Mendelssohn - Elijah / Terfel, Fleming, Bardon, Ainsley, Fulgoni, Paul Daniel

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Mendelssohn (1809-1847) is a perennially underrated composer who finally may be coming to greater appreciation. Certainly this fine recording (in English) of a masterpiece that he believed joined the Jewish faith of his fathers with his own Protestant Christianity should not hurt his reputation. The superb Welsh baritone Bryn Terfel gives a dramatically charged performance in the title role, while soprano Renee Fleming sings with beauty and limpid understanding; the cast is almost uniformly strong. The Edinburgh Festival Chorus, directed by David Jones, sings with care and conviction, and Paul Daniel conducts his forces firmly. --Sarah Bryan Miller

Mendelssohn - Elijah / Terfel, Fleming, Bardon, Ainsley, Fulgoni, Paul Daniel, Music, Bryn Terfel, Felix Mendelssohn, Paul Daniel, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Renée Fleming, Edinburgh Festival Chorus, John Mark Ainsley, Neal Davies, Patricia Bardon, Libby Crabtree, Sarah Fulgoni, Geoffrey Moses, Choral, Classical, Classical Composers, Classical Music, Oratorio
Mendelssohn - Elijah / Terfel, Fleming, Bardon, Ainsley, Fulgoni, Paul Daniel
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • Excellent!
  • Outstanding Performance Deserving a Better Overall Rating!
  • Mendelssohn-Elija/Terfel
  • A prophetable experience
  • The Standard. Period.
 Mendelssohn - Elijah / Terfel, Fleming, Bardon, Ainsley, Fulgoni, Paul Daniel
Bryn Terfel , Felix Mendelssohn , Paul Daniel , Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment , Renée Fleming , Edinburgh Festival Chorus , John Mark Ainsley , Neal Davies , Patricia Bardon , Libby Crabtree , Sarah Fulgoni , and Geoffrey Moses
Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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  3. Elijah in Full Score
  4. Franz Joseph Haydn: The Creation
  5. Elijah: An Oratorio for Piano & Vocal Score

ASIN: B0000042HI
Release Date: 1997-10-14

Tracks:

  1. Elijah: Oratorio, Op.70: As God The Lord Of Israel Liveth (Introduction) (Elijah)
  2. Elijah: Oratorio, Op.70: Overture
  3. Elijah: Oratorio, Op.70: No. 1 - Help, Lord! Wilt Thou Quite Destroy Us?
  4. Elijah: Oratorio, Op.70: No. 2 - Lord, Bow Thine Ear To Our Prayer!
  5. Elijah: Oratorio, Op.70: No. 3 - Ye People, Rend Your Hearts And Not Your Garments (Obadiah)
  6. Elijah: Oratorio, Op.70: No. 4 - 'If With All Your Hearts Ye Truly Seek Me...' (Obadiah)
  7. Elijah: Oratorio, Op.70: No. 5 - Yet Doth The Lord See It Not
  8. Elijah: Oratorio, Op.70: No. 6 - Elijah! Get Thee Hence, Elijah! (An Angel)
  9. Elijah: Oratorio, Op.70: No. 7 - For He Shall Give His Angels Charge Over Thee
  10. Elijah: Oratorio, Op.70: No. 8 - What Have I To Do With Thee, O Man Of God? (The Widow, Elijah)
  11. Elijah: Oratorio, Op.70: No. 9 - Blessed Are The Men Who Fear Him
  12. Elijah: Oratorio, Op.70: No. 10 - As God The Lord Of Sabaoth Liveth (Elijah)
  13. Elijah: Oratorio, Op.70: No. 11 - Baal, We Cry To Thee
  14. Elijah: Oratorio, Op.70: No. 12 - Call Him Louder, For He Is A God! (Elijah)
  15. Elijah: Oratorio, Op.70: No. 13 - Call Him Louder! He Heareth Not (Elijah)
  16. Elijah: Oratorio, Op.70: No. 14 - Lord God Of Abraham, Isaac, And Israel (Elijah)
  17. Elijah: Oratorio, Op.70: No. 15 - Cast Thy Burden Upon The Lord
  18. Elijah: Oratorio, Op.70: No. 16 - O Thou, Who Makest Thine Angels Spirits (Elijah)
  19. Elijah: Oratorio, Op.70: No. 17 - Is Not His Word Like A Fire (Elijah)
  20. Elijah: Oratorio, Op.70: No. 18 - Woe, Woe Unto Them Who Forsake Him! (Contralto I)
  21. Elijah: Oratorio, Op.70: No. 19 - O Man Of God, Help Thy People! (Obadiah, Elijah)
  22. Elijah: Oratorio, Op.70: No. 20 - Thanks Be To God! He Laveth The Thirsty Land

