It is good to see Elijah being revived by one of our choral societies. It is an excellent piece but seems to have fallen slightly out of fashion in recent years. St Mary's Cathedral is also an excellent venue, not used often enough for these large choral masterpieces. It turned out to be ideal and the large audience greeted an excellent performance with enthusiasm. While the acoustic is undoubtedly resonant, there seemed to be no problem, either for soloists or choir, in getting the words across.
There was one late change in the soloists, with Cameron Mitchell being forced to withdraw through illness. His excellent replacement was a Canadian tenor currently studying in Glasgow. James Schouten has a clear, ringing tenor that filled the large space effortlessly. Only towards the very end did he begin to tire and lose focus slightly.
Christopher Nairne trained in Glasgow a decade or so ago and has recently spent several years in Leeds with Opera North. Dring that tme he has developed very positively. His voice is now quite powerful and incisive, and his interpretation of the title role was very satisfying.
The female voices were more familiar and were completely reliable. The projection of words in both 'Hear ye, Israel (soprano) and 'O rest in the Lord' (alto) was a notable feature. The Edinburgh Voices chorus made a big impact - the assembly looked (and sounded) a good bit more youthful and vigorous than most of our choral societies nowadays.
Alistair Digges, familiar from his work over many years with Opera Bohemia, has here assembled an excellent choral team. The orchestra, containing several names familiar from other groupings, was equally good. His control was full of variety. Clearly the Edinburgh Singers will be an organization worth keeping an eye on. Their next outing will be a Messiah in St Cuthbert's at the end of October.
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