United Kingdom Three Choirs Festival 2025 [5] – Mendelssohn: José Francisco Abrantes-Noronha (treble), Katherine Broderick (soprano), Jess Dandy (contralto), Anthony Gregory (tenor), Matthew Brook (bass-baritone), Three Choirs Festival Chorus, Philharmonia Orchestra / Geraint Bowen (conductor). Hereford Cathedral, 2.8.2025. (JQ)
Mendelssohn – Elijah
In 2009, Geraint Bowen closed the Hereford Three Choirs Festival with a performance of Elijah in which the title role was sung by Matthew Brook. I was pleased that Bowen had selected the same work with which to end the 2025 Festival with Brook returning to take the role of the prophet.
Brook was simply outstanding. It may be sixteen years since I last heard him in this role, but the years have been kind to him for two reasons; one is an evident complete understanding of this role and where the various aspects of the music sit in his voice; the other is a rock-solid technique. The programme notes quoted Mendelssohn’s famous comments to his librettist, Julius Schubring that he ‘imagined Elijah as a real prophet through and through … strong, zealous, and yes, even bad-tempered, angry and brooding … and indeed at odds with almost the whole world – yet borne aloft as if on angel’s wings’. Despite that, Mendelssohn and Schubring fashioned a character to whom there is rather more than righteous anger; there is a compassionate and world-weary side to Elijah as well. Brook gave a fully rounded portrayal of the prophet. He stamped his authority on the proceedings right away with a commanding delivery of the opening recitative. Thereafter, there was all the requisite power and indignation in the scene where he puts the worshippers of Baal firmly in their place. I also liked the dry wit with which he suggested that perhaps there was no response from Baal because ‘peradventure he sleepeth’. Yet immediately after seeing off the Baal worshippers there wasn’t just authority but also lyrical beauty in ‘Lord God of Abraham’. The compassionate side of the prophet was brought out in the dialogue with the Widow and in Elijah’s entreaties on behalf of the people for an end to the drought. Yes, the zealous side of Elijah was given full rein (‘Is not His word like a fire?’) but ‘It is enough’ received a marvellous, expressive performance in which Brook’s seamless legato was a decided asset. Eventually, Elijah bid us a truly dignified farewell (‘For the mountains shall depart’) and I for one was sorry to see the prophet leave the stage. Brook made Elijah a credible, fully rounded character who engaged our sympathies. I enjoyed every note he sang; this was a memorable performance.
The other soloists have less to do. Jess Dandy was at her best in her lyrical solos. ‘O rest in the Lord’ was warmly voiced and reassuringly characterised though I felt that the tempo set by Bowen erred on the side of being a bit too fast; as a result, the aria didn’t contain quite the sense of repose that it should have. ‘Woe unto them’ was much better paced and Dandy sang it very well. Elsewhere, she was nicely communicative in her recitatives. Anthony Gregory made a good impression in his two arias, especially in ‘Then shall the righteous shine forth’, which is one of the best numbers in the whole work. I also liked the poetry and poise he brought to ‘See now he sleepeth’.
I am afraid I found little to enjoy in the singing of Katherine Broderick. No one could doubt her engagement with the words and music, nor her commitment. Sadly, though, in striving for expression I thought she forced the tone far too much. As a result, an alarming number of notes were not hit truly; equally concerning was the tendency to swoop up to and down from top notes. The soprano opens Part II with a big set-piece aria, ‘Hear ye, Israel’. I found listening to the second part of this solo (‘I am he that comforteth’) something of a trial. I believe Broderick has a strong reputation as a Wagner singer but I don’t think her approach to Mendelssohn was right. Overall, she was a serious disappointment.
There is one other soloist, who has a brief but crucial role to play. Near the end of Part I, Elijah enlists the help of a Youth to scan the horizon for much-needed rain clouds and report back. Here, the role was sung by one of the Hereford Cathedral choristers, José Francisco Abrantes-Noronha. It must be a daunting assignment for a young boy to step onto a crowded stage, facing down the cathedral nave packed with a capacity audience and to sing a series of cruelly exposed phrases; some nervousness would be pardonable. However, José audibly grew in confidence; he sang his music with complete accuracy and though my seat was quite a way down the nave the sound of his clear, pleasing voice reached me easily. Fittingly, at the very end of the concert he was sent on the stage for a solo bow and he was warmly applauded.
