RITA DI SANTO points out the social experience of exploitation and oppression that inform the popular winners at this year’s festival
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First class from First Nation
TOM KING recommends a groundbreaking performance of Handel's Messiah
Diyet of the Southern Tutchone, who performed Oh thou that Tellest Good Tidings of Zion
[Robin Whiffen (Against the Grain)]
PETER MASON is tickled by a new book and exhibition that mine the rotten anachronism of the monarchy for laughs
A Nazi zeppelin whodunnit, death amidst detoxification, a twistaholic’s delight, and noir fiction for criminals
STEVE JOHNSON salutes the mellifluous tones and clear-minded political message of a uniquely relevant Birmingham-born singer-songwriter
STEVE ANDREW enjoys an account of the many communities that flourished independently of and in resistance to the empires of old
TOM STONE urges you to catch the last dates of a New York singer/songwriter, never afraid to challenge her audiences musically or politically
JAN WOOLF examines work that aims to give viewers a material experience of the environments in the polar north and Britain equally affected by the climate crisis
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.
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