Handel's "Messiah", the brilliant opus of religious devotion, rang forth in the Kremlin on Monday for the first time, conducted by the great American maestro Yehudi Menuhin.


On the same stage where top Communist Party leaders once praised the glory of atheism, the performance gave rousing life to the 1741 musical oratorio about Christ's life written to texts of the Old and New Testament.


The 50-member state choir of Kaunas, Lithuania, added an especially theatrical element to the performance by wearing dramatic black robes and caps and by moving around the stage according to the theme of the music.


When for example one singer announced the birth of Jesus, a gold pyramid on stage opened to reveal a crown-wearing Jesus. The chorus all held up candles and declared "Glory to God in the highest".


All but a handful of the 6, 000 seats in the Palace of Congresses were sold out, but the crowd response was somewhat muted. A few enthusiasts were unable to prompt a standing ovation at Menuhin's entrance.


Conducting the Kremlin premiere of the Messiah gave great pleasure to Menuhin, who irritated the Soviet government during past visits by praising Russian exiles like the writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn and the cellist Mstislav Rostropovich.


"The government didnt like me", said Menuhin, 76, whose mother was born in Crimea.


"Now I've come to a free country where people breathe again and there is hope", Menuhin told a pre-concert press conference. "This is a great day".


Menuhin conducted the St. Petersburg Kamerata, a company founded in 1988 that sat in the orchestra pit and was essentially out of sight during the performance.


At the press conference, the maestro wore bright red socks that did nothing to detract from his pronouncements on contemporary musicians, Russian women, politics and other topics.


Menuhin, who started performing on the violin at the age of eight and who usually appears to sell-out crowds, praised Russian orchestras and said they enjoyed several distinct advantages over their Western


counterparts.


"They have an extraordinary dramatical sense and a wonderful musical sense", he said, "because they have a living folklore tradition; the others are left with a metronome".


The money that top class musicians in Western Europe and America enjoy can corrupt their inspiration for music, he added.


"The opportunities for musicians earning well are greater in the West, but sometimes their main thoughts concentrate on the clock and the salary", he said. "Here, the musicians and the dancers and all the people that are dedicated hardly stop even when they are exhausted".


The Kremlin concert was part of a two-year series of concerts in different countries held to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Columbu's travels.


Even in addressing journalists, Menuhin showed an independent streak in the conference room of the Metropol Hotel, refusing to use the podium, sitting instead on the edge of the stage.