Depth, insight and devotion to the task

ELIJAH, OLDHAM CHORAL SOCIETY, Royal Northern College of Music
Oldham Choral Society musical director Nigel Wilkinson drew performances of musical depth and artistic insight from both singers and players to make this a very satisfying account of Mendelssohn’s lengthy score.

The large choir showed accomplished devotion to its task, but was somewhat disadvantaged by the surprisingly unfriendly acoustic of the hall.

The comparatively modest forces of the East Lancs Sinfonia were, however, well-served. Darren Jeffery (bass-baritone) brought to the role of Elijah as considerable a sense of presence and purpose as Mendelssohn’s music allows. The up-front, hard-hitting, blood-thirsty prophet of Old Testament times could well have had a musically more intense portrayal of both of his aggression and his fearfulness.

Of the other soloists, South African-born tenor Sipho Fubesi demonstrated a wide-ranging expressive ability in presenting the arias called for by for various characters in the story of Elijah’s precarious encounters with the establishment.

Thomas Medley (treble) provided moments of pure sound and youthful innocence called for as the long-awaited return of rain to water the earth is approached. Rita Cullis (soprano), and Ann Taylor (mezzo-soprano) were not quite as successful as the men in overcoming the hall’s apparent lack of interest in their middle to lower ranges. Both sang with conviction and were largely secure in their performance, but some of their sound did not carry to me above the accompaniment.