Cathedral -- April 24 and 25.

There were packed congregations on both evenings when the Bermuda Philharmonic performed Handel's `Messiah' at the Anglican Cathedral this week.

The appeal of this, the most famous of all oratorios, pulls just as strongly at the heart-strings today as it did at that first performance in Dublin in 1742. For George Frideric Handel, the German who became the quintessential English composer, his `Messiah' was the crowning glory in an already celebrated career.

With its text based on selections from the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, the oratorio is a loosely connected series of biblical prophecies and meditations on the life of Christ. Today, it holds perhaps an even added appeal in that it provides a now rare occasion to relish the incomparable beauty of the English language of the King James Bible.

Unusually, too, the Philharmonic Society chose to mount the entire work, lasting about two-and-a-half hours.

With almost 100 singers and the Philharmonic Orchestra augmented by several imported instrumentalists under the baton of Graham Garton, this was a major musical occasion for the Society.

On the whole, and eccentric Cathedral acoustics notwithstanding, this was an heroic effort: the Hallelujah Chorus, led by the four soloists, was truly impressive, as the congregation rose to its feet, perpetuating a tradition begun by George II at the oratorio's first performance in London.

There were other moments, too, when the chorus came across as a wonderfully unified sound, as in the majestic strains of `For Unto Us a Child is Born', and in the more chastened passages of Part 2, dealing with Christ's death in `Surely He hath borne our Griefs'. There were other moments, however, when the Chorus was in trouble, most noticeably when the women positively squawked their way through the opening of the lovely chorus `And He shall Purify the Sons of Levi', and at the end of Part 1, when the entire chorus seemed irretrievably lost in `His Yoke is easy, His burthen is light'.

It was irritating, too, to watch the facial contortions of some of the women singers who beamed celestial smiles throughout the most harrowing sections of the text. Had they given any thought at all to the words they were singing? The four guest soloists were all senior students from the Royal Academy of Music, where Graham Garton also received his musical education.

They are distinguished by training that seems to emphasise technical control and discipline, producing a purity of sound that is heightened by meticulous attention to diction. All four have already fulfilled major solo engagements in Britain and Europe.

It fell to young Welsh singer Aled Hall to sing, in a rich and effortless tenor, the first, haunting recitative, `Comfort Ye', leading into the stirring melody of `Every Valley'.

Jeanette Ager, who combines beauty and a commanding stage presence with a deeply satisfying contralto voice, brought a lyrical distinction to the beautiful passage, `Oh Thou that tellest good tidings to Zion', where the chorus joined in ever-soaring roulades of sound, and then `He shall feed his flock', where she brought a sorrowful intensity to one of the most memorable sections of the oratorio.

This theme was picked up by the soprano in the equally lovely `Come unto Him, all ye that labour'. Mary Nelson possesses an impressively powerful voice, which also captured the lyricism of such memorable passages as `How beautiful are the feet' and `I know that my Redeemer liveth'.

Christopher Maltman's bass has a rich resonance, which coped beautifully with the technical demands of `The people that walked', and at its dramatic best in the climactic `The trumpet shall sound'.

Speaking of trumpets, the brass section was suitably jubilant in the Hallelujah Chorus, but the solo trumpet (a visiting professional) in the above-mentioned closing section, threw a couple of disconcerting wobblies.

The orchestra, admirably led by Suzanne Dunkerley, coped well, for the most part, with this long and demanding work. Some passages where, despite Mr.

Garton's best efforts, there was a seemingly mad rush to end up with some semblance of unity, to say nothing of a couple of truly alarming moments when the basic melody was in danger of being lost altogether, tends to reinforce the view that much of this music (as was also the case with last year's Choral Symphony), is frankly beyond the capabilities of certain members of the orchestra.

This brings us to an unpleasant reality which needs to be addressed. If, as Mr. Garton obviously wishes, the Philharmonic Chorus and Orchestra is to perform these most momentous items in the musical repertoire, the time has come for auditions to be held. Since the princely sum of $20 is now being charged for admission, there is surely a case for standards to be tightened.

There was a time when the Society was grateful for anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of music (especially in the orchestra department) who showed up.

With dramatically improved music education, and the fact that the Island's teachers form the professional nucleus of the orchestra, this is no longer necessary. Similarly, the chorus boasts about 100 members, a fair proportion of whom turn up for rehearsals as and when convenient, and some of whom should clearly stick to singing only in the shower. The unfortunate reality is that, in order for standards to improve overall, some egos may have to suffer a little bruising.

PATRICIA CALNAN