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| Leslie Olive rehearsing the Suffolk Philharmonic Orchestra in St Edmundsbury Cathedral, Bury St Edmunds (Photo: Bill Hiskett) |
Mendelssohn's Old Testament oratorio, Elijah - the culmination of the composer's life's work and an 'epic' on a grand and imposing scale - depicts events in the life of the Jewish biblical prophet and miracle worker, Elijah, who according to the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible lived in the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of King Ahab in the 9th century BC.
A 'favourite' of choirs the length and breadth of the country, there's a grand performance coming up at St Mary's Church, Bury St Edmunds, on Saturday 22nd August (7.00pm) by the Suffolk Philharmonic Orchestra (a collective of professional musicians) and the Grand Chorus under the direction of choral supremo, Leslie Olive.
When first performed on 26 August 1846 in the newly built Birmingham Town Hall as part of the Birmingham Triennial Festival (the commissioning body) Elijah was conducted by the composer but for the work's première of the German-language version (Elias) on 3 February 1848 at the Gewandhaus Leipzig, Mendelssohn was unwell therefore the baton passed to the Danish composer and his close friend, Niels Gade, who succeeded him at the Gewandhaus. The performance took place on what would have been Mendelssohn's 39th birthday.
Those who attended the first performance in Birmingham, however, loved the performance and gave it an enthusiastic reception with one critic describing it as 'one of the greatest works in musical history'. The composer thought it a resounding success, too, while the packed house demanded encores for eight of the numbers - a common occurrence in Mendelssohn's day.
Alas, the well-known critic and Irish playwright, George Bernard Shaw, thought differently. He famously disliked the work coining the memorable phrase 'despicable oratorio-mongering' to describe what he felt was the prostitution of Mendelssohn's genius. He felt that Elijah contained 'exquisite prettiness' but lacked true religious or emotional depth when compared to the works of Bach or Handel. However, he was scathing about so many musical works not least Wagner's The Ring of the Nibelungen.
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| Birmingham Triennial Music Festival at the Town Hall, 1845 |
Therefore, notwithstanding the work's triumphant première, Mendelssohn (who was born in Hamburg on 3 February 1809 and died in Leipzig on 4 November 1847 aged 38 years) revised the score before embarking upon another group of performances in April 1847 at London's Exeter Hall, a large public meeting-place in the Strand now occupied by the Strand Palace Hotel.
Gracing the second performance were none other than Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. After the performance Prince Albert sent the composer his programme with an inscription written in German: 'To the noble artist who, surrounded by the Baal-worship of debased art, has been able, by his genius and science, to preserve faithfully, like another Elijah, the worship of true art, and once more to accustom our ear, amid the whirl of empty, frivolous sounds, to the pure tones of sympathetic feeling and legitimate harmony: to the Great Master, who makes us conscious of the unity of his conception, through the whole maze of his creation, from the soft whispering to the mighty raging of the elements.'
Standing upright and proud as a great and inspiring choral masterpiece, Elijah offers a host of storming choruses complemented by some generous and inviting arias equating, I feel, to that of Handel's Messiah. In respect of the forthcoming performance at Bury St Edmunds, one can expect a powerful 'shout' as Mr Olive has recruited a choral force bordering on 100 voices - the Grand Chorus.
Written in the spirit of Mendelssohn's baroque predecessors, Bach and Handel, whose music he dearly loved, the lyricism of Elijah and the use of orchestral and choral colour clearly define and reflect Mendelssohn's own genius as an early romantic composer.
As an aside, it was Mendelssohn who organized the first performance of Bach's St Matthew Passion in 1829 since the composer's death in 1750. Strangely enough, Bach's work had gone out of fashion so one can truly thank Mendelssohn wholeheartedly for bringing this great work and other significant works by this world-famous baroque composer to widespread popularity and, in doing so, made Leipzig a musical magnet once again. By contrast, Handel's oratorios never went out of fashion and Mendelssohn prepared a scholarly edition of some of them for publication in London.
When discussing writing an oratorio based on the life of Elijah with his friend, Karl Klingemann, in the late 1830s, Mendelssohn provided him with a partial text that he was unable to finish so Mendelssohn turned to his childhood friend and Dessau pastor, Julius Schubring, the librettist of his earlier oratorio, St Paul, premièred on 22 May 1836 at the Lower Rhenish Music Festival in Düsseldorf with the English première held in Liverpool on 3 October of the same year.
Schubring, though, abandoned Klingemann's work and produced his own text with the story of Elijah as told in the Book of Kings. The German text was translated into English by William Bartholomew who wrote and translated many of Mendelssohn's works during his time in England including that adorable anthem for soprano solo, chorus and organ 'Hear My Prayer' premièred in Crosby Hall, Bishopsgate in the city of London on 8 January 1845. It's one of Mendelssohn's most popular and best-loved choral works.
