The Handel Oratorio Society is a choral society comprised of Quad City community members and local college students. It began in 1880 under the name Augustana Handel Oratorio Society and was founded by former professor of theology, Olof Olsson. The Society is most famous for its Christmas season performance of George Frederic Handel's "Messiah," which was first performed April 12th, 1881, and made into an annual event by the early 1900s. Other notable performances vary from year to year and include Haydn's "Creation," Mendelssohn's "Elijah," Bach's "St. Matthew Passion," Brahms's "Requiem" and Durufle's "Requiem." Charles Wuorinen's piece, "The Celestial Sphere," was specially commissioned by the Society in celebration of its 100th anniversary and premiered April 25th, 1981, at Augustana College.
Over a dozen directors have conducted performances over the years, most notably: Edla Lund (1908-1912), the only female director; Arvid Samuelson (1918-1922), credited with the first major influx of society membership; Henry Veld (1931-1966), who brought the Handel Oratorio Society to national attention and procured internationally known soloists; Donald Morrison (1966-1992) and Daniel Culver (1992-present), the two most recent directors. |
The Handel Oratorio Society records have been arranged chronologically into the six following series:
Series I. Administration, 1881-1981 contains copies of the Handel Oratorio Society constitution, as well as record books of their treasury, membership roll, and minutes. The series also contains detailed lists of expenditures, past directors and soloists, possible donors and publishers, and new committee members all selected for the anniversary season (1980-1981). Various notes between committee members and a public memorandum regarding event dates and article publications is included.
Series II. Handel's Messiah, 1881-1994 contains publicity for the annual performance of Handel's Messiah, a score owned by John A. Godehn, a member of the original choir, and four copies of the program from the first Messiah performance (1881), two in English and two in Swedish. It also contains programs for the yearly performance, various articles reviewing the shows, and advertising posters.
Series III. 100th Anniversary, 1980-1981 contains programs, posters and articles reviewing both the celebratory 100th anniversary performance of Handel's "Messiah" and the commissioned work by Charles Wuorinen, "The Celestial Sphere." Also included is Dennis Loftin's ACUCAA Graphic Competition award for the graphic design of the anniversary program, as well as press information released for articles published that year. In addition, copies of the conductor's original manuscripts and score, a tape recording (on Bell Laboratory synthesizer) of the performance's interlude, and a braille edition of the program are included. It contains one subseries: 100th Anniversary Photographs (1980-1981) comprised of black and white and color photographs from both performances.
Series IV. Sacred Performances, circa 1892-1999 and undated contains programs, articles and flyers advertising any sacred performance excluding "Messiah" and "The Celestial Sphere." These include a 25th anniversary celebration of the Society and other more frequent performances like Haydn's "Creation," Mendelssohn's "Elijah," and Brahms' "Requiem" and other various performances which alternate annually.
Series V. Miscellaneous, 1880-1980 contains general news articles about Society members and essays about the Society by both students and Augustana staff, such as Ann Boaden. It also includes information for press releases during the centennial year as well as black and white photographs of the original orchestra and earlier directors.
Series V. Recordings, 1958-1961 series consists of film and LP recordings of performances during this period. These are housed in separate boxes marked AV07 in the Audio-Visual (AV) section of the Special Collections stacks.
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Box 1
Series I. Administration, 1881-1981
Constitution, undated
Treasury Book, 1881-1892
Roll and Minutes, 1881-1944, scattered [7 folders]
Box 2
Roll and Minutes, 1945-1953
Finances, 1980-1981
Membership and Committees, 1980-1981
Donors and Publicity, 1980-1981
Correspondence, 1906, 1974-1981
Series II. Handel's Messiah, 1881-1994
Messiah Score, 1881
Framed Program from First Performance, 1881
Programs from First Performance, English and Swedish, 1881
Messiah Programs, 1897-1969, scattered [2 folders]
Box 3
Programs, 1970-2003 [2 folders]
Newspaper Clippings, 1962-1967
Newspaper Clippings, 1968-1993
Posters/Fliers and Tickets, 1948-1994
Series III. 100th Anniversary, 1980-1981
Commemorative book by Conrad Bergendoff, 1981
Souvenir Programs, 1981
Messiah Programs, 1980
Messiah News
Clippings, 1980
Celestial Sphere Programs, 1981
Celestial Sphere Newspaper Clippings, 1981
Celestial Sphere Articles, 1981
Celestial Sphere Press Kit, 1981
Messiah and Celestial Sphere Posters/Fliers and tickets, 1981
Box 4
Photocopy of Wuorinen's Original Manuscript, 1981
2 sets of Conductor's Scores, 1981
Box 5 (Oversize)
Printer's Galleys of Celestial Sphere Score, 1981
Tape of Celestial Sphere: Interlude of Movement 3, 1981
Braille Edition of Celestial Sphere Program, 1981
Box 6
Subseries 1. 100th Anniversary Photographs, 1980-1981
Photographs of Messiah Ensemble, 1980
Photographs of Messiah Rehearsal and Performance, 1980
Photographs of Celestial Sphere Ensemble, 1981
Photographs of Celestial Sphere Rehearsal and Performance, black and white, 1981
Photographs of Celestial Sphere Rehearsal and Performance, color, 1981
Photographs of Wuorinen, Morrison and Culver, 1981
Slides of the Celestial Sphere Performance, 1981
Proofs of the Celestial Sphere Performance, 1981
Box 7
Series IV. Other Sacred Performances, circa 1892-1999
Sheet of selected Oratorio music, undated, circa 1892
25th Anniversary Program, 1906
Sacred Performance Programs, 1885-2004 [5 folders]
Augustana College Alumni Bulletin, article on page 10, Winter 1966
Sacred Performance Newspaper Clippings, 1966-1993 and undated
Sacred Performance Posters and Fliers, 1969-1999
Series V. Miscellaneous, 1880-1980
Society Essays and Articles, 1977-1982
General Newspaper Articles, 1941-1980
Source material from press releases, 1980
Early Photographs, 1880, 1912, 1964, ca. 1966
Series VI. Recordings, 1958-1961
AV07 BOX 1
Film reel of a performance of Handel’s Messiah, December 13, 1958
AV07 BOX 2
Cassette Tape of Messiah December 13, 1958
Record The Creation by Franz Joseph Haydn, June 1960
Record The Messiah (3 copies)
Record Book The Messiah by George Frederick Handel (4 records) [3 copies]
Record The Passion According to St. Matthew by J.S. Bach
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