Composer: Felix Mendelssohn
Performer: Neal Davies, Geoffrey Moses, Stephen Doughty, Bryn Terfel, Libby Crabtree, John Mark Ainsley, Patricia Bardon, David Watkin, Renée Fleming, John Bowen, Matthew Munro, Sara Fulgoni, Edinburgh Festival Chorus
Orchestra: Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Conductor: Paul Daniel
Number of Discs: 2
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Decca
Catalogue: 4556882
Release: 1997
Size: 567 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: cover
Elijah, Op. 70, MWV A25
CD 01
Part 1
01. Introduction: “As God the Lord of Israel liveth”
02. Overture
03. “Help, Lord! Wilt Thou quite destroy us?”
04. “Lord, bow Thine ear to our pray’r!”
05. “Ye people, rend your hearts and not your garments”
06. “If with all your hearts ye truly seek Me”
07. “Yet doth the Lord see it not”
08. “Elijah! Get thee hence; Elijah!”
09. “For He shall give His angels charge”
10. “What have I to do with thee”
11. “Bless’d are they who fear the Lord”
12. “As God the Lord of Sabaoth liveth”
13. “Baal, we cry to thee”
14. “Call him louder, for he is a God!”
15. “Call him louder! He heareth not”
16. “Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel”
17. “Cast thy burden upon the Lord”
18. “O Thou, who makest Thine angels”
19. “Is not his word like a fire!”
20. “Woe, woe unto them who forsake Him!”
21. “O man of God, help thy people”
22. “Thanks be to God!”
CD 02
Part 2
01. “Hear ye, Israel” – “Thus saith the Lord” – “I am He that comforteth”
02. “Be not afraid, saith God the Lord”
03. “The Lord hath exalted thee”
04. “Woe to him! He shall perish!”
05. “Man of God, now let my words”
06. “It is enough! O Lord, now take away my life”
07. “See, now he sleepeth beneath a juniper tree”
08. “Lift thine eyes to the mountains”
09. “He, watching over Israel, slumbers not”
10. “Arise, Elijah”
11. “Oh rest in the Lord, wait patiently for Him”
12. “He that shall endure to the end”
13. “Night falleth round me! O Lord”
14. “Behold, God the Lord passed by!”
15. “Above Him stood the Seraphim” – “Holy, holy, holy”
16. “Go return upon thy way”
17. “For the mountains shall depart”
18. “Then did Elijah the prophet break forth”
19. “Then shall the righteous shine”
20. “Behold, God hath sent Elijah the prophet”
21. “But the Lord from the north hath raised one”
22. “And then shall your light break forth”
Paul Daniel and Bryn Terfel ensure that this is one of the most dramatic performances of the oratorio on disc. The young conductor, with the advantage of an excellent period instrument orchestra, has looked anew at the score and as a reveals much of the rhythmic and dynamic detail not always present in other performances, at least those available in English. His accomplishment in terms of pacing and balance is also praiseworthy, and he earns further marks for using the trio, quartet and double quartet of soloists Mendelssohn asks for in specific pieces, so as to vary the texture of the music.
Bryn Terfel simply gives the most exciting and vivid account of the prophet’s part yet heard. His range, in terms of vocal register and dynamics, is huge; his expression, mighty and immediate, befits a man of Elijah’s temperament.
As the score demands, anguish, anger and sympathy are there in full measure, displayed in exceptional definition of words, and when this Elijah calls on the Lord for the saving rain, the Almighty could hardly resist such a commanding utterance. Yet there’s always the inwardness part of the role demands. As far as the other soloists are concerned, for the concerted numbers Daniel has chosen voices that nicely match each other in timbre. The chorus is alert and unanimous in both attack and well thought-through phrasing, but its actual sound can be a little soft-centred, partly because allimportant consonants are ignored. The orchestral playing is exemplary.