# Mendelssohn's Elijah



## TrevBus (Jun 6, 2013)

After seeing my oldest grandson sing w/his church vocal society 'Elijah 'by Mendelssohn, I was hooked. I went looking for recordings and found one I think I am going to get. Before I do, I would like some opinions on this and possible other noteworthy recordings.
DeBurgs conducting w/Fischer-Dieskau, Gedda, Baker singing. Heard some off of amazon and was moved.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

All I know about Elijah is that the opening of its overture was filched from the music to Jaws...


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## quack (Oct 13, 2011)

The de Burgos is definitely a very beautiful recording, coupled with the fact that Baker is probably my favourite singer. I'm not sure I recall hearing any other versions though so it's not a very helpful comparison. Bryn Terfel's fake beard always put me off getting his version. I see Paul McCreesh's recent recording has over 440 performers for authentic victorian overkill, looks worth investigating.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

I have de Burgos and McCreesh. McCreesh is good. The tenor certainly better than Gedda. The recording is amazing but I do wonder whether a few less voices should have been used in the choir for the recording as opposed to the live performance.


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## Guest (Aug 11, 2013)

I have a recording which I will not mention (because never marketed). I was regrettably a performer in that work. As a performer, my opinion is that Elijah is rarely peformed for good reason: uneven, with moments of high craftmanship, but essentially second rate.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

quack said:


> The de Burgos is definitely a very beautiful recording, coupled with the fact that Baker is probably my favourite singer. I'm not sure I recall hearing any other versions though so it's not a very helpful comparison. Bryn Terfel's fake beard always put me off getting his version. I see Paul McCreesh's recent recording has over 440 performers for authentic victorian overkill, looks worth investigating.


Bryn looks like something out of Monty Python on that cover. Surely has to be one of the worst covers ever!


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

TalkingHead said:


> I have a recording which I will not mention (because never marketed). I was regrettably a performer in that work. As a performer, my opinion is that Elijah is rarely peformed for good reason: uneven, with moments of high craftmanship, but essentially second rate.


Uneven - yes.
Second rate - no.
I don't know about rarely performed. Seems popular with choral societies. 
And that McCreesh performance at the Proms proved such a success that they made a recording.


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## Guest (Aug 11, 2013)

KenOC said:


> All I know about Elijah is that the opening of its overture was filched from the music to Jaws...


Now Ken, I don't have the score or CD to hand, but if my memory serves me well, the opening of Elijah ('cellos and basses) does have that 'Jaws' gesture as you rightly point out, but is it in the same key? I vaguely remember that Elijah opens with grumbling A to B-flat in the basses, whereas the Jaws score opens to a very low E to F. Not at all sure about this, but I take your point.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

TalkingHead said:


> Now Ken, I don't have the score or CD to hand, but if my memory serves me well, the opening of Elijah ('cellos and basses) does have that 'Jaws' gesture as you rightly point out, but is it in the same key? I vaguely remember that Elijah opens with grumbling A to B-flat in the basses, whereas the Jaws score opens to a very low E to F. Not at all sure about this, but I take your point.


I wouldn't be at all surprised if Mendelssohn transposed the key in order to hide his theft.


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## Guest (Aug 11, 2013)

KenOC said:


> I wouldn't be at all surprised if Mendelssohn transposed the key in order to hide his theft.


Which is exactly what Wagner would have said! Still, who cares what Wagner had to say outside of the notes he put to paper. Silly man, he used to wear pink satin and other accoutrements. Bit of a cross dresser, to all accounts. Still, it's the music that counts. I played Elijah once (and recorded for commercial release). It never happened, thank Allah - it was an appalling performance of a very uneven work.


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## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

I recommend a version by Sawallisch. I don't think the piece itself is a "deep" work, but I find it extremely pleasant and entertaining!


