This year’s performance of Handel’s Messiah by the Galion Community Chorus promises to be something special.

In part this is due to a special anniversary – 2009 marks the 55th annual performance of the holiday classic by the chorus, carrying on a tradition that has seen generations of Galionites in the same family performing. In part, it is due to the particularly fine caliber of guest soloists, including mezzo-soprano Mary Sue Hyatt, Professor of Voice at Kent State University. But’s that not all.

This Sunday’s concert – which will begin at 3:00 p.m. at the First United Church of Christ under the direction of Maestro John Sikora – will feature the dedicatory performance by the Community Chorus’ brand-new Bizzi harpsichord. Purchased for over $12,000 with donations from local corporations, individuals and a grant from the Hessenauer Trust, the brand-new instrument now resides permanently in Galion. According to Chorus member Dan Brown, the chorus searched for almost a year for the right instrument, and found the ideal one in Massachusetts. Dan and another individual drove there and back in 48 hours to bring it to Ohio.

According to their website (click here to visit), the Bizzi Company hails from Milan, Italy, and has been building and restoring harpsichords since 1975. Their work has included the restoration of instruments at the museum of the renowned La Scala Opera House in Milan, and their harpsichords are now found in some 44 countries worldwide. Their website states “…Bizzi has re-introduced in harpsichord handcraft manufacturing the same historical construction principles which were used by the great masters of the past, and especially by the Ruckers family which, in the XVII century, was making more than one harpsichord per week.” Click on the video below to view and hear a Bizzi harpsichord.

This Sunday’s performance, therefore, is likely to be one of the most authentic anywhere in Ohio – for a community of any size.

Related posts:

1. The Old World Comes to Galion – A Review
2. Hallelujah! – The Five Days of Galion Christmas
3. Getting a “Handel” on the Music
4. So Goes Galion — So Goes the World
5. Galion Music-Making