Prom 58: Sunday 28th August 2011 (Mendelssohn - Elijah)

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Mendelssohn's oratorio on the Biblical story of the prophet Elijah has been a favourite with English audiences for over 150 years. Conductor Paul McCreesh breathes new life into it in this performance with period instruments, a raft of enthusiastic choirs and a starry line-up of soloists.

Mendelssohn wrote Elijah for the 1846 Birmingham Festival and clearly set out to write a work in the tradition of his revered Baroque predecessors, Bach and Handel. Opinions have differed as to whether he succeeded, with some people finding Elijah full of Victorian sentimentality. Given Paul McCreesh's track record in earlier music, this is the perfect opportunity to hear the work afresh, free of accrued conventions.

Mendelssohn: Elijah

Rosemary Joshua (soprano)
Sarah Connolly (mezzo-soprano)
Robert Murray (tenor)
Simon Keenlyside (baritone)

Taplow Youth Choir
Ulster Youth Chamber Choir
Chetham's Chamber Choir
North East Youth Chorale
Wroclaw Philharmonic Choir
Gabrieli Consort & Players
Paul McCreesh (conductor)

[pilamenon]

Bump

[pilamenon]

I know Elijah has gone out of fashion, but doesn't anyone have any thoughts, anywhere, so far?

Great choral singing in part one, Simon Keenlyside absolutely majestic as Elijah. The choral writing does seem to overshadow whatever the orchestra are doing rather a lot (though the overture was ominous and powerful) and I miss hearing the detail in the instrumental writing. Is this the dreaded new BBC sound engineering again, or is it Mendelssohn?

One gripe - the announcer gave us no information about the content of part one of the oratorio. It seems that this detail is now considered less important than a sound bite with one of the artists.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

The choral writing does seem to overshadow whatever the orchestra are doing rather a lot (though the overture was ominous and powerful) and I miss hearing the detail in the instrumental writing. Is this the dreaded new BBC sound engineering again, or is it Mendelssohn?

I think it may be more to do with the fact that there is a weedy politically correct vibrato strangulated sound from the orchestra, whilst having a very large (and to my ears, rather good) choir of young voices. The balance is skewed.

Incidentally, 20 minutes was interesting, highlighting the importance of silence - but I digress.

[mercia]

only just tuned-in having watched the repeat of Mahler 2 on TV. The choir sounds very good. Hope an ophicleide is being used.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mendelssohn_elijah

did Felix ever hear it performed? he died the year after composition.

[BBMmk2]

Ophicleides and serpents being used Mercia!!

[Bryn]

only just tuned-in having watched the repeat of Mahler 2 on TV. The choir sounds very good. Hope an ophicleide is being used.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mendelssohn_elijah

did Felix ever hear it performed? he died the year after composition.

Well if he did, at least it will have been without the sickly mush of massed string vibrato which has so degraded the work in more recent times. This is the first time I have found myself responding positively to this oratorio. Three cheers for Paul McCreesh and his team!

[Mary Chambers]

I find Elijah an odd mixture of Victorian earnestness and moments of real beauty. Bits of it reduce me to giggles, but very occasionally it moves me almost to tears. I have had to sing in the chorus, and I didn't much enjoy that, except that it is very easy!

This is a pretty good perfomance, and I love the thought of all those young singers having the experience.

[Alf-Prufrock]

I tuned in during the first half and thought how wonderfully fresh the choral singing was. The comments on this thread that there were some youthful singers explain the matter. I understand from the schedule that most of the choirs are youth choirs.

I always think youthful voices are likely to bring something extra-alive to a performance, and this is happening here with Elijah. When I see, as sometimes happens, serried ranks of grandfathers and great-aunts, I always expect some kind of veiled if not precarious sound, and too often I get it.

And isn't it great to have Keenlyside, Connolly and Joshua too? I don't know Robert Murray, but he seems to have a good voice too if he can get away with not forcing it.

[amac4165]

Turned out to be a cracking Prom in the Hall - the work is a little odd and you need to forget you ever heard Gilbert and Sullivan. However no denying the quality of the performers/performance all with chance to see the world's only performing contrabass Ophicleide !

[David Underdown]

Brilliant performance. No complaints about balance from me (but then I was right on the rail by the first violins), not what I'd describe as an emaciated sound at all

[Mary Chambers]

And isn't it great to have Keenlyside, Connolly and Joshua too? I don't know Robert Murray, but he seems to have a good voice too if he can get away with not forcing it.

Not to mention the excellent treble, Jonty Ward. 'There is nothing' is one of the (few) magical bits for me.

I saw Robert Murray as Albert Herring a few years ago, and there was also a memorable occasion when he sang Britten's 'Our Hunting Fathers', a far from easy piece, at very short notice, taking over from a singer who'd had to cancel. He had learnt it only the day before and gave a wonderful performance. I thought his singing last night was beautifully phrased, though by the end he was starting to sound a bit strained, as did Keenlyside.

[Tony Halstead]

not what I'd describe as an emaciated sound at all

As heard on the radio, the choir overwhelmed what sounded like a chamber orchestra ( a weedy or poorly-balanced one).I was amazed to discover - courtesy of a friend who was playing - that the orchestra was huge, nearly 100!
Another 'triumph' (not) for the BBC sound engineers.

[Bryn]

There appeared to be rather a lot of glitches, both via DAB and the HD Sound stream via the link kindly provided by OldTechie. Checking the on demand iPlayer, that too seems to have its share, though they don't seem quite as obtrusive. It will be interesting to hear what tomorrow afternoon's repeat sounds like.

As to the orchestra and orchestral/choral balances via the transmission methods I heard various sections, they seemed fair enough to me, given what I would have expected from such performers.

[jillfc]

From the back of the arena, I thought it sounded splendid: a really fresh choral sound, and a well-balanced orchestra. The contra-bass ophicleide was a real bonus.

I heard a different 'authentic' approach to it at Cadogan Hall a few years ago: the rather more modest forces of the (augmented) King's Consort with David Wilson Johnson as Elijah. (They had a rather more modest ophicleide, too.) That also worked well. Yes, of course it's a patchy piece, but a committed performance can make it really convincing.