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## rborganist (Jan 29, 2013)

Although it's been quite awhile since I sang Elijah, I remember enough to say very definitely Victorian, but not second-rate (Besides, second-rate Mendelssohn is still darn good stuff). The performance I was in was recorded, but not for commercial release, but the Elijah--oh my!--He had a voice like thunder--powerful, but never weighty or unwieldy. His name was Elwood Thornton, and he has probably retired from singing by now, but I cannot imagine a better Elijah. All our other soloists were local (Jackson, Mississippi--this was St. Andrew's Episcopal Cathedral, about 1974), and they were excellent. Bryn Terfel is probably the closest to that kind of sound, so try that recording. As for favorite moments, I would pick "It is Enough" (sung by Elijah), "Behold God the Lord Passed By", the section where Elijah is competing with the prophets of Baal, but especially (and it comes after a stormy section) "Cast Thy Burden Upon the Lord" with the chorus and the violin interludes.


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## TrevBus (Jun 6, 2013)

quack said:


> The de Burgos is definitely a very beautiful recording, coupled with the fact that Baker is probably my favourite singer. I'm not sure I recall hearing any other versions though so it's not a very helpful comparison. Bryn Terfel's fake beard always put me off getting his version. I see Paul McCreesh's recent recording has over 440 performers for authentic victorian overkill, looks worth investigating.


The de Burgos is the one I went with. Glad I did. Wonderful and Exciting.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

TrevBus said:


> The de Burgos is the one I went with. Glad I did. Wonderful and Exciting.


Great. I was going to add, I have that one also. I like it more than my other one by Robert Shaw. Fischer-Dieskau sounds downright crazy, which makes him a good Elijah.


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## AegnorWildcat (Sep 4, 2013)

I have the de Burgos recording as well. The baritone isn't my favorite, but overall it is a great recording.

I've performed the Elijah in the chorus, and I've performed both the tenor arias separately, and I love it.

Here's a link to me singing Then Shall the Righteous Shine Forth from Elijah.


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## Reichstag aus LICHT (Oct 25, 2010)

A recent recording by Frieder Bernius with Stuttgart forces, on the _Carus_ label, is excellent. You can get it on its own, but it's economically coupled with Mendelssohn's other oratorios (_Paulus_ and fragments of _Christus_) in a box set issued this year. I can also recommend a set of Mendelssohn's complete sacred choral music (minus the oratorios) from the same team; well worth exploring.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Interesting that the text of Elijah was originally in German but the first performance took place in English. It seems to be one of those oratorios which fits well in either English or German. Like Haydn's creation. The version by McCreesh is very good indeed although he perhaps could've done with less singers to make a recording. It was no doubt very impressive in the Albert Hall but on a disk it is a case of diminishing returns with the more singers you have.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Just listening to 'Cast thy burden upon the Lord' - beautiful music and spiritual refreshment at the same time!


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

I just recently discovered the Elijah oratorio. It will be preformed in February 2015 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and I will be attending, so I picked up this set:


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

I am not sure what is meant in some of the comments about Elijah being "uneven." It is a great work with plenty of drama and would be quite nice if it were produced as an opera. I don't think anything would have to change to make it an opera of it.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Florestan said:


> I am not sure what is meant in some of the comments about Elijah being "uneven." It is a great work with plenty of drama and would be quite nice if it were produced as an opera. I don't think anything would have to change to make it an opera of it.


Hardly anyone interested Florestan, that says it all.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Pugg said:


> Hardly anyone interested Florestan, that says it all.


Well, it won't stop me from enjoying it. And if I had Donald Trump's money (or Bill Gates' money) I would pay an opera company to do it.


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## ORigel (May 7, 2020)

SixFootScowl said:


> I am not sure what is meant in some of the comments about Elijah being "uneven." It is a great work with plenty of drama and would be quite nice if it were produced as an opera. I don't think anything would have to change to make it an opera of it.


IMO, Part 2 isn't worth listening to after "Behold God the Lord Passes By."

I agree that it could and should be performed as an opera.


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