David Scholz conducts the North Valley Chamber Chorale on Dec. 15 in Vina. (Image: Kathryn Reed)

It was never supposed to be a music venue, but for the past couple Decembers that is exactly what the church at the Abbey of Our Lady of New Clairvaux in Vina becomes.

The acoustics are fantastic; the viewing, not so much. But for an event like this where listening is more important than watching, that is more than OK.

The North Valley Chamber Chorale under the direction of David Scholz on Dec. 15 put on two sold-out performances of Handel’s Messiah.

The chorale formed 14 years ago with 28 singers; it now has more than 40.

For this particular performance there were four soloists. The choir was divided in two—which seemed to be by gender, but you know it was by vocals (soprano, tenor, alto, bass). While the soloists are good, it was the harmony of the choir that I preferred.

The small orchestra is mostly strings, with a couple trumpet players and an organ/harpsichordist. To me, they were the highlight.

I would have been perfectly content to listen to the musicians and not the vocalists. I’m guessing I was in the minority. While they were singing in English, I could not make out most of the words. The music, though, well that is a language unto itself.