Mendelssohn: Paulus Choir Orchestral & Concertos Chandos(Classics)

FELIX MENDELSSOHN

(1809-1947)

An oratorio

Words after the Holy Writ

COMPACT DISC ONE

PartI

Overture

6:15

Chorus: 'Herr! Der Du bist der Gott'

4:11

Chorale: 'Allein Gott in der Höh' sei Ehr'

1:04

Recitative: 'Die Menge der Gläubigen'

1:56

Solo soprano, Basses I & II

Chorus: 'Dieser Mensch hört nicht auf zu reden'

3:01

Recitative and Chorus: 'Und sie sahen auf ihn Alle'

4:20

Solo soprano, Stephen, Chorus

Aria: 'Jerusalem! Jerusalem, die du tödtest die Propheten'

3:08

Solo soprano

Recitative and Chorus: 'Sie aber stürmten auf ihn ein'

1:44

Solo tenor, Chorus

Recitative and Chorale: 'Und sie steinigten ihn'

2:04

Solo tenor, Chorus

10.

Recitative: 'Und die Zeugen legten ab'

0:49

Solo soprano

11.

Chorus: 'Siehe, wir preisen selig'

3:40

12.

Recitative and Aria: 'Saulus aber zerstörte die Gemeinde'

2:13

Solo tenor, Saul

13.

Recitative and Arioso: 'Und zog mit einer Schaar gen Damaskus'

2:40

Solo tenor, Chorus, Saul

14.

Recitative with Chorus: 'Und als er auf dem Wege war'

2:07

Solo tenor, Chorus, Saul

15.

Chorus: 'Mache dich auf, werde Licht!'

4:28

16.

Chorale: 'Wachet auf! ruft uns die Stimme'

1:59

17.

Recitative: 'Die Männer aber die seine Gefährten waren'

1:08

Solo tenor

18.

Aria: 'Gott sei mir gnädig'

5:06

Paul

19.

Recitative: 'Es war aber ein Jünger zu Damaskus'

1:36

Solo tenor, Solo soprano

20.

Aria with Chorus: 'Ich danke Dir, Herr mein Gott'

4:29

Paul, Chorus

21.

Recitative: 'Und Ananias ging hin'

1:44

Solo soprano, Solo tenor

22.

Chorus: 'O welch' eine Tiefe des Reichthums'

4:42

64:23

COMPACT DISC TWO

Part II

Chorus: 'Der Erdkreis ist nun des Herrn'

4:10

Recitative: 'Und Paulus kam zu der Gemeinde'

0:48

Solo soprano

Duettino: 'So sind wir nun Botschafter'

1:37

Barnabas, Paul

Chorus: 'Wie lieblich sind die Boten'

3:00

Recitative and Arioso: 'Und sie sie ausgesandt'

2:13

Solo soprano

Recitative with Chorus: 'Da aber die Juden das Volk sah'n'

1:29

Solo tenor, Chorus

Chorus and Chorale: 'Ist das nicht, der zu Jerusalem'

5:12

Chorus, Quartet

Recitative: 'Paulus aber und Barnabas sprachen'

0:39

Solo tenor, Paul

Duet: 'Denn also hat uns der Herr geboten'

2:21

Paul, Barnabas

10.

Recitative: 'Und es war ein Mann zu Lystra'

0:55

Solo soprano

11.

Chorus: 'Die Götter sind den Menschen gleich geworden'

1:09

12.

Recitative: 'Und nannten Barnabas Jupiter'

0:33

Solo soprano

13.

Chorus: 'Seid uns gnädig, hohe Götter!'

2:27

14.

Recitative, Air and Chorus: 'Da das die Apostel hörten'

6:40

Solo tenor, Paul, Chorus, Second soprano

15.

Recitative: 'Da ward das Volk erreget wider sie'

0:15

Solo soprano

16.

Chorus: 'Hier ist des Herren Tempel!'

1:44

17.

Recitative: 'Und sie alle verfolgten Paulus'

0:32

Solo soprano

18.

Cavatina: 'Sei getreu bis in den Tod'

3:15

Solo tenor

19.

Recitative: 'Paulus sandte hin, und ließ fordern'

1:27

Solo soprano, Paul

20.

Chorus and Recitative: 'Schone doch deiner selbst!'

3:04

Quartet, Chorus, Paul, Solo tenor

21.

Chorus: 'Sehet, welch' eine Liebe'

2:34

22.

Recitative: 'Und wenn er gleich geopfert wird'

0:58

Solo soprano

23.

Chorus: 'Nicht aber ihn allein'

3:49

50:50

Solo: Susan Gritton soprano

Choral: BBC National Chorus of Wales

Orchestra: BBC National Orchestra of Wales

Conductor: Richard Hickox

5 May 2000 (live recording)

Richard Hickox’s version, recorded live in Cardiff with BBC Welsh forces, completely avoids sentimentality, finding freshness which effectively echoes the Bach Passions in punctuating the story of St Paul with chorales and the occasional ’turba’ or crowd chorus. In brushing any Victorian cobwebs away, Hickox tends to favour speeds on the fast side, never sounding hurried but, more importantly, never sound heavyor pompous as other German versions often do. Choral singing is excellent and among the soloists , Susan Gritton and Jean Rigby are first rate The warmth and clarity of the recording add to the freshness The Penguin Guide - 1000 Greatest Classical Recordings 2011-12

“from the opening Overture, which is exceptionally well-played by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales under the lamented Richard Hickox, one instinctively knows that all will be well with this performance – and we are not mistaken. A ‘live’ performance this may be, but the audience sit as quiet as church mice, and one would never guess that there must be a couple of thousand other people in the auditorium as well as the musicians; in any regards, that almost indefinable but essential frisson that comes from a live performance (as opposed to a dead one) can be discerned here. The soloists are very well matched and are uniformly first-class; the choir is also fine, and Richard Hickox’s conducting is quite masterly. The recording is excellent.. A welcome and timely reissue for the Mendelssohn bi-centenary.” ****(*)

Musical Opinion - May-June 2009

Composed in the wake of (and influenced by Mendelssohn’s epoch-making performance of Bach’s St Matthew Passion, Paulus is an impressive work whose punchy choruses bring out the best in Hickox.

BBC Music Magazine

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