Forty years ago, the Symphonic Choir of Hamburg welcomed a new conductor and musical director: Matthias Janz, Professor of Oratorio Interpretation at the Lübeck University of Music. With this concert – and one of his favorite works – they celebrate this successful collaboration together.
With his »Elijah«, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy aimed to reshape the old genre of oratorio in a very different, much more modern way. »What I would prefer most is if you took Elijah, divided the story into two or three parts, and wrote it with choruses and arias – but with really thick, strong, full choruses,« he wrote to his friend Karl Klingemann. With these arias and the »thick, strong, full choruses« – and notably without narrative recitatives in the style of Bach’s Passions – he wanted to convey the story primarily through dramatic dialogues. And that is how it turned out, even though the libretto ultimately came together with Julius Schubring.
To the rather woodcut-like image of Elijah from the Old Testament, Mendelssohn gave greater emotional depth and inner conflict; he wanted him to be »strong, zealous, even angry and dark at times.« He was especially fascinated by the encounter with God on Mount Horeb and Elijah’s ascension to heaven at the end. Not by coincidence, these scenes – along with the contest with the priests of Baal – are among the most musically striking moments in his oratorio. Mendelssohn ultimately never wrote an opera, but »Elijah« brought him very close.
The approximately 130-member choir is joined by its partner choir, the Flensburg Bach Choir, and some members of Coro Canto, Zurich. In keeping with the best tradition, the Sønderjyllands Symphony Orchestra provides accompaniment. With a high-caliber quartet of soloists, this musical ensemble promises a spectacular evening.
PERFORMERS
Symphonischer Chor Hamburg choir
Flensburger Bach-Chor choir
Danish Philharmonic Orchestra orchestra
Hanna Zumsande soprano
Wiebke Lehmkuhl alto
Ilker Arcayürek tenor
Jóhann Kristinsson bass
Matthias Janz conductor
PROGRAM
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
Elijah