A cornerstone of the choral repertoire, Elijah's widely admired for its dramatic power and lyrical beauty harbouring strong and purposeful scenes not least by the hero of the work standing up to the likes of an angry mob one moment in stark contrast to him being a gentle and humble figure when floundering in the wilderness fighting against the tide picking up the courage to just stay alive. Therefore, one of the great scenes of Elijah is gloriously depicted in the lovely and moving aria found in Part II 'It is enough, O Lord, now take away my life' inspired by 'Es ist vollbracht' from Bach's St John Passion.
Performed against a strong cello accompaniment, the passage expresses Elijah's desperate weariness with life. And the a-cappella piece that duly follows 'Lift thine eyes to the mountains', a serene and beautiful piece, is sung by a female chorus while the Grand Chorus assembled for Maestro Olive's production will surely show their true colours in the well-loved chorus 'He, watching over Israel, slumbers' - a lyrical, comforting piece emphasizing God's constant protection and care.
However, Part I concludes with another large-scale number 'Thanks be to God' ('Rain miracle') which introduces a dialogue between Elijah and The Youth, who's sent up to Mount Carmel in search of rain. When he spots a little cloud about the size of a man's hand rising from the sea it brings an end to the long-suffering drought thereby highlighting the supremacy of a compassionate God over the false and evil Tyrian god, Baal, whom Queen Jezebel (King Ahab's vengeful wife) duly supports.
Opening Part II, the lovely and inviting aria 'Hear ye, Israel' sung by the Widow of Zarephath - who shelters Elijah and whose son he resurrects - was originally written for Jenny Lind, 'the Swedish Nightingale'. There are so many good moments in the oratorio such as this especially when Elijah persuades The People (represented by the chorus who comment on the drama as found in ancient Greek theatre) to repent and kill Baal's prophets. Jezebel, furious as ever, forces him into exile calling for his death.
Consoled by a host of heavenly angels, Elijah ascends to paradise in a charging fiery-winged chariot in a fabulous, emotive and telling scene highlighted by a couple of rousing, fulfilling and dramatic choruses 'And then shall your light break forth' and 'Lord, our Creator, how excellent Thy Name' which brings this glorious work to a triumphant close punctuated by an emotional and elongated 'Amen'.
Preparing a performance of Mendelssohn's Elijah, however, is a huge undertaking and it takes a considerable amount of time and effort in getting concerts of this nature off the ground. Leslie Olive is most certainly the man for the job - a choral man through and through right from his early days.
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| Leslie Olive rehearsing the Suffolk Philharmonic Orchestra (Photo: Bill Hiskett) |
For instance, as a teenager he trained and conducted his first choir made up by friends and their parents at Holy Trinity Church, Redhill, Surrey, where he acted as the regular pianist for informal worship. He also accompanied Reigate Grammar School Scout Troop in their annual Gilbert & Sullivan production.
But getting a feeling for conducting large-scale oratorios came Mr Olive's way in his first job at Sittingbourne, Kent, when he formed a choir of 90 teenagers and trained and conducted them in Bach's St Matthew Passion, Verdi's Requiem and on two separate occasions, Elgar's The Kingdom.
While in Reigate, Mr Olive was approached by the producer of the BBC Worship Department to be the choral director for a 'newlook' daily service on Radio 4. Therefore, he directed the pilot series and became a regular conductor for 'live' daily service broadcasts over the course of four years until the department moved to Salford. As time ran out on Radio 4, Mr Olive founded what became the English Arts Chorale whose singers form the backbone of the Grand Chorus for Elijah.
With the English Arts Chorale, Mr Olive has performed Verdi's Requiem from memory with the Philharmonia Orchestra at the Barbican Centre, the Mozart Requiem from memory with the London Mozart Players and the English Chamber Orchestra at the Queen Elizabeth Hall while he also presided over two gallant sell-out performances of Britten's War Requiem at Winchester Cathedral and Tewkesbury Abbey alternating the roles of the two conductors with Brian Kay. Most recently, Mr Olive conducted the St Matthew Passion in Chichester Cathedral with extraordinary young soloists - their clean, concise voices entering deeply into the profound narrative of this fine oratorio.
Branching out in 1993, Mr Olive founded Reigate Summer Music based on and run entirely by members of the English Arts Chorale. They created an advanced choral summer school to which singers came from all over the UK and northern Europe as well as an international youth orchestra with players coming from here, there and everywhere including the orchestra's wonderful young leader who hails from Ekaterinburg.
Grand and challenging performances of Elgar's three wholesome and mighty oratorios were performed at Reigate over the course of one week. A remarkable and memorable event! Brian Kay conducted The Dream of Gerontius while Mr Olive conducted The Apostles and The Kingdom.
Come 1996, Vaughan Williams became Reigate Summer Music's chosen composer and Mr Olive conceived the notion of a new strand - a one-day seminar on scholarship centred on the music of Vaughan Williams coordinated by the well-known musicologist Lewis Foreman with contributions from nine distinguished Vaughan Williams experts which resulted in the publication Ralph Vaughan Williams in Perspective (Albion Press for the Vaughan Williams' Society, 1998) edited by Lewis Foreman thus making a significant contribution to Vaughan Williams' scholarship.
