>

A concert-recording from the minster
at abbey Maulbronn from May 17th and May 18th, 2003

Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy
Oratorio E L I J A H

Peter Lika - bass (Elijah)
Heidi Elisabeth Meier - soprano (Widow, Angel)
Jolantha Michalska-Taliaferro - altus (Queen, Angel)
Hans Peter Blochwitz - tenor (Obadjah, Ahab)
Kantorei Maulbronn
Members of the SWR-symphony-orchestra
Baden-Baden & Freiburg
Conductor: Juergen Budday

Additional soloists:
Christine Gonser - soprano (boy)
Edda Ullrich (soprano II), Kathrin Gölz (altus II)
Ernst-Dietrich Egerer (tenor II), Jürgen Krug (bass II)

Cover art: Josef-Stefan Kindler, 2003
2 CDs, DDD, 136 min.., EUR 33,-
ISBN 3-930643-78-2, EAN 42 6000591 025 4
© by K&K Verlagsanstalt anno 2003

Mendelssohn’s Elijah, one of the most important oratorios of the nineteenth century, premiered in Birmingham in 1846 and was emphatically celebrated both by the public and the press. According to a contemporary review, Mendelssohn turned music “into a grand sacred service”. Elijah is a biblical figure, and consequently the libretto is composed entirely from biblical texts. The oratorio lacks a continuous plot. Rather, important excerpts from the life of the prophet are strung together like snapshots, some of which are highly dramatic.
The prophet’s ascension into heaven concludes a series of powerful, dramatic and pathetic circumstances, effectively depicted by Mendelssohn music. The oratorio ends both with a somewhat mystical reference to the Messiah as the figure who truly consummates faith and the divine work, as well as a vision of divine grandeur.
Despite the lack of a continuous plot, Mendelssohn manages to create gripping, dramatic episodes. One example is the scene in which Baal’s priests are derided by Elijah and become extremely irritated; their abandonment is made evident in an ingenious way: “O Baal, hear us!” - intermission - Baal does not reply! Then in total, moving contrast is Elijah’ prayer “Lord God of Abraham” or the soprano aria “Listen Israel”. This alternation of dramatic and lyrical sections defines the work. The chorus plays a special, important role. It sustains the action over long segments, taking the part of the people or of Baal’s priests; elsewhere, it slips into the role of the community of the faithful (“Blessed is he who fears the Lord” or “He who persists until the end”) and comments on the events.
Mendelssohn, with the help of the minister Julius Schubring, essentially took the entire text from 1 Kings 17-19 and 2 Kings 1-2. Mendelssohn wrote Schubring on 2 November 1838, with regard to the character Elijah: “For Elijah I had in mind a proper prophet through and through, of the sort we could use again today: strong, zealous, as well as angry, furious and grim, in opposition to the rabble of the court and of the people, in opposition to nearly the whole world, and yet borne as if by angels’ wings.” Seen in this way, the prophet Elijah, and hence Mendelssohn’s oratorio, is once again extremely relevant for us today.

The libretto of Mendelssohn´s oratorio Elijah:
~ as website ~
~ as pdf-file (10 pages) for printing ~

Artists

Peter Lika (Elijah)

Peter Lika, who began his singing career as a boy soloist with the Regensburger Domspatzen, is considered one of the leading basses in the concert and opera repertoire. His unmistakable timbre is paired with delicately balanced dramatic expressive power, which makes him a natural soloist for roles such as that of Elijah. It is not surprising, therefore, that conductors like Masur, Schreier, Rilling, Gardiner, Marriner, Norrington, Celibidache and Herreweghe have appreciated working with Lika, as have renowned orchestras, not least for his extensive repertoire and many years of experience, also with early music. Performances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and nearly all of the German radio orchestras have brought Peter Lika to the major musical centres of Europe, Asia and the USA.

Heidi Elisabeth Meier (Widow, Angel)
is considered an exceptional phenomenon among up-and-coming soloists and can already look back on numerous successes in concerts, operas and song. The soprano, who was a member of the Bayerische Singakademie from an early age and completed her studies with honours under Adalbert Kraus at the academy of music in Munich, has performed in concert with the Münchener Symphoniker under Prof. Schneidt, the Münchener Bach-Chor under Christian Kabitz, the Deutsches Sinfonieorchester Berlin under Kent Nagano and the Ensemble für neue Musik. In 2003 she debuted at the Gärtnerplatz Theatre and elsewhere.

Jolanta Michalska-Taliaferro (Queen, Angel)
completed her basic studies in Warsaw and Cracow. She continued her education at the international music courses in Breslau (Adele Stolte), in Weimar (André Orlowitz) and in Stuttgart at the Bachakademie (Anne Reynolds). Concert tours in 1985­-1990, with the Capella Cracoviensis, took her to many European countries as well as Japan, Canada and the USA. In 1992, Ms. Michalska-Taliaferro received a stipend from the Kunststiftung Baden-Württemberg. In addition to concert activity in oratorios, operas and song, Ms. Michalska-Taliaferro teaches singing at the conservatory for church music in Esslingen.

Hans Peter Blochwitz (Obadjah, Ahab)
is one of the most highly respected German tenors at the important international opera houses, particularly for the Mozart parts. Since his debut in 1984 as Lenski in a new production of Eugene Onegin in Frankfurt, his opera career developed rapidly, with engagements in Geneva, Brussels, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Zurich and at La Scala in Milan. In addition to opera, he is a sought-after soloist in Bach’s passions and in oratorios by Monteverdi, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Britten and Frank Martin. He has performed in concert with Solti, Gardiner, Marriner, Harnoncourt, Masur, Abbado and others.

The Kantorei Maulbronn
is the large oratorio choir of the monastery in Maulbronn, founded in 1948. In addition to regular participation in the services at the monastery, the performance of great oratorios is the focus of its choral work. Their concert activity with renowned orchestras and soloists in Germany and abroad demonstrates the high quality of this ambitious amateur choir. The German television station ZDF has done a portrait of the Kantorei, and the choir has participated in live radio recordings for the SDR and Deutschlandfunk.

Jürgen Budday (conductor)

Jürgen Budday is director of church music and artistic director of the concert series at the monastery of Maulbronn, of the Kantorei and of the Maulbronn Chamber Choir. He studied music pedagogy, church music and musicology at the academy of music in Stuttgart and since 1979, has taught at the Evangelisch-theologisches Seminar in Maulbronn. For his teaching and artistic activity he has received the Bundesverdienstkreuz am Bande, the Bruno-Frey-Preis of the Landesakademie Ochsenhausen and was named “best conductor“ at the International Choral Festival in Prague. Since 2002, Jürgen Budday has also held the chair of the choral committee of the Deutscher Musikrat. Several concert recordings have been made under his artistic direction that received international recognition and high praise from critics. These have included the Handel oratorios Jephtha, Samson, Judas Maccabaeus and Saul with Emma Kirkby, Michael Chance, Nancy Argenta and Stephen Varcoe.