Music to celebrate the Easter season ...
Solemn and sublime: A trio of rare Handel oratorios for the Easter season
With Easter just over a month away, we're digging deep into Nic's extensive discography in search of the perfect music for the season.
Of course, there's the grand beauty of the Messiah — but after last fall's marathon of performances, we're keeping that one on the shelf for now. Instead, let's turn to three of the Baroque composer's lesser-known oratorios that depict the final days of Jesus Christ's life with music both solemn and sublime.
La Resurrezione
In this early oratorio, written during an extended stay in Rome, Handel zooms in on the three days between Christ's death and resurrection. From the searing confrontation between Lucifer and an angel that opens the work, to the heartbreaking laments from Mary Magdalene and Mary Cleophas that form its emotional core, La Resurrezione charts a profound spiritual journey from human grief to divine love.
Brockes Passion
If you're excited to hear Bach's St John Passion every spring, you'll want to explore the work that inspired Bach's beloved score. Using a Passion text compiled in German by Barthold Heinrich Brockes, Handel's take on the resurrection story immerses you in the tragedy of Christ's final days, including an unforgettable aria in which the Savior's blood-stained back is compared to one of heaven's rainbows.
Johannes Passion
Speaking of musical settings of the St John Passion, have you heard the one attributed to an 18-year-old Handel? Although some claim the anonymous manuscript found in a Berlin library is the work of Georg Böhm or Reinhard Kezier, the Johannes Passion bears the signature elegance and melodic grace of a young Handel. (Note: The moving final chorale, "Schlafe wohl," is sure to evoke tears upon each listen.)
On the road: Performances in Detroit and Oulu
Nic kicked off his 2024 concert schedule leading the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in a program of Baroque and Classical delights. After an all-Bach first half — which featured the DSO's own Kimberly Kaloyanides and Alexander Kinmonth in Bach's Concerto for Violin and Oboe — Nic and the DSO musicians charmed audiences with bubbling accounts of the first symphony of Joseph Bologne and Haydn's Symphony No. 82, "The Bear."
Over on The Rehearsal Studio blog, Stephen Smoliar praised the evening's performance, remarking that "McGegan's interpretations [of Bologne's symphony] were as expressive as his approaches to Bach, and his interpretations of Haydn's wit could not have been more engaging."
And just last month, Nic made his way to Finland for a debut performance with the Oulu Sinfonia, where he conducted an all-Baroque program that included Handel's Water Music Suite No. 1 and Rameau's Suite from Naïs. In a review published in Kaleva, Hannu Hirvelä praised the performance, calling out Nic's ability to "bring rogue hilarity" to these dance-inspired works and commenting that "Rarely have I heard such a clear orchestral sound in Oulu Cathedral, and this is probably thanks not only to the chosen music but also to some of McGegan's magic tricks."
Frank Wing Photography
This month: Nic returns to Cantata Collective
In the Bay Area, celebrating J.S. Bach's birthday has become synonymous with attending a Cantata Collective concert! This local tradition continues on March 21, when Nic leads the Collective's orchestral and choral forces in the composer's Easter Oratorio, Concerto for Two Violins, and the Magnificat.
Joining in the festivities this month is a quartet of outstanding vocal soloists: soprano Nola Richardson, tenor Thomas Cooley, bass Harrison Hintzsche, and countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen — a major artist on the rise who recently announced his Carnegie Hall Presents debut in 2025.
Tickets for this performance are now on sale through City Box Office.
Also coming up this spring …
Seattle Symphony (March 7-9)
NDR Radiophilharmonie (April 12)
Blackwater Valley Opera (May 27 - June 3)