Mendelssohn’s Elijah

23 November 2024

Salisbury Musical Society with the Chelsea Opera Group Orchestra, conducted by David Halls gave a performance of Mendelssohn’s Elijah last Saturday,
23rd November, in Salisbury Cathedral. From the very opening, with Elijah’s dramatic declaration of a drought in Israel, followed by the overture that built in tension towards the first choral declamation ‘Help, Lord’, it was clear that the audience (numbers perhaps slightly diminished by the effects of Storm Bert) were in for a splendid evening.

The work was given its premiere in Birmingham in 1846 to great acclaim: ‘Never was there a more complete triumph — never a more thorough and speedy recognition of a great work of art”(The Times). Even so, Mendelssohn made substantial revisions to the work. I was surprised to learn that, according to the records, Elijah was not sung by SMS until 1974 and the work had dropped out of the choral repertoire somewhat in a pushback against ‘Victorian sentimentality’ in the earlier years of the 20th century. Subsequent re-evaluation of Mendelssohn’s music led to one critic acclaiming Elijah as his crowning glory. It is definitely now a mainstay in the choral repertoire.

Mendelssohn was influenced by the music of Bach and Handel and Elijah owes much to the structure of their oratorios. Soloists take the parts of the characters in the narrative, and sing the recitatives, with the chorus taking the part of the people and adding comment, rather like a Greek drama.

The Chelsea Opera Group orchestra were on excellent form, especially the brass section. Their long association with Salisbury Musical Society has led to some wonderful music-making over the past 40 years or more and is much appreciated by Salisbury audiences.

As for the choir, one member of the audience told me that she had never heard Salisbury Musical Society in such good voice. Their singing of the ‘Blessed are the men who fear Him’ and ‘Be not afraid’ was inspiring; and the sopranos and altos sounded suitably ethereal in ‘Lift thine eyes’. The close of the first section. ‘Thanks be to God’, was thrilling. I could however have done with a bit more anguish form the Priests of Baal.

The baritone soloist, Benedict Nelson (as Elijah), sang with power and passion in a memorable performance. His aria ‘It is enough’ (referencing Bach’s aria of the same name) was most moving. The tenor, Thomas Elwin, matched him in clarity of diction and focused golden tone (as both Ahab and Obadiah), particularly in ‘If with all your hearts’. The parts of The Widow, The Queen and the Angels were sung by Melinda Hughes and Felicity Buckland. Chorister Gabriel Watson’s beautifully focussed and clear treble voice (as The Youth) floated through the Cathedral effortlessly. It is interesting that Thomas Elwin began his singing career as a chorister at St Paul’s Cathedral. I wonder whether Gabriel will follow his example?

The conductor, David Halls, drew choir, orchestra and soloists together to combine in giving an inspiring account of this major work. The applause of the audience showed how much his meticulous work in the preparation of both chorus and orchestra was appreciated. This was a well-paced performance with dynamic contrasts, culminating in a majestic and uplifting final chorus.

If I had to make two slightly critical comments, I think the raking of the choir stage could have been slightly higher, the better to enable their voices to project over the expansive orchestral sound (certainly from where I was sitting). But the Cathedral does have variable acoustics. Secondly, the interval was too long.

The performance was dedicated to the memory of Margaret and Jack Shore, who between them had given over 100 years of service to SMS. Margaret was, I believe, the mezzo-soprano soloist in the 1974 performance, for which I was then a member of the chorus. I remember them both with much affection and admiration and this concert did them proud.

Was it worth driving 100 miles through Storm Bert to attend? Absolutely!

Jane Erith
Reviewer