Composed in 1741 and first performed at Dublin's Great Music Hall the following year, 'Messiah' is one of Western music's greatest artistic achievements and a work that has captured the imagination of audiences around the globe. Although originally performed at Easter, the oratorio has also become a staple at Christmas and is regularly performed by some world's greatest conductors, singers, choirs and orchestras during that part of the liturgical calendar. But, over the years, the piece has been subject to a variety of cuts, changes and modifications that have reflected shifting trends in both performance style and audience expectations.

Born in Australia, Professor Raymond Holden AM studied at Sydney, Cologne and London and is both a critically acclaimed and a multi-award winning writer, conductor, broadcaster and lecturer. He has performed with the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Emilia Romagna and the New Symphony Orchestra of London, and has been published regularly by Oxford, Cambridge and Yale University Presses, the Royal Academy of Music Press, Hans Schneider Verlag (Vienna) and by ICA, EMI and Warner Classics. Professor Holden has appeared on BBC Television and Radio, Servus TV (Germany), RAI Television and Radio, ABC Classic FM, 3MBS FM, Vision Australia Radio, SRF (Switzerland) and Classic FM (South Africa), and has spoken at many of the world’s leading music and literary festivals, universities, conservatoires and research institutes. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 2019 Queen’s Birthday Honours List and is currently Emeritus Professor of Music at the Royal Academy of Music, London.