Mats Norrman <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>Mendelsson is a composer I admire for a lot, still I am not yet familiar
>with his "Elias".  I wonder if someone out there has something interesting
>to tell about this work.  It is not the same work as "Elijah", is it?

It is the same work as "Elijah", but it is the German text.  The text
was translated from English to German, so it works well in both languages.
I am rehearsing for my second performance of this work now, and I have
grown to love it more and more.  There is brilliant writing for both
orchestra and chorus throughout with wonderful arias for all of the
characters.  There are several sections writting for octet or quartet that
are absolutely beautiful.  This is definately one worth having in your
library, and I would recommend the Herreweghe recording on Harmonia Mundi.
It is a live recording that is a little brass heavy, but the quality of
performance is unparalleled.

Enjoy!

Jonathan Knapp