Music : Mendelssohn - Elijah / G. Jones, J. Baker, Gedda, Fischer-Dieskau, Frühbeck de Burgos
from: EMI Classics
Price: $29.50 Prices subject to change.
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0724356860124
Label: EMI Classics
Manufacturer: EMI Classics
Number Of Discs: 2
Publisher: EMI Classics
Release Date: May 21, 1996
Sales Rank: 174338
Studio: EMI Classics
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Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
If you are religious and like Oratorios this one is a must. It has many memorable solos. If you aren't religious, you might like it anyhow.
JL
Rating:  -
Mendelssohn's ELIJAH has been loved, hated, belted out by innumerable church and community choirs, performed with white-tie panache, and ignored. It's a difficult work to categorize and even more challenging to review helpfully, since it often appears to be several works in one.
So let's just start at the beginning: the Introduction ('As God the Lord of Israel liveth') and Overture are one of music's greatest kickoffs. The funereal opening chords lead directly into Elijah's (a baritone) full frontal challenge, quoted in parentheses and underscored by a solemn belt of brass.
If the full work does not live up to this magisterial opening, it would be unfair to judge it too harshly on these grounds. By the time you work in the chorus(es), the full orchestra, and the other soloists, the work is inevitably complicated and sometimes diluted in its impact.
Nevertheless, I believe ELIJAH is a great work, though one that is habitually underrated. It does not have the popular oomph of MESSIAH nor the fireworks of pieces frequently visited by pops orchestras for their name/tune recognition and mass appeal. Yet it offers excellent soloists and choir an opportunity to excel and make some beautiful music together and separately. It also presents a discerning audience with the occasion to appreciate artists overcoming a high degree of difficulty on their way to entertainment that in the right hands rises from time to time to the level of the spectacular.
Rating:  -
I have no doubt that the conductor, chorus and soloists knew what they were doing, it is overall a very professional recording. I do have several problems with it. When i state my problems, i am comparing it to Bryn Terfel's representation that just snaps with conviction and is completely lacking the sterile quality I thought this recording shows. Part of the problem is that this was recorded in 1968, and recordings ahave come a long way since then. The other thing is that the soloists do not sing as though they really believed what they are singing. It sounds like just another passage to sing. The otehr thing is that they replace the quartet in "Cast thy burden upon the Lord" with the mushily recorded chorus-a real negative. So, if you don't mind an unclear recording, and a professionally sterile performance, this is the one to buy!
Rating: -
The oratorio that the public loves and critics love to bash just won't go away. George Bernard Shaw said people who like it were the kind of folks that thought pretty blond haired girls were angels, and it is true that Mendelssohn's work never provides a soul-moving emotional experience. But oh what exquisitely lovely melodies coupled with some properly rousing choruses! Although some very fine singers have recorded the Elijah, this one has never been surpassed. Janet Baker has the perfect style for this oratorio, Gedda and Fischer-Dieskau provide beautiful tone with great phrasing and diction and the conductor seems to have an instinct for the right tempos. O.K. so its just a chocolate truffle and not a "religious" experience..enjoy this truffle. It's far and away the best.
Rating: -
In general, I tend to like fast performances of big works. This recording is an exception. This performance, led by Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos, one of the longest 'Elijah's, coming in at almost 140 minutes, is an exception. This is due in large part to the soloists, all performing at the peak of their considerable powers, all having been given ample leeway by the conductor to exercise their glorious vocal and dramatic gifts. This is not to say that Fruhbeck de Burgos just sits back, but the interpretation IS expansive, and borders on the Wagnerian. In the other recordings I have heard of this oratorio, over which the conductors pretty much let the piece play, Part I comes off quite a bit better than Part II. In this recording, the conductor's firm hand evens out the impact of the two halves for a more satisfying total experience. As noted in one other review, the articulation of the chorus could be better, but overall, the recording is more than satisfactory.
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