Felix Mendelssohn’s gargantuan 1846 oratorio is biblical in scale as well as source material. Inspired by the Baroque-era oratorios of Bach and Handel, Mendelssohn set to work on Elijah following a commission from Birmingham’s Triennial Music Festival. As a frequent visitor to England, Mendelssohn was keenly aware of the popularity of Handel’s English-language, large-scale vocal works. And as a champion of Bach’s music, he had recently presided over the first performance since the composer’s death, in 1750, of the St Matthew Passion. Boasting 42 movements, Elijah is a substantial work and calls upon the forces of a full orchestra, organist, eight solo singers, and a large chorus. This acclaimed 1997 recording features superstar soloists Bryn Terfel and Renée Fleming in the roles of the prophet and the widow, respectively, and features a fantastic, historically informed accompaniment by the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.
Disc 1
Disc 2
- Dame Kiri Te Kanawa
- Yvonne Kenny, Anne Sofie von Otter, Anthony Rolfe Johnson, Sir Thomas Allen, Academy of St Martin in the Fields Chorus, Academy of St Martin in the Fields & Sir Neville Marriner
- Academy of Ancient Music Chorus, Barbara Bonney, Cecilia Bartoli, Christopher Hogwood, Orchestra Of The Academy Of Ancient Musi & Uwe Heilmann
- Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Dame Janet Baker, Philharmonia Orchestra, Dame Gwyneth Jones & Nicolai Gedda
- Alessandra Marc, Chicago Symphony Chorus, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim, Ferruccio Furlanetto, Janet Williams, John Aler, Plácido Domingo, Robert Holl, Thomas Hampson, Tina Kiberg & Waltraud Meier
- Robert Shaw, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Barbara Bonney, Florence Quivar, Jerry Hadley & Thomas Hampson
- Marilyn Horne & Martin Katz