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Mendelsohn's Oratorio Elijah.
I love this piece, and in a good performance of it all the criticism of it as being too long, too dull, and too much of it in "four-four time" evaporates.
One such performance is the 1947 set under Sargent with the Huddersfild Choral Society, Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra [one of the best at the time], and with Harold Williams as Elijah [Bass], who has not yet been eclipsed in the role he sung many hundreds of times throughout the English-speaking world. In this reading the drama is actually characterised as quasi-operatic, and it benefits from Sargent's fairly swift [very quick in the recitatives] treatment, and the gloriously full throated singing of the Chorus.
The other soloist are are wonderful, with Isobel Ballie [the incomparably pure voiced, even now, Soprano. You can easily hear all the words. "Pro-Jec-Tion" is not taught nearly so well nowadays!], Gladys Ripley [a proper deep Alto], and James Jonstone [a pleasingly masculine sounding Tenor]. This is to be treasured, though I think Dutton Vocalion have withdrawn their exemplary transfer now sadly. I am sure it will be back though, as it is has been in and out of their catalogue for the last ten years.
At the end are some bonus arias from Webster Booth [Tenor], Roy Henderson [Elijah, Bass] and Marjory Thomas [an exquisite Alto], who sang on the LP remake. Strangely this old set shows a considerable advantage as a technically fine recording over the LP/tape recording from 6 or 7 years later as the tape is severely distorted in vocal passages, and though it reappeered on MFP CDs a few years ago is not a patch on this older set in any way except for Miss Thomas's contribution - musically or technically.
No modern set seems to come close to the conviction if this old set, which is a link to an older more authentically full-bloody idea of the music than what seems possible in today's world of technical perfection and ignoring the words' meaning!
The only way you come across this sort of reading is in a live concert these days. I have played in a few Elijahs. I played it more often than anything except Messiah of old Handel.
I listened twice. Last evening, earlier on, and again from six this morning! Both times fully captivated.
ATB from Fredrik
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