As SFCV has amply noted in recent features and reviews, this year marks the second centenary of the birth of Mendelssohn, who, like Mozart, was born into a family of privilege and culture that allowed his talents to flourish, though with a more benign interest. Both became public performers before the age of 10 and accomplished, mature composers by the age of 20; both died before turning 40.
These composers came to mind at the recent San Francisco Symphony performance of Sophia Gubaidulina’s violin concerto In Tempus Praesens, played by Anne-Sophie Mutter, when a friend remarked that “the prodigy shows us that life is essentially unfair.” Despite our democratic-minded efforts to make of life a level playing field, extreme talent rules — and transcends. But perhaps that’s a good thing, for it allows us to celebrate and pay homage to talent’s gifts. Thrilled and inspired, we line up for an autograph on a CD: a token or blessing from those whose lives are driven by the notoriously difficult taskmaster of genius.
Mendelssohn’s genius is evident in Elijah. The text used by Cantare Con Vivo was the English rather than the German version, Elias, which seems to be the preferred version in recordings. Mendelssohn’s intention was to have the work sung in English, as the oratorio was commissioned by the Birmingham Festival and performed there in 1846, with the composer conducting. Premiered to great acclaim, the oratorio remained popular throughout the 19th century.
Scenes From the Prophet’s Life
The two-part oratorio opens with Elijah’s prophecy of drought on the land of Israel, which, under King Ahab, has become a land of fallen-away believers who worship Baal. After a short instrumental “overture,” the soloists and chorus reenact several scenes from the life of the prophet Elijah: his challenge to the prophets of Baal, his revival of the dead son of a widow who has given him shelter, his confrontation with Queen Jezebel, his flight to the wilderness, and his ultimate ascension into heaven via whirlwind and fiery chariot.The episodic quality of the oratorio’s text gives it a dramatic plot worked out in scenes that are almost operatic. Only occasionally does a single voice — shifting between parts, never settling on an individual singer or character — sing a narrative explanation.
Some of the criticism that was later directed at the work, especially during the 20th century, focused on the oratorio’s similarity to works by Bach and Handel, two composers whom Mendelssohn admired and championed. What such criticism ignores is how much the oratorio differs from its precursors.
Elijah’s richness of orchestral and choral writing is Romantic in gesture and seems more likely to have sprung from Mendelssohn himself (an accomplished visual artist), since he experienced the natural world in vivid emotional tones. When it comes to nature in extremis, the music is unmistakably descriptive. As Cantare Con Vivo sang “through darkness riseth light” the Chorale’s voices bounded upward in tone, the vocal sections entwining in regular and ascendant patterns. The individual parts maintained enough clarity to emphasize and glorify the abundant variety in the oratorio’s colors.
The chorus also rocked out in the forte sections that told of storm, earthquakes, and divine chaos: “And a mighty/Wind rent the mountains around, brake in pieces the rocks.” Any section suggesting Old Testament fire and brimstone seemed to fill the singers with additional gusto: “The fire descends from heaven! The flames/Consume his offering! Before Him upon your/Faces fall!”
My only complaint about this performance was that some of Mendelssohn's music, originally written for duets, trio, and quartets, was arranged for full chorus. If present, smaller ensemble sections add immense variety to the texture. The ones meant to represent angelic song are especially beautiful, and they lost their delicacy and shimmering poignancy when moved to the larger chorus. Such is the difficulty, however, of performing a piece requiring an unusual number of soloists. Despite these challenges, the choral soloists did a fine job with the solos they were given.
Lead Soloist a Standout
Marla Berg sang the soprano part with a lustrous and silvery tone, while Delia Voitoff in her solos revealed the opulence and depth of a contralto. Gustavo Hernández Garcia displayed a light lyric tenor, with darker shadings to add to the mix. And young Andrea Januta sang a wonderfully lovely Child, her song telling of a raincloud hung stratospherically in the church’s quiet atmosphere.
All in all, Cantare Con Vivo, with Morales on the podium, delivered a graceful and satisfying performance of this transcendent masterwork.