Since its first performance at Dublin in 1742, Handel's "Messiah," although recognized as one of the greatest pieces of church music, has, only through its association with Christmas, survived the fate of his other works so long relegated to the limbo of forgotten music. Only Bach has escaped the dense fog of obscurity that surrounds almost every composer before Haydn. It is lamentable enough that such acknowledged masters as Palestrina, Scarlatti, Corelli, Vivaldi, Purcell, and Boccherini should be worshipped from afar but rarely heard in American concert halls.

It is far more unfortunate that a composer of Handel's immense stature should be the author of only one work which has "lived." His prolific and unfailing genius produced, in a lifespan of 74 years, an amazing amount of organ and harpsichord music, 46 operas, and such oratorios as "Israel in Egypt," "Semele," and "Judas Maccabaeus," all of which have been almost completely neglected. Perhaps even "The Messiah" would have disappeared had it not become an accustomed ritual of Christmas.

Boston's Handel and Haydn Society opened its one hundred and thirty-first season with its annual Christmas performance of "The Messiah" before a large and enthusiastic audience at Symphony Half Sunday might.

Conducer Thompson Stone added force and precision to a fervent chorus that was obviously enjoying itself immensely. Its exuberance brought out the utmost from Handel's skillful use of such words as "Surely," "Wonderful," or "Hallelujah." The orchestral accompaniment, revised first by Mozart and later by Robert Franz, was capably played by 55 members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Perhaps the production's chief flaw was the lack of training in the soloists. Although Soprano Irma Cooper had a beautiful tone, she lost control when singing either loudly or high. Less noticeable in Eilen Repp, contralto, and Harold Haugh, tenor, the lack of control again appeared in Bass John Metcalf. His usual clarity deserted him almost completely during the intricate chromatics of the aria, "Why do the nations so furiously rage together . . ."

Despite occasional blemishes in the performance and somewhat unfavorable comparison with the Society's brilliant performances in past years, the 1945 production provided a thoroughly enjoyable evening which demands only further exploration into other pre-classic masterpieces. fps