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Elijah
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
30 October 2000
London (Royal Festival Hall)
.Conductor: Wolfgang Sawallisch
Philharmonia Chorus (Chorus master: Robert Dean)
Philharmonia Orchestra
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Simon Keenlyside (bass) – Elijah
Barbary Bonney (soprano) – Widow
Christoph Prégardien (tenor) – Obadiah
Gail Pearson (soprano) – Angel
Iain Paton (tenor) – Ahab
Timothy Hegarty (boy soprano) – Youth
Katharina Kammerloher (mezzo soprano)
What the critics say
. 30th October 2000, The Times (Geoff Brown)
Elijah, Festival Hall
Not in the wind, not in the earthquake or fire, but in the still small voice, eh ? The paradox, of course, is that God’s little whispers play such a minor part in the turbulent canvas of Mendelssohn’s oratorio Elijah, especially when the Philharmonia Chorus is belting forth. “Help, Lord !” they cried three times, making it clear from the very first that chorus master Robert Dean had raised them to a pitch of full-throated splendour, the kind that blasts one’s socks off. Rarely on the concert platform does a choir’s director get a chance to acknowledge the applause alone, but the conductor Wolfgang Sawallisch rightly made it happen.
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Sawallisch himself was on top form. No stranger to the work’s glories and occasional longueurs (his German-language Leipzig recording, 30 years old, still sits resplendent in the catalogue), he kept us enthralled for more than two hours. The orchestral overture proved almost as terrifying as the choir’s first entry, Sawallisch’s shoes emphasising the beart with the occasional stamp, the Philharmonia Orchestra brass baying magnificently, split on either side of the timpanist.
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To further prevent the work congealing into a Victorian monolith Sawallisch spotlit Mendelssohn’s bright instrumental colours and harmonic surprises. Variety, as well as the concert’s cost, was increased by fielding nine soloists, the vocal quartets cast from their ranks rather than following English tradition and drawing on the choir. And how pleasant to welcome the Festival Hall organ back after restoration.
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With Simon Keenlyside as Elijah, the oratorio edged even closer to opera at times than Mendelssohn’s imagination intended. Keenlyside swivelled round, score in hand, taunting the chorus face to face when Baal, their false God, failed to send down any fire to light their sacrificial bullock. Keenlyside’s mobile bass left us in no doubt that Elijah was even among prophets a difficult costumer, quick to anger, a persistent cuss. Others might get to heaven by bus; he needed a fiery chariot. With Dean’s chours gripped by mob frenzy, snarling at all sides, this was a reading rampaging with Old Testament spirit.
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For gentler moments, though, there was always Barbary Bonney, her soprano fresh as ever, urgently entreating as the Widow whose dying son is rescued by Elijah’s prayers, gloriously moring in the aria “Hear ye, Israel”. Christoph Prégardien’s Obadiah, Gail Pearson’s Angel, Iain Paton’s Ahab and Timothy Hegarty’s Youth all contributed effectively. Mezzo-soprano Katharina Kammerloher, not blessed with an ingratiating voice, was the chain’s only weak link.
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1st November 2000, Guardian (Tom Service)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/reviews/story/0,,698728,00.html
Philharmonia/Sawallisch
Royal Festival Hall, London
Four star rating: ****
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An emblem of Victorian self-confidence and a beloved party piece of choral societies across the land, Mendelssohn's oratorio Elijah is almost as ubiquitous a landmark of British musical life as Handel's Messiah. Just like the modern monarchy, these Germanic imports have been subsumed into the fabric of national identity. So any professional, 21st-century performance of Elijah carries a unique burden of received opinions and performance practices: the work's aura of genteel respectability threatens continually to overwhelm Mendelssohn's musical achievement.
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Wolfgang Sawallisch's account with the Philharmonia Orchestra - the opening concert of a Mendelssohn mini-series - was an object lesson in how to sustain and refresh an overfamiliar masterpiece. Without self-conscious histrionics or hollow interpretative shocks, Sawallisch stripped away layers of reception history to reveal Elijah's essentially dramatic core.
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Far from a reverential wallow, Sawallisch turned Elijah into a narrative of operatic vividness. Most obviously in the work's dialogues, such as between Simon Keenlyside's Elijah and Barbara Bonney's Widow, Sawallisch brought the variety of Mendelssohn's recitative and arioso writing to life. But throughout, it was Sawallisch's rhythmic characterisation that made every number a component in a powerfully involving drama.
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The Philharmonia Chorus responded enthusiastically to Sawallisch's expertly shaped phrasing. In their roles as the narrator of the story, the idolatrous priests of Baal, and the devotees of Elijah's true Lord, they conjured an epic range of colours and dynamics. The pedantic galumphing of Mendelssohn's music for the followers of false gods was gleefully characterised by the singers. The contrast with the scene in which God's fire descends was made all the more telling: the chorus became rapt followers of Elijah's God, in one of Mendelssohn's most sincerely felt chorales.
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With the support of Sawallisch and the chorus, the nine soloists - a double quartet with boy soprano Timothy Hegarty - had the firmest of musical foundations. Keenlyside and Bonney were the highlights, as his heartfelt, human Elijah was complemented by the reflective concentration of her solos. Christoph Prégardien's tenor and mezzo-soprano Katharina Kammerloher were soft-toned and thoughtful, while Gail Pearson's Angel and Iain Paton's Ahab, from the second quartet, were outstanding.
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