“There are pieces in the established classical canon that can cause some listeners to question how they got there. They’re too derivative, without scaling the heights of the works they seek to emulate. They’re too long, while also being too fragmented. They’re too ‘safe’. And they’re played far too often. Insert your own choice here.”
So writes Lindsay McMurdo…
To this listener (other opinions are, of course, available), all of the above applies to Felix Mendelssohn’s Elijah. The piece, heavily influenced by Mendelssohn’s love of the great oratorios of Bach and Handel, has been a firm favourite with choral societies everywhere since its Birmingham premiere in 1846 and is loved, one supposes, for its melodrama, its easy appeal and its stirring choruses.
But it was surely an unadventurous choice for the closing concert of a festival at pains to establish a more future-facing and less conservative mission. A more varied programme would have been more reflective of the whole.
The concert, it should be said, was also a celebration of the Edinburgh Festival Chorus’s 60th anniversary and hurrah to that. The Chorus, under Director James Grossmith, was on tremendously good form throughout the performance, as indeed was the Royal Scottish National Orchestra under its Musical Director Thomas Søndergård.
No possible quibbling in that regard.
What really saved this performance from the charge of nostalgic wallowing was the sheer excellence of the soloists. Above all, ideally cast in the title role, there was the terrific Christopher Maltman, a singer at the very top of his considerable game. Maltman was alternately imperious when railing against the false gods of Baal and then tender when contemplating the mercies of his own Jehovah.
Always in complete charge of his voice, Maltman’s opera-trained dramatic skills added a real human touch to the prophet’s trials and triumphs. Wonderful stuff.
“What really saved this performance from the charge of nostalgic wallowing was the sheer excellence of the soloists. Above all, ideally cast in the title role, there was the terrific Christopher Maltman, a singer at the very top of his considerable game.”
Karen Cargill took the mezzo soprano role of An Angel, a quieter and more contemplative role than the ones in which she is often heard, and she seemed to relish the opportunity, especially in the aria ‘Woe unto them’ where she produced a sotto voce tone of great beauty and intensity.
Soprano Mari Eriksmoen and tenor Ben Bliss also sang beautifully in the lesser roles of The Widow and Obadiah, respectively, and the quarter blended effectively in the tutti passages.
Søndergård brought proceedings to a suitable rousing conclusion with the two final choruses. There could be no doubting the overall quality of this performance, whatever one thinks of the piece or its selection as the final outing of this year’s festival.
Featured Image: Closing Concert – Christopher Maltman – Mendelssohn’s Elijah © Andrew Perry
Show Details
Venue: Venue c3-62436: Usher Hall, Lothian Road Edinburgh EH1 2EA, EH1 2EA (Google Maps)
Date(s): Sun 24 Aug
Time(s): 7:30pm (165 mins)
Price: From £22
Get tickets
By
There has been much malicious rubbish written about Mendelssohn`s choral music over the years. This started with GB Shaw and his comments about “vile oratorio-mongering.” Such bilious nonsense ought to have been forgotten long ago. The fact is that Mendelssohn, along with Brahms, were the two greatest choral writers of the century.
I have no problem with performing this masterpiece at the conclusion of Edinburgh Festival. It received a fine performance all round, and this was appreciated and acknowledged by the near-capacity audience too.