Robert F. Davis conducted

The Cathedral Choir and The American Chamber Orchestra

in the 80th annual presentation of Handel's Messiah

on December 7, 2024 at Cedar Hill Christian Reformed Church in Wyckoff, New Jersey.

Greeting and Opening Prayer

Part ONE

The prophesy and realization of God’s plan to redeem mankind by the coming of the Messiah

(i) The prophecy of Salvation

SINFONIA — Orchestra

Overture [Grave–Allegro moderato]

RECITATIVE — Tenor (Isaiah 40:1-3)  

Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.  

AIR — Tenor (Isaiah 40:4)  

Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill made low, the crooked straight, and the rough places plain:

Chorus (Isaiah 40:5)  

And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.