There’s nothing like a solid Victorian oratorio to reassure you that all’s right with the world; and Mendelssohn’s Elijah is the most solid, most Victorian of them all. Our age of doubt and scepticism might struggle with the rock-solid biblical certainties it propounds, but Mendelssohn’s glorious music would help to win over even the most convinced of atheists.
The most consistently strong element of this performance, the last of this year’s Edinburgh International Festival, was the playing of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, coupled with the conducting of their Music Director, Thomas Søndergård. The RSNO really enjoyed the colour of the piece, going easy on the vibrato and using smaller timpani so as to give some 19th-century flavour. However, when they needed to, they could really let rip, nowhere more excitingly than in the rushing string torrent of the flood that ends Part One.
Aside from a few uncannily lengthy pauses between numbers, Søndergård showed a great understanding of how to shape Mendelssohn’s unfolding paragraphs, reminding us that this remains a drama, even if it’s in the mind’s eye. He paced the long crescendo of the opening, for example, with an opera conductor’s ear for both speed and dynamics, not giving away too much too soon but also refusing to hang about, so that the entry of the organ and the chorus made for a properly exciting culmination. He shaped the big choruses at the end of each part with real gusto, leaving space for the counterpoint to come through, and the choral ebb and flow was well handled, with shorter numbers like He that shall endure to the end acting as respite and contrast.
Next to this company, the Edinburgh Festival Chorus took a while to get into their stride. They really enjoyed calling on Baal or baying for Elijah’s blood in Part Two, but the opening roar of Part One sounded dutiful rather than electrifying, and there was a touch of aural fog around the big choruses that ended each part.
Among the soloists, mezzo Karen Cargill sang a quietly radiant angel, and enjoyed herself marvellously as a brief but bloodthirsty Jezebel. Mari Eriksmoen’s soprano had a brighter, more piercing shine to it, even if it was slightly squally at the top. No complaints about Ben Bliss’ tenor solos, all of which were honeyed and lyrical but full of commanding strength. Unfortunately, the festival’s Rising Stars of Voice badly fluffed their entry and their ensemble in Cast Thy Burden, where they sound like four soloists rather than a quartet.