Not a great photo, but you get an idea of the intimate setting

It was a one-time only show (at least it was the only show this year), so excuse me for raving about a concert you’ve already missed, but Sunday’s performance of selections from The Messiah at St. Peter’s Catholic Church on Capitol Hill by its choir and orchestra was really, really wonderful.

St. Peter’s has a small but powerful choir directed by Kevin O’Brien that entirely filled the medium-sized church with sound. I’ve listened to The Messiah many times, most often on an iPod, but hearing such a high-quality performance live in a perfect space is uniquely thrilling. The 24-member choir featured both professional and non-professional soloists. All of them had fine voices and had mastered their very demanding parts: Soprano Anastasia Robinson, alto Marjorie Bunday tenor James Marsh, and bass-baritone Charles Hyland. While the women were wonderful, it inspires me most to see non-professionals in leading roles: Dr. Marsh is a physician by day, and Mr. Hyland is a vocal performance student at Catholic University.

The choir, accompanied by Mr. O’Brien on harpsichord and a string ensemble, sang all the crowd-pleasing choruses (including For the Glory; All We, Like Sheep; the Hallelujah Chorus) along with many airs by soloists. Shall I just say here that I have giggled uncontrollably over the ““We, like sheep” chorus at a live concert in my youth. I still can’t hear it without thinking of poor lonely shepherds. However, once you get past the unfortunate confusion over the comma, it really is a complex and gorgeous song.

The concert was free, but donations were accepted for the benefit of the Capitol Hill Group Ministry. Go next year if you love The Messiah. Or if you like sheep.