Search - Felix [1] Mendelssohn :: Mendelssohn: Psaumes 115, 95, 42

Good performances although I've heard better

Larry VanDeSande | Mason, Michigan United States | 01/15/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This apparently is the only CD dedicated exclusively to Mendelssohn's wonderful church cantatas (he called them