Elijah, St John’s Church, Carlisle

For only the third time in their 74 year history Cumbria Rural Choirs chose Mendelssohn’s Elijah for their annual concert.

Elijah is one of the greatest oratorios of the 19th Century and it was first performed to great acclaim in the Birmingham Festival of 1846 by a choir of 271 voices and an orchestra of 125. Resources for the Carlisle concert were scarcely a third of those of 1846 but choir - trained by a new chorus director Victoria Ely - and orchestra produced a splendid sound in what was a very good concert.

Canadian bass-baritone Andrew Mahon was a quite outstanding Elijah. In the solo recitative that begins the work he immediately imposed a powerful and authoritative personality on the evening and this sense of purpose was evident in the striking challenges and defiance he offered as the work proceeded.

Trystan Griffiths gave ample evidence of why he was named the Voice of Wales in 2012 in a powerful and particularly sensitive performance of the great tenor air 'If with all your hearts ye truly seek him' while Helen Bruce (contralto) offered sympathy and tenderness in 'O rest in the Lord' and Vanessa Bowers (soprano) displayed strength and inspiration in the air 'Hear ye, Israel' at the beginning of the second half of the work. These four excellent soloists blended together sensitively in the two quartets which Mendelssohn included in the work.

Elijah is a very big sing for any choir: the compensation is that, particularly in the second half, there is a succession of choruses that are both varied and hugely rewarding to sing.

The choir’s capabilities were shown in the dramatic contrasts of the early chorus Yet did the Lord see it not, and produced a rousing “Thanks be to God” to end the first half. The choir really came into its own in the second half, with some incisive singing of the chorus 'Be not afraid,' the well-controlled and reflective 'He that shall endure to the end' and a joyful, unflagging final chorus, marked by some splendid soprano high notes.

Yet probably the highlight of the choruses was 'Holy, holy, holy is God the Lord' in which the choir was joined by Amabile Girls’ Choir from Kendal. Here double choir is used to create a texture of immense dignity and spaciousness and it was a pleasure to hear this chorus sung in the way that Mendelssohn intended. A little earlier, Amabile (whose musical director is Rachel Little) had delighted the audience with the beautifully-phrased and well-enunciated Trio Lift thine eyes and Laura Wilson, a member of the choir, had sung the role of The Youth with great conviction and some confident high notes.

For the first time an orchestra of local musicians was used to accompany the concert. Despite one or two ragged moments in negotiating speed changes between movements, they acquitted themselves most creditably, supplying a strong support to the chorus writing and offering some more delicate colours in the quieter writing (the cello solo in Elijah’s air 'It is enough' a particular joy).

Andrew Padmore, making his second appearance with the choir as guest conductor, controlled the large choral and orchestral resources with great skill and constant awareness of both the dramatic and the reflective aspects of the work.

Colin Marston