Review: Mendelssohn’s ‘Elijah’ at King’s College Chapel, Cambridge
Elijah by Felix Mendelssohn, which has been described as “the most popular oratorio of the 19th century”, was performed at King’s College Chapel on Friday, 1 November, as part of the Cambridge Music Festival’s autumn concert series.
Tonight’s performance of the piece dubbed the ‘Messiah of its day’ boasted involvement from both the BBC Concert Orchestra and the BBC Singers, and was recorded for broadcast on BBC Radio 3.
Elijah tells the story of the titular Old Testament prophet, and the composer’s visionary music depicts storms, earthquakes, floods, and a chariot of fire, as well as moments of warmth and tenderness.
‘Fronting’ the illustrious orchestra and choir were five outstanding solo singers - baritone Sir Simon Keenlyside in the title role, soprano Carolyn Sampson OBE, mezzo Dame Sarah Connolly, tenor Andrew Staples, and a young treble named Auberon Adams.
Right from the start, the powerful combination of music and voice lifted this ambitious piece straight from the page, the beautiful dialogue expertly translated into English by William Bartholomew, and filled the magnificent space with the stirring melodies and stunning operatic delivery of all the extremely talented main participants.
The oratorio was divided into two parts - part one was made up of a prologue and three further scenes, while part two was made up of a prologue, three scenes and an epilogue - and it was never less than riveting.
The very impressive BBC Singers certainly played their part too, with some notably standout contributions, while the orchestra successfully held the whole thing together, ably conducted by Daniel Hyde, director of music at King’s College since 2019.
Sitting next to another reviewer, he turned to me at the end of the first half and basically told me it doesn’t get much better than this.
With these near-perfect performances in a near-perfect venue, I’m strongly inclined to agree.
For more information on Cambridge Music Festival, visit cambridgemusicfestival.co.uk.
