HANDEL’S Messiah — perhaps the most famous piece of choral music in history, chronicling the birth, death and resurrection of Christ — is usually performed to packed audiences the world over at Christmas.

But this year many choirs, amateur and professional, haven’t sung together since March and face the prospect of not doing so again for quite some time.

But every cloud, to employ that well-worn phrase, has a silver lining. Unable to give their annual performance of Handel’s masterpiece, Toronto-based opera company Against the Grain decided to film one instead — with a twist.