Time for a rousing round of `Hallelujah'.

Byline: Bob Keefer The Register-Guard

Christmas music arrives in Eugene this week like a cheerful storm. This afternoon at the Hult Center, the Eugene Concert Choir mounts its annual holiday show, this year adding a special Latin twist.

And then the Eugene Symphony Orchestra and Chorus performs on Saturday afternoon that perennial favorite, G.F. Handel's ``Messiah.''

The Concert Choir performs at 2:30 p.m. today after pre-concert activities with Caliente that start at 1 p.m.

"We started out with the idea of an old-fashioned Christmas," said Diane Retallack, the choir's artistic director. ``So we do traditional carols and things that are warm and fuzzy. But we've added something: This time it's `An Old-Fashioned Christmas With a Splash of Salsa.' .''

That "salsa" includes appearances by Caliente and Lo Nuestro, who will perform at preconcert activities - hot punch is also provided - in the Hult lobby, as well as the performance of two movements, the Gloria and the Sanctus, from Argentine composer Ariel Ramirez's ``Misa Criolla.''

Written in 1963, Ramirez's work combines South American folk styles with the form of the traditional Latin mass.

"It has very much a folk flavor to it," Retallack said, "And great Latin rhythm."

Performance of the Gloria will involve not only the choir but also Lo Nuestro, along with children from the River Road Elementary School Neighborhood Choir Academy.

The school children also will take part in a performance of a medley of traditional Mexican ``Las Posadas'' carols; the music is sung in a procession that commemorates Mary and Joseph's attempts to find lodging before the birth of Jesus, and the children will walk through the aisles of the Silva Concert Hall as the choir sings.

Dance Theater of Oregon also will perform.

Accompanied by members of the Oregon Mozart Players, the dancers will perform Estampie Natalis, a modern setting of a medieval dance.

The choir will also sing ``Peace, Peace/Silent Night,'' using English, German and sign language. And folk and classical guitarist David Rogers will play ``A' Soalin'.'

The Eugene Vocal Arts Ensemble will sing a close-harmony jazz arrangement of "Chestnuts" and an arrangement of "Joy to the World" written for the Chicago Hitmen.

In a Eugene Concert Choir tradition, the audience will be invited on stage for the final number to help sing the ``Hallelujah'' chorus from the ``Messiah.''

Singing "Hallelujah" along with the Concert Choir this afternoon might be a great way to warm up for the performance of a slightly abbreviated version of the full "Messiah" by the Eugene Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by Giancarlo Guerrero this Saturday afternoon at the Hult's Silva Concert Hall.

Soloists will be Elizabeth Norman, soprano; Carolyn Gronlund, mezzo-soprano; Stephen Noon, tenor; and Weston Hurt, bass.

This is the second consecutive year the symphony has taken on the "Messiah."

"We did it last year, too," Guerrero said. "One reason I programmed the `Messiah' is, I think it is one of the great choral works in the repertoire.

``I want this to become one of the traditions of the Eugene Symphony, the same way the `Nutcracker' is with the ballet.''

Handel's massive choral work is like an opera without staging, Guerrero said, and that is appropriate because Handel was a prolific opera composer.

The text is in English and entirely from the Bible.

Guerrero has cut the 2 1/2 -hour work to two sections of about 40 minutes each by eliminating much of the middle part, which deals largely with the Passion story.

"The second part is a little bit darker," he said. ``It is so often done in Europe during Easter. By removing those parts of the work, you get a very uplifting performance. I do not do the movement that deals with the flogging. This is not an appropriate time to do that.''

Last year, the symphony used a male counter-tenor in place of the usual female alto for one of the four soloists; this year, it is returning to the traditional setup of two men and two women.

The other big difference in this year's show is that it will be Saturday afternoon rather than a Friday night - making the performance, Guerrero says, perfect for the entire family.

CONCERT PREVIEWS

Eugene Concert Choir: An Old-Fashioned Christmas ... With a Splash of Salsa!

What: Choir's Christmas show, including performances by the Oregon Mozart Players, Caliente, Lo Nuestro and Dance Theatre of Oregon

Program: A variety of traditional European and Latin American Christmas music

Where: Hult Center's Silva Concert Hall, Seventh Avenue and Willamette Street

When: 2:30 p.m. today; preconcert festivities with Caliente begin in the lobby at 1 p.m.

Tickets: $15 to $28 (682-5000)

Eugene Symphony Orchestra and Chorus: Handel's "Messiah"

Where: Hult Center's Silva Concert Hall, Seventh Avenue and Willamette Street

When: 3 p.m. Saturday

Tickets: $18 to $32 (682-5000)

CAPTION(S):

Eugene Concert Choir performs its Christmas concert today at the Hult. Caliente will add to the Latin flavor of this year's Concert Choir Christmas event.