One of my favorite employee perks at DTS is occasionally scoring free tickets to Thursday night performances of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.

When a text message arrived from the school this week saying they had thirty freebies for Handel's "Messiah" in its entirety with choir, I immediately got my name on the list and sang, "Hallelujah!"

Years ago our church choir performed major pieces from the "Messiah" at Easter, and since that time, I've blasted Handel's masterpiece at both Christmas and Easter.

And what a performance we saw/heard last night! Never have I seen the crowd at the Meyerson Symphony Center stand and clap for so long.

The conductor was Helmuth Rilling, one of the world’s foremost Baroque music specialists. The historically informed interpretation consisted of a chamber orchestra, a smaller-than-usual Dallas Symphony Chorus (that included our friend, Laura MacCorkle!), and internationally acclaimed soloists.

When a rep from our local classical-music radio station interviewed Rilling this week, the maestro said, “It’s a piece where people know some things quite well – of course the ‘Hallelujah’ Chorus… But there are many hidden treasures in the music. And I think it is great that for a change you do it in the time of Lent, of the Passion, of Easter. Because long and important parts of the Messiah speak to these themes.”

When asked why music performed so often does not make us weary, Rilling gave a simple but eloquent reply: “There is only one answer: Because it is so good.”