Tracks:

  1. Elijah: Oratorio, Op.70: No. 21 - Hear Ye, Israel (Soprano I)
  2. Elijah: Oratorio, Op.70: No. 22 - 'Be Not Afraid' Saith God The Lord
  3. Elijah: Oratorio, Op.70: No. 23 - The Lord Hath Exalted Thee From Among The People (Elijah)
  4. Elijah: Oratorio, Op.70: No. 24 - Woe To Him! He Shall Perish
  5. Elijah: Oratorio, Op.70: No. 25 - Man Of God, Now Let My Words Be Precious In Thy Sight (Obadiah, Elijah)
  6. Elijah: Oratorio, Op.70: No. 26 - It Is Enough! O Lord, Now Take Away My Life (Elijah)
  7. Elijah: Oratorio, Op.70: No. 27 - See, Now He Sleepeth Beneath A Juniper Tree (Tenor I)
  8. Elijah: Oratorio, Op.70: No. 28 - Lift Thine Eyes To The Mountains
  9. Elijah: Oratorio, Op.70: No. 29 - He, Watching Over Israel
  10. Elijah: Oratorio, Op.70: No. 30 - Arise, Elijah, For Thou Hast A Long Journey Before Thee (Elijah, An Angel)
  11. Elijah: Oratorio, Op.70: No. 31 - Oh Rest In The Lord (An Angel)
  12. Elijah: Oratorio, Op.70: No. 32 - He That Shall Endure To The End, Shall Be Saved
  13. Elijah: Oratorio, Op.70: No. 33 - Night Falleth Round Me, O Lord! (Elijah, An Angel)
  14. Elijah: Oratorio, Op.70: No. 34 - Behold, God The Lord Passed By!
  15. Elijah: Oratorio, Op.70: No. 35 - Above Him Stood The Seraphim - Holy Is The God The Lord Sabaoth (Contralto I)
  16. Elijah: Oratorio, Op.70: No. 36 - Go, Return Upon Thy Way! (Elijah)
  17. Elijah: Oratorio, Op.70: No. 37 - For The Mountains Shall Depart (Elijah)
  18. Elijah: Oratorio, Op.70: No. 38 - Then Did Elijah The Prophet Break Forth Like A Fire
  19. Elijah: Oratorio, Op.70: No. 39 - Then Shall The Righteous Shine Forth (Tenor I)
  20. Elijah: Oratorio, Op.70: No. 40 - Behold, God Hath Sent Elijah The Prophet (Soprano I)
  21. Elijah: Oratorio, Op.70: No. 41 - But The Lord From The North Hath Raised One - Oh Come Everyone That Thirsteth
  22. Elijah: Oratorio, Op.70: No. 41 - And Then Shall Your Light Break Forth

Amazon.com

Mendelssohn (1809-1847) is a perennially underrated composer who finally may be coming to greater appreciation. Certainly this fine recording (in English) of a masterpiece that he believed joined the Jewish faith of his fathers with his own Protestant Christianity should not hurt his reputation. The superb Welsh baritone Bryn Terfel gives a dramatically charged performance in the title role, while soprano Renee Fleming sings with beauty and limpid understanding; the cast is almost uniformly strong. The Edinburgh Festival Chorus, directed by David Jones, sings with care and conviction, and Paul Daniel conducts his forces firmly. --Sarah Bryan Miller

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Excellent!.......2007-05-07

I listened to several recordings of Elijah and like this one the best. Given that the technical challenges to record this production would be huge, I think this recording is good. The chorus' diction is superb, and the soloists are exceptional.

