Mendelssohn: Elijah, Op. 70 (Elias)

“Step into Victorian Birmingham with Paul McCreesh’s “authentic” recording of Mendelssohn’s epic Old Testament oratorio...The thumping grandeur of the big choruses is magnificent. But against that must be placed McCreesh’s tendency to insert wallowing rallentandos before every transition, and fuzzy choral diction.” The Times, 1st September 2012 ***

“the choral singing is a marvel.” Sunday Times, 2nd September 2012

“one of the striking aspects of the performance is the way that Paul McCreesh so naturally places the great set pieces within the context of a multifaceted expressive whole...familiar moments in Elijah sound newly minted here, McCreesh approaching them with polished, fluent phrasing and using the period instruments of his orchestra to underpin emphases and to add vibrant colour.” The Telegraph, 15th September 2012

“McCreesh here totally re-imagines it: the big choruses are transparent as well as massively impressive...and there is no danger of religiosity in the fresh-voiced solos of Rosemary Joshua, Sarah Connolly and Simon Keenlyside...In all, a spectacularly successful reinvention of the British choral tradition.” The Observer, 23rd September 2012

“Connolly sings with mellifluous tone and Simon Keenlyside is an Elijah of spirit and intelligence: he may not have the sheer weight of a Bryn Terfel, but he's alive to every shift of meaning and his diction is, as ever, impeccable. The gut strings, unimpeded by vibrato, bring splendid urgency to the texture” BBC Music Magazine, November 2012 ****

“Miraculously, McCreesh succeeds in relating Elijah’s sound world to Mendelssohn’s more familiar, lighter-sounding works while never underplaying the performance’s staggering heft. The combined choirs produce a sonority which has to be heard to be believed. The doomy, dramatic numbers are simply terrifying...McCreesh’s Berlioz disc was a highlight of 2011; this Elijah is even better. Flawless, in other words.” The Arts Desk, 6th October 2012

“There’s a definite histrionic side to the role and Keenlyside doesn’t short-change us but when listening to him I was reminded again and again what a fine lieder singer he is...[Ward is] clear and accurate and shows excellent breath control. Furthermore, his pitching is spot-on...The orchestral playing is superb...This is a marvellous recording of Elijah...Anyone who cares about this fine work should try to hear it.” MusicWeb International, October 2012

“unashamedly committed and thoroughly dramatic…this a reading to make one hear Mendelssohn’s masterpiece anew…The recording is beautifully presented in an exquisitely designed ‘book format’” Choir & Organ, November/December 2012

“The sound is massive when required, but the articulation is never unwieldy and there is delicacy too … [the organ is] a splendid beast and, except in one instance, you would never know that it was dubbed on electronically...Sarah Connolly and Rosemary Joshua are both excellent. From the crib of ‘Death and the Maiden’ at the opening to the final ‘Amen’, this is a triumph.” Gramophone Magazine, November 2012

“Boyce sings the part with studied beauty, as indeed do all the other soloists, and the chorus is in excellent form. Josef Krips sets them some rapid tempi here and there, but the result is lively and interesting … plenty of orchestral detail even in the loud choruses … Norma Procter’s singing is always beautiful” Gramophone Magazine

“Krips does not neglect variety in the directing of his forces...Boyce sings and responds with imagination and intelligence...Like the other soloists, he knows how to enunciate clearly without prissy overstressing...[Maran] possesses a forthright voice, sometimes a bit hard-edged, which he uses with understanding...The recording, originally in glorious mono, is clearer than on some choral discs from recent times.” International Record Review, May 2011

“Spering directs an enthusiastic and briskly paced performance...Bauer is up among the best of them as the great Prophet, oozing authority and presence...Claudia Barainsky is full of life and spirit, mixing vocal purity with a sense of drama which gives great distinction to everything in which she is involved.” International Record Review, March 2011

“...this excellent performance of Mendelssohn’s great Biblical oratorio thrills both in the surges of choral glory and in the moments of tender reflection. Tenor Genz’s lyrical singing of the aria known in English as If With All Your Hearts alerts you early to the quality of the performance.” The Telegraph, 8th October 2010 *****

“This is in every way a 'big' Elijah. Climaxes are full-blooded from both orchestra and chorus, and in the narrative sections conductor Jun Märkl brings out the drama with telling use of contrasts in both texture and tempo. Most important of all, Ralf Lukas's Elijah is the impatient, hot-tempered prophet imagined by Mendelssohn” BBC Music Magazine, December 2010 ****

“there is a keen sense of the drama unfolding in front of one's eyes, and an unfailingly musical quality to Jun Märkl's directing that is enormously satisfying.” Classic FM Magazine, January 2011 ***

“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.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010