Following Reigate Summer Music coming to a natural end after 15 years 'active service' it gave Mr Olive more time to spend with the English Arts Chorale. Members of the ensemble harbour strong affections for Suffolk as they sang Verdi's Requiem from memory on their first visit to St Edmundsbury Cathedral in 1991 followed by a performance of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis on their second visit.
Therefore, since those early days, English Arts Chorale has collaborated with Eye Bach Choir and Stowmarket Chorale under Mr Olive's direction while contributing to the festivities celebrating the millennium of the Abbey of Bury St Edmunds (one of the richest Benedictine monasteries in England) with the première of Into the Light, a piece commissioned from Cornish-born composer, Paul Carr, set to words from the Benedictine tradition suggested by Canon Matthew Vernon, Canon Pastor and Sub-Dean of St Edmundsbury Cathedral.
Another memorable occasion came Mr Olive's way when he conducted all three of his choirs - English Arts Chorale, Eye Bach Choir and Stowmarket Chorale - in Vaughan Williams' A Sea Symphony and Walton's Belshazzar's Feast at Snape Maltings Concert Hall. And in a collaboration with the Symphony Orchestra of Prague Conservatoire, he conducted The Dream of Gerontius in the Obecni Dum (Municipal House) Prague - a wonderful and inspiring Art Nouveau masterpiece representing Czech national pride.
From conducting in Prague's grand and opulent Obecni Dum, Mr Olive found himself equally at home in the lovely and intimate Georgian-built Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds, conducting a youthful group of students who gamely opted into an event singing music in an idiom that they had never engaged in before.
The youngsters from Ruthie Henshall's stage musical drama school RHCast took part in a performance of a unique theatre piece devised by Tim Welton entitled Imogen Holst - A Life in Music. They performed a series of unaccompanied pieces punctuated by some considerable mid-20th-century dissonance under the direction of Mr Olive. 'The singers were stunning at repertoire completely outside their comfort zone,' enthused Mr Olive. 'In fact, they were brilliant. We had such good fun.'
Currently, Mr Olive - who studied conducting at London's Royal Academy of Music - is enjoying another treat. He's now in his third season as music director of St Edmundsbury Male Voice Choir - and, to boot, learning to sing in Welsh. Da iawn!
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| Mark Saberton |
Without doubt, a superb team of soloists have been recruited with the pivotal role of Elijah sung by bass-baritone, Mark Saberton, a Suffolk boy who trained at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. He has worked for most major UK opera companies including the Royal Opera, English National Opera, Opera North, Scottish Opera and Garsington Opera and has sung Brahms' Requiem at Birmingham Symphony Hall and Orff's Carmina Burana at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall.
And singing the role of the Widow of Zarephath falls to soprano Katherine Gregory who started out as a chorister at Truro Cathedral at the age of 13. Recently, she graduated from Newnham College, Cambridge with a BA in Theology and Philosophy.
During her time at Cambridge, she was a valued member of Trinity College Choir with whom she undertook many recordings and tours with including a recording for Hyperion and a video release of Duruflé's Requiem in Saint Eustache, Paris, in which she performed 'Pie Jesu' - a prayer for peace and rest to honour the departed.
The quartet of soloists is completed by tenor James Micklethwaite and mezzo-soprano Ruby Bak. Originally from Leeds but now based in London, Mr Micklethwaite graduated from the Royal College of Music in 2021 with a Distinction in Master of Performance. As a child he appeared as Miles in Opera North's production of Britten's The Turn of the Screw. Recent concert engagements include Bach's B Minor Mass and Evangelist in both the St John Passion and the St Matthew Passion as well as Haydn's Creation, Mendelssohn's St Paul and Handel's Messiah.
A graduate from the Royal Academy of Music, Ms Bak is an oratorio soloist of standing and has appeared in performances of Bach's St Matthew Passion under the baton of Jonathan Willcocks, Handel's Messiah, Rachmaninov's All-Night Vigil and Bach's St John Passion at Bath Abbey. Equally passionate about opera, she has performed a range of roles including Miss Jessel (Britten: The Turn of the Screw), L'Enfant (Ravel: L'Enfant et les Sortilèges) and Hänsel (Humperdinck: Hänsel und Gretel).
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| St Mary's Church, Bury St Edmunds |
This forthcoming performance of Mendelssohn's great oratorio Elijah in St Mary's Church, Bury St Edmunds, on Saturday 22nd August (7.00pm) by the Grand Chorus and the Suffolk Philharmonic Orchestra under Leslie Olive promises a performance of magnitude, strength and power. Don't miss it!
Box office: Bury St Edmunds Theatre Royal (01284 769505) booking@theatreroyal.org or from the Suffolk Philharmonic Orchestra website
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