The New
Young Messiah
When it comes to relating the spirit
of Christmas, Handel's Messiah had long been a musical blessing
enjoyed by people all over the world. But when five-year-old Norman Miller
first attended The Messiah with his parents in Scotland, he had
no idea the role Handel's work would play in his future.
"I was brought up in Scotland and every New Year's Day, the Scottish
Symphony Orchestra and Choir performed The Messiah in the Usher
Hall in Edinborough. My parents used to go every year," he recalls,
"It was like a pilgrimage. So I grew up with it from the time I was
just a tiny little kid. We went there every single year, so by the time
I was 14 or so I knew every musical note and every word of the entire work."
As an adult, Miller has paralayed that knowledge and his love for The
Messiah into three versions of Handel's classic. He first had the idea
of recording a contemporary version of The Messiah 20 years ago
while serving as executive director of Word in Europe. At that time, there
just wasn't a budget to do the project and he was disappointed when secular
artists in England recorded The Messiah. Then five years ago
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ARTISTS APPEARING ON THE 1993 YOUNG MESSIAH TOUR
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approached Word executives again and got the green light to produce The
Young Messiah. A couple of years ago, he was executive producer on
A Soulful Celebration, which was, as the title suggests, a passionate,
soul verion of Handel's work with an all-star lineup of the gospel and
R&B artists taking part. This year, Miller served as co-executive producer
(with Sandi Patti) on The New Young Messiah.
Produced by Greg Nelson, The Sparrow release features performances
by Sandi Patti, Steven Curtis Chapman, Twila Paris, Michael English, 4Him,
BeBe and CeCe, Christine Dente, First Call, Susan Ashton, Larnelle Harris,
Phil Keaggy, Steven Green, Wayne Watson, The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir,
Carman, and Cindy Morgan.
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"This past year I got to do something that very, very
few people ever get the chance to do and that was to go back and re-record
something that I had recorded some years earlier, having worked out all
the faults, the errors and all the shortcomings," he says. {"The
New Young Messiah}is everything I ever dreamed it could be. I
think it's one of those unique things where every artist gave the performance
of their life, where the arrangers were incredible and Greg Nelson produced
a masterpiece, a classic. The reaction from everyone who has heard
it is unbelievable. I think the new record is really the fulfillment
of my dreams."
Millers says one of the reasons he feels the new recording is such an improvement
is that the previous version was more choir-oriented and on the new version
the artists' individual styles shine through on the tracks. "Each
song is crafted to the artist," he says. "We tailor-made
each track. For example, the 4HIM cut sounds like a 4HIM record."
Many of those involved in The New Young Messiah will be taking the
show on the road this holiday season. The tour will visit 12 cities,
playing to an estimated quarter of a million people. Plans are also
in the works for The New Young Messiah to be a Pay-Per-View event
with the concert scheduled to be broadcast live from Chicago on December
9th. |
