Messiah on Good Friday - Royal Choral Society / Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

The Royal Choral Society performed Handel’s Messiah in its first season in 1872, but the Easter tradition of the Good Friday performance at the Royal Albert Hall began in 1876. The coronavirus pandemic meant the cancellation of the 2020 concert, but the 2021 concert went ahead, delayed to Trinity Sunday in May, and performed under Covid regulations with a choir of 120 all two-metres apart, an organ accompaniment, and a socially distanced audience of just 800.

The 2022 concert will be the first ‘full’ Good Friday Messiah at the Royal Albert Hall for three years, with Handel’s magnificent tour de force heralding the choir’s 150th Anniversary Season. The choir will be accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and a quartet of superb soloists all under the baton of Music Director Richard Cooke.

The Royal Choral Society has been performing the great choral masterpieces ever since its first concert in May 1872, including the UK premières of Verdi’s Requiem in 1875, and Dvorak’s Stabat Mater in 1884, both concerts conducted by their composers. It is thought that the Royal Choral Society sung Handel’s masterwork more than any other choir – estimated as around 280 times.