5 out of 5 stars Outstanding Performance Deserving a Better Overall Rating!.......2007-02-05

My intent is not to repeat the comments from the 'excellent' reviews already present, but to warn others who may be contemplating the purchase of this Elijah set to ignore the two 1-star ratings; first, the sound recording and dynamics on these CDs are outstanding - I'm assuming that the one reviewer has either bad audio equipment or was unlucky to obtain bad discs (exchange them!); second, 'wrong key' downgrades the rating to one star! As already pointed out, this is a HIP adventure, and the tuning of the key used is just different - ignorance of this fact does not deserve an ignorant rating.

This is a worthy performance - did not receive a top rating in the Penguin guide (not sure why not after reading the comments?); in the 'Third Ear', the set did get a glorious review (unusual for that book); and finally, in the 'Rough Guide to Classical Music', this version is the one recommended. If you want to own an Elijah set, do not ignore this one as a possibility - Terfel & Fleming are superb and the period instrument orchestra outstanding.

1 out of 5 stars Mendelssohn-Elija/Terfel.......2007-01-14

This is one of the worst recordings I have ever purchased from Amazon. Many tracks of this sublime music are inaudible. Fortunately the music is "there". With about 8 hours of work, one can remaster the disks to produce a fine recording, but I would not recommend this for most people.

4 out of 5 stars A prophetable experience.......2004-04-28

I've heard a lot of performances of Elijah, a well-crafted work that used to be more popular than it is these days, and this is an extremely good one. The musical direction is to the point, Fleming and Terfel are at their best, and the other soloists are extremely good. (Although I wonder if they originally tried to get an alto better-known than Patricia Bardon.) I'm also glad that there are enough soloists on hand: Mendelssohn asked for at least 8, and older recordings that make do with 4 (turning all octets into choruses, for instance) seriously distort his plan.

The pitch of the performance is a result of the use of period instruments and the tuning standard selected. There was no single pitch standard at this period, but the one selected is plausible and may be one heard by the composer. It is not a "transposition" or a distortion.

5 out of 5 stars The Standard. Period........2002-04-26

I've heard many fine performances of this, the Mendelssohn masterpiece, both live and recorded, and THIS recording is the quintessential presentation. I've heard this sung in German, and I've heard it sung in English. And, no matter which of the two this is sung in, there is no finer performance anywhere. From the opening, with Bryn Terfel bursting force with the most power I've heard from him to date, to the defeat of the prophets of Baal, to the plea for Israel, to the final praise of God by the children of Israel, this work never lets up. Regardless of the pitching of the instruments or how Mendelssohn would have heard it, there is no doubt in my mind that he most certainly would have been enthralled with Terfel's performance. Terfel is, no question, the best there is in the world of classical bass-baritones today. Renee Fleming delivers a magnificently gorgeous performance. John Mark Ainsley holds his own as well. I was particularly impressed with the work of Patricia Bardon, whom I'd never heard from before this recording. Paul Daniel is worth his salt, too. And, the cake, which all of the soloists and the conductor are the icing for, is the combination of the Edinburgh Festival Chorus and the Enlightenment Orchestra...these are simply wonderful! They are so dramatic, articulate, and involved. If one is in search of a recording of "ELIJAH" by which one wants to hear the way it was meant to be performed (with intensity, emotion, fervor, and energy), then THIS is THE recording to pursue.

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