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Presto News - 27th August 2012Mendelssohn's Elijah from McCreesh |
 Ever since their fantastic Prom performance last summer, I’ve been eagerly awaiting the release of Mendelssohn’s Elijah from Paul McCreesh and the Gabrieli Consort & Players. They went into the studio (well Watford Colosseum actually) the week after the Prom but I only heard the results in full for the first time last week.  Paul McCreesh At the time of its first performances in Birmingham Town Hall in 1846, Elijah was hailed as one of the great oratorios alongside Handel’s ‘Messiah’. It became by far the most popular oratorio of the 19th Century but seems to have fallen from grace a little since then. It tells the story of the prophet with imposing grandeur, inspirational orchestration and beautiful arias, recitatives and choruses. Mendelssohn revised the work the year after the premiere for the 1847 London performance, and it is that version which is generally heard today. For this recording McCreesh also essentially uses that version, but uses the Birmingham premiere as the basis for many other decisions, replicating both the size of the orchestra (a very large string ensemble of 92 players, with doubled woodwind, trumpets, drums and ophicleides) and a chorus of over 300 made of the Gabrieli Singers and reinforced by the talented Gabrieli Young Singers’ Scheme and the Wroclaw Philharmonic Choir. The use of nineteenth century instruments changes the sound world entirely from what you might be used to hearing, with slide trumpets creating a rasping edge to the sound and tremendous power and depth provided by serpents and ophicleides (including a contrabass model known as the ‘monstre’ borrowed from America as that is the only similar instrument remaining in world in a playable condition!) and huge drums. The sound of such a large string orchestra playing entirely on gut strings and with very little vibrato is both compelling and beautiful, yet still has the range of character to play both lightly and delicately and also with richness and intensity. The four solo singers – Rosemary Joshua, Sarah Connolly, Robert Murray and Simon Keenlyside – are all in fine voice. Keenlyside delivers a committed account of the role of Elijah, and you do hear much of the anger and moral struggle which the character possesses. Maybe not as forceful as it could be, nor as heart-felt, but then this is an oratorio not an opera, and in the ensembles the four voices blended excellently. The other big element in the success of this recording is the huge choir, who sing with an immediacy and consistency of phrasing which you wouldn’t think possible from such a large group. Equally implausible is the delicacy and tenderness which they can create, whilst it almost goes without saying that at the other extreme, the climaxes are truly stunning. McCreesh’s tempi are well judged and help build the real power and drama of this performance. This is big, grand choral singing of the Victorian scale, not always subtle but hugely effective. In all this is staggeringly good. Approaching the work in this way fills a gap which I didn’t even realise was there, but now I’ve heard it I think it will be first choice for a while to come. Thoroughly recommended.
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 Mendelssohn: Elijah, Op. 70Rosemary Joshua (soprano), Jonty Ward (treble), Sarah Connolly (mezzo-soprano), Robert Murray (tenor) & Simon Keenlyside (baritone), Wroclaw Philharmonic Choir, Gabrieli Young Singers' Scheme & Gabrieli Consort & Players, Paul McCreesh |
Chris O'Reilly - chris@prestoclassical.co.uk |
Listen - sound samples available for this itemNew Releases27th August 2012 |
This is just the pick of the recent releases. The New Releases and Future Releases pages are always available for browsing all the new and forthcoming releases. |
 J S Bach: Sonatas & Partitas BWV1001-3Isabelle Faust (violin)Isabelle Faust returns to J S Bach for a second volume of what BBC Radio 3’s Andrew McGregor described in such glowing terms: "there’s some of the best-judged ornamentation I’ve heard in repeated passages. The recording is utterly self-effacing, in just the right way, and my only complaint is that the job’s half done...I’m impatient for the rest!". Well here is the rest, and it is every bit as fine as the first! |
 Bononcini: Stabat Mater & MessaSilvia Frigato, Raffaella Milanesi (sopranos), Andrea Arrivabene (countertenor), Elena Biscuola, Sara Mingardo (contraltos), Valerio Contaldo, Raffaele Giordani (tenors) & Salvo Vitale (bass), Concerto Italiano, Rinaldo Alessandrini“Fifty years of ‘rediscovery’ of early music have led – in addition to that of ‘period style’ – also and above all to the rediscovery of the inexhaustible musical treasure trove conserved in libraries all over the world. And these two pieces by Antonio Bononcini might be seen as a perfect example of the phenomenon.” – Rinaldo Alessandrini |
 Smetana: The Bartered BrideTomás Juhás, Dana Buresová, Jozsef Benci, Svotapluk Sem, BBC Singers & BBC Symphony Orchestra, Jirí BelohlávekSmetana’s great comedy about the marriage market is hard to beat if done properly. The score’s inventiveness never ceases to astonish, but it is also remarkably easy to misjudge its tone. Underplay its dark implications, and the opera can seem flippant. Overdo its sombre side, however, and things feel incongruous and strained. It was consequently a treat to hear a performance that got the tricky balance absolutely right. |
 The Silver ViolinNicola Benedetti (violin), Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Kirill KarabitsBest-selling Scottish virtuoso Nicola Benedetti moves dramatically from the 18th-century world of Italia to the 20th-century world of cinema. As a long-time champion of the lush Violin Concerto by the great stage and screen composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Nicola Benedetti has chosen to build a programme around his late Romantic concerto masterpiece.
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 Armenian SpiritGeorgi Minassyan, Haïg Sarikouyoumdjian, Gaguik Mouradian & Armen Badalyan, Hespèrion XXI, Jordi SavallThis album is a tribute to Armenia and to the Armenian musicians who played alongside Jordi Savall and his wife Montserrat Figueras over the years. The repertoire consists alternately of very lively pieces and more contemplative ones, all of them beautifully played on traditional instruments, including the ‘duduk’, a flute with a deeply moving sound originating from a time before times. |
 Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1Daniil Trifonov (piano), Mariinsky Orchestra, Valery GergievDaniil Trifonov, winner of the XIVth International Tchaikovsky Competition, is probably the world’s most exciting young pianist. On his first Mariinsky recording he joins Valery Gergiev for a scintillating performance of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No 1. Daniil also presents a selection of recital repertoire including music by Tchaikovsky, Chopin and Liszt transcriptions of Schubert and Schumann. |
 Handel: Alessandro, HWV21Lawrence Zazzo (Alessandro), Yetzabel Arias Fernández (Rossane), Raffaella Milanesi (Lisaura), Martin Oro (Tassile), Andrew Finden (Clito), Sebastian Kohlhepp (Leonato) & Rebecca Raffell (Cleone), Deutsche Händel-Solisten, Michael FormHandel’s opera ‘Alessandro’, first performed at the King’s Theatre, Haymarket in London on 5 May 1726, was one of the composer’s most successful works for the stage. This opera displays Handel at the pinnacle of his career and enjoyed repeated performances over a period of several years. |
 Simone Kermes: DrammaSimone Kermes (soprano), La Magnifica ComunitàThe album, titled ‘Dramma’ features a selection of the most virtuosic opera arias of this time, originally composed for castrati singers such as Farinelli and Caffarelli. The arias require highest dramatic expression and flawless vocal technique. Kermes studied these demanding compositions in extreme detail before embarking on the great challenge of recording them. |
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