Bach Collegium Japan, the Tokyo choir and orchestra, brings Handel’s Messiah to the Barbican Hall on Tuesday 15 December 2026 at 7pm. Masato Suzuki conducts, with soprano Rachel Nicholls, countertenor Terry Wey, tenor Mauro Peter and bass Dingle Yandell as the soloists.
The ensemble plays on period instruments, using instruments and techniques as close as possible to those Handel himself would have known. London is the second night of a short Messiah tour, the evening after a concert at De Oosterpoort in Groningen.
A Tokyo choir and orchestra on period instruments, bringing Handel’s Christmas oratorio to the City of London
Handel’s Messiah, first heard in Dublin in 1742
Handel wrote Messiah in 1741 to words compiled from the Bible by Charles Jennens, and it was first performed in Dublin in April 1742. It tells the Christian story in three parts, from the prophecies of the Old Testament through the birth of Christ to the resurrection, and it ends with the choruses “Hallelujah” and “Worthy is the Lamb”.
In Britain, Messiah has long been a December favourite. In Japan the big choral piece of the season is Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, sung by huge amateur choirs across the country, as our guide to how Japan celebrates Christmas explains. Messiah has a December home in Tokyo too: Bach Collegium Japan has given a Christmas performance at Suntory Hall every year since 2001.
Masato Suzuki and the Messiah soloists
Masato Suzuki is a conductor, composer, pianist, harpsichordist and organist. He studied at Tokyo University of the Arts and at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague, and as well as leading Bach Collegium Japan he is Principal Guest Conductor of the Kansai Philharmonic Orchestra. His father, Masaaki Suzuki, founded the ensemble.
- Rachel Nicholls, soprano
- Terry Wey, countertenor
- Mauro Peter, tenor
- Dingle Yandell, bass
- Bach Collegium Japan, chorus and orchestra
More about the ensemble and its season is on the Bach Collegium Japan website. After London, the tour heads to the Esplanade Concert Hall in Singapore on 26 and 27 December.
Tickets, discounts and getting to the Barbican Hall
- Tickets from £24, which is £20 plus a £4 transaction fee
- £12 tickets for 16 to 25 year olds through Young Barbican
- Barbican members get 20% off and pay no booking fees
- Access tickets from £24, with a free companion ticket if needed
The concert is part of the Barbican’s International Ensembles series. Barbican Hall is inside the Barbican Centre on Silk Street in the City of London, and Barbican and Moorgate stations are both a short walk away. The same hall hosts another Japan-inspired concert a few weeks earlier, Haruki Murakami’s Jazz at Peter Cat on 21 November.
Barbican Hall
Seats are on sale through Bach Collegium Japan: Handel’s Messiah on the Barbican website.
