Elijah by Mendelssohn, Vin 23 Dec. 2016, De la (2016/2016), Dirijor Marcus Creed, Vredenburg Leidsche Rijn, Utrecht, Netherlands

Could Mendelssohn surpass the enormous success of his oratorio Paulus? Yes, he did in 1847 with Elias. The composer and press were wildly enthusiastic. No less than four choirs and four arias had to be repeated at the Birmingham premiere. The critics spoke of 'Mendelssohn's chef d'oeuvre' and of 'the greatest oratorio of the nineteenth century'. 'Never before has a piece of mine gone so superbly on its first performance, and been received so enthusiastically by both the collaborators and the audience as this oratorio.' And The Times wrote: 'Never before has an artist experienced such a great triumph - and never before has a work of art been understood so quickly and so completely.' The music corresponds to the capricious and irascible character of the prophet Elijah: sometimes rousing and furious,