Mendelssohn - Elijah

The Guardian 80

Balthasar-Neumann Choir and Ensemble/Hengelbrock
(Deutsche Harmonia Mundi)

Premiered in Birmingham town hall in 1846, and a fixture of massed British choral societies ever since, Elijah is a prime culprit of George Bernard Shaw’s quip accusing Mendelssohn of “despicable oratorio-mongering”. But get a performance as fleet-footed and intelligent as this – conductor Thomas Hengelbrock with his excellent period-instrument ensemble and choir – and all stodge and sanctimony are swept away. There is heft when it matters, in Yet Doth the Lord, and drama-charged recitatives from fulsome voiced soloists (soprano Genia Kühmeier, alto Ann Hallenberg, tenor Lothar Odinius, bass Michael Nagy). But what’s more compelling is the nimbleness, the swift-moving parts. There are quick corners and shapely inner voices, subtle weft even in classic fat chorus numbers such as Blessed are the Men who Fear Him. Raspy period strings add God-fearing menace, the choir sound rich but luminous in detail.