Besides the character of Elijah, the main protagonist in this oratorio is the choir. I have had the good fortune to sing in a number of performances of the work, and I know how exciting and rewarding the choruses can be. This music is, of course, meat and drink to the Festival Chorus and they sang everything in an excellent and often spirited fashion. Their very first entry after the overture (‘Help, Lord’) inspired confidence; the sound of the choir made a great impact. Thereafter, as the performance progressed the singers maintained this early promise. I wasn’t following in my score but I believe I know the music sufficiently well to be able to say that the dynamics were impressively observed throughout. As a result, in the Baal scene the Festival Chorus was able to portray through their singing the way the mood of the Baal worshippers gradually changes from scorn towards Elijah to great nervousness that their god may not be the force they had believed him to be. In Part II, the choir gave a biting rendition of ‘Woe to him’ and a little later, they sent Elijah up to heaven in his fiery chariot in a most exciting way – here was a particular example of the way they faithfully observed dynamics, thereby heightening the dramatic effect. The Festival Chorus was no less successful in the gentler episodes such as ‘He, watching over Israel’. And a special mention must be made of the female semi-chorus who sang the unaccompanied ‘Lift thine eyes’ beautifully. At the end of a long week there was no sign of any tiredness among the members of the choir. They gathered themselves and gave a splendid account of the final chorus, which closed the performance in great style. I have been impressed with the fine performances of the Festival Chorus, not just tonight but in the other concerts I have attended; clearly, they have been extremely well prepared by Geraint Bowen, Samuel Hudson and Adrian Partington.
Throughout the performance, the Philharmonia played very well indeed. The Three Choirs Festival is lucky to have this longstanding partnership with a world-class orchestra.
Geraint Bowen was clearly determined above all to bring out the drama in Elijah and not to allow any suspicion of Victorian fustiness into the music. I strongly support that aim; it ensures that this oratorio is a vital, living work of art and not some old-fashioned museum piece. There were a few occasions when I thought Bowen pressed the tempo a little too much. I have already referenced ‘O rest in the Lord’; another case in point was Elijah’s aria ‘Is not His word like a fire’, which seemed to me to be just too urgent. Matthew Brook coped with the electrifying speed, of course, and the music was undeniably exciting but perhaps just a slight modification in the speed would have been beneficial without sacrificing excitement. I timed the whole performance at 125 minutes, a little swifter than the anticipated time printed in the programme. One or two slight reservations aside, I liked Bowen’s dynamic approach to the work.
Unsurprisingly, there was an enthusiastic ovation at the end of the concert; this had been a fine performance of Elijah, and it was a great way to ring down the curtain on the Festival.
I have only attended a few evening concerts in the past week; however, anecdotally, I have heard from multiple sources that the Festival has been very successful. Attention now shifts to the city of Gloucester, which will host the 2026 Festival. The Artistic Director, Adrian Partington has announced the headline details of what promises to be a mouthwatering programme. There will be a generous helping of music by Elgar, including The Dream of Gerontius and Sea Pictures, the latter sung by a male soloist, Roderick Williams. Elgar’s First Symphony will feature on the opening night, paired with Walton’s mighty Belshazzar’s Feast. There will be an opportunity to hear Rachmaninov’s All-Night Vigil performed by Ex Cathedra with Jeffrey Skidmore. Gloucester Cathedral’s organ has been undergoing a significant rebuild for the last few years but the work will be complete in time for the Festival and the new organ will be shown off in some style by the American virtuoso Katelyn Emerson (Poulenc’s Organ Concerto and Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass) and in a celebrity recital by the exciting young French organist, Thomas Ospital. Contemporary music will certainly not be neglected. As an example, there will be a welcome opportunity to hear again a fine choral work by Neil Cox, the premiere of which I attended in 2024 (review here). Furthermore, the Three Choirs Festival has just announced an exciting and ambitious composer-in-residence scheme; Gloucester-born Gavin Higgins will be the first composer whose music will be showcased in this way. Throw into the mix staples of the choral repertoire such as Beethoven’s Mass in C, Mozart’s Requiem and Monteverdi’s Vespers and the Festival promises to be a musical feast. I can’t wait.
The Three Choirs Festival will run from 25 July to 1 August 2026 and the full programme will be launched in March 2026 on the Three Choirs website (here).
John Quinn