Oxford’s 1749 Messiah: Handel as Oxford first heard it
In 1749 the opening of the Radcliffe Camera was celebrated with the newest music from London: Handel’s Messiah. The performance was directed by William Hayes, Heather Professor of Music and organist of Magdalen College, who did much to carry Messiah beyond London and to secure its lasting place in the repertoire.
On Saturday 12 December 2026, Instruments of Time & Truth and Edward Higginbottom recreate the version Hayes presented in Oxford. Drawing on archival research, the work is performed complete on period instruments in the Sohmen Concert Hall at the Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities.
We are joined by soprano Rowan Pierce, alto Hugh Cutting, tenor Thomas Herford and bass Daniel Tate, with the Oxford Consort of Voices.
Expect a performance in the true eighteenth-century spirit: ambitious, celebratory and full of invention. The concert begins at 4pm and runs for about three hours and ten minutes, including two intervals.