An imposing vocal mass and a powerful orchestra. That’s what he thought about Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy when in 1846 he began to compose Elijah, his last great oratorio. On Thursday and Friday at 8 p.m., in the Symphony Hall of the Kirchner Cultural Center, a rare choral symphonic display will take place. The Libertador San Martín National Youth Symphonynext to National Children’s Choir directed by María Isabel Sanz, the Washington Chorus and the University of Michigan Chamber Choir, will stage the work of the German composer, with the musical direction of Eugene Rogers. As soloists the notable baritone Will Liverman, the soprano Juliet Schlefer, the mezzo-soprano Monique Spells and the tenor Tyrese Byrd will participate. Free tickets can be reserved (up to two per person) on the Kirchner website (www.cck.gob.ar) and can be picked up at the ticket office (Sarmiento 151) on the day of the concert.
A confluence of forces and talents makes possible the production of what will surely will be among the musical events of this season. Elías is a profound and grandiose oratorio – about two hours long –, composed on the models of Bach and Handel, which demands exceptional energy from both the musicians and the audience. We know well in these pampas the notable level of Libertador San Martín National Youth Symphony, the happy orchestral institution created and directed by maestro Mario Benzecrywho on this occasion will perform alongside well-established choirs and notable soloists, among whom the baritone Will Liverman stands out.
Created 62 years ago and currently directed by Eugene Rogers, The Washington Chorus is one of the largest symphonic choirs in the United States, highlighted repeatedly for his extensive repertoire, his recordings and the always careful artistic level, which among other things led him to win the Grammy Award twice. Liverman, for his part, arrives for the first time in Argentina, preceded by the most laudatory comments from critics. The baritone also won a Grammy for Best Opera Recording in 2023, for his role as Charles in the work. Fire Shut Up In My Bones, by Terence Blanchard. Additionally, she won the 2022 Beverly Sills Artist Award, presented by the Metropolitan Opera House, where last year she starred in X: The Life and Times of Malcolmby African-American composer Anthony Davis.
Double tradition
Ten years passed between paulusMendelssohn’s first major oratorio, premiered to great acclaim in 1836, and Elijah, the product of a commission from the Birmingham Festival, which the same composer conducted at its premiere in the British city on August 26, 1846. For the text, Mendelssohn used biblical passages chosen in collaboration with his friend, the pastor Julius Schubring. The music, originally composed on the German libretto, was adapted in the course of composition to the English translation, prepared by William Bartholomew, so it is possible to speak of two versions of the same oratorio that substantially maintain protocols of authenticity: Eliasin German, and Elijahin English.
The work, which articulates its narrative in eight moments, is a wonderful testimony of Mendelssohn’s artistic maturity, a capital document of the Renaissance, in full romanticism, of the great tradition of German and English Protestant oratory. A tradition represented by the masterpieces of George Frederich Handel In England, –The Messiahfor example – and Johann Sebastian Bach in Germany. The same Bach that Mendelssohn rediscovered with his first modern representation of the Passion according to Saint Matthew.
For Mendelssohn, born into a Jewish family, Protestantism and Germanism would form an open cultural identity, always tending towards its roots. The figure of the protagonist, the great prophet who eradicated the idolatry widespread in Israel under the reign of Ahab, lends itself well to the creation of an authentic musical character, endowed with true life, as Mendelssohn had dreamed of from the first conception of the oratorio. This also applies to the secondary characters, entrusted to the other soloists: from the dissolute Queen Jezebel to the Widow, passing through the young and ardent Obadjah. The story revolves around the two miracles destined to confuse the followers of Baal: the fire miraculously lit under the victim offered by Elijah instead of the one sacrificed by the pagans, and the return of rain after the long drought invoked by the prophet to punish Israel’s infidelity.
About a libretto with some dramatic fissures based on the Book of Kings and in the Psalms, Mendelssohn’s music displays a solid dramaturgy, which brings into play effective solutions, at times inspired by Bach and at times by Handel. Powerful syllabic singing of the choirsductile relief of the declamation, arias of generous melodic expansion and large contrapuntal edifices, are some of the musical resources that characterize a work in which grandeur does not displace intimate beauty.
