel free to send us your recommendations, too!

John Fletcher

John Fletcher's practice aids (johnfletchermusic.org) for Messiah are FREE because the score is public domain. You do have to register (just provide an email and set up a password), but then it’s free. John Fletcher and Choraline (below) are a great way to focus on just the the notes of your part—especially helpful for those who don't have access to a piano or appreciate help with their sight reading.

ChoraLine

ChoraLine (www.choraline.com) is $15.35 for “Three Steps to Sing Messiah," which includes links to download and/or listen online to:

• mv4 video files that can be watched on your device with a visual learning aid for people who are not music readers

• mp3 files for all movements for a specified part

• choral backing track for all movements

The unique thing about Choraline's mp3 files is that the voice part rehearsals have a man who gives some intro and helps with cueing. For example, he says things like “there are eight bars of introduction, then altos come in at bar 9”; then just before your entrance he says “and…” to cue you in. Also, on movements that start immediately with no orchestral intro (e.g., "Worthy is the Lamb") the man tells us how many measures of the previous movement are included in the recording, and he cues the start of the movement.

CyberBass

CyberBass is another site with free practice aids. (They also have an option to purchase a CD instead of listening online.) One complaint about the CyberBass tracks is that they're more "plunky"—so the caveat is to be really conscious of singing a nice sustained line and applying all of your musicianship even while focusing on the pitches.

Choralia

Choralia is another site with free practice aids that has some useful features. You can control the playback speed, set a specific section to loop, change the balance of your part against the accompaniment and other voices, and even move your part to one side or the other. A unique feature of Choralia is that you hear both the pitches and the words; however, the voice is computerized, so it's a little strange. Some singers find it helpful to hear the words, though—even if it does sound a little like the Chipmunks.

YouTube Playlist with Score

Some kind soul has created a playlist of all of the choruses with the score. While it's best to sing from your own score with all the stylistic markings you've written in, having the score on screen certainly has its merits.

Spotify Playlist

Our Music Director has put together a playlist of all of the choruses on Spotify with two recordings—the Suzuki and Gardiner—alternating. This is a fun way to listen to different choices the conductors made. Spotify is free with ads, and they often run a promotion for a free month of Premium (no ads).

Selected Recordings

As one of the most beloved pieces of western music, Messiah has been recorded so often that it can be overwhelming to choose a single recording to buy. Our Music Director has curated a list of some of his favorites and recommends sampling widely for yourself. Streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music can be a great way to listen to more than one. (Spotify is free with ads, and both services regularly offer promotions for new users to get one or more months free—just don't forget to cancel if you don't want to pay.)

• Masaaki Suzuki, Bach Collegium Japan

• John Eliot Gardiner, The Monteverdi Choir & English Baroque Soloists

• Paul McCreesh, Gabrieli Consort & Gabrieli Players (this one is fast)

Other Recordings Online

There are so many recordings of live performances available to stream on YouTube or choirs' websites! They vary in quality, but it's fun to hear all the different interpretations of this beloved classic. VOCES8 and the Academy of Ancient Music have a lovely one on YouTube. Trinity Wall Street—famous for probably the best live annual Messiah this side of the Atlantic—archives theirs, which you can find with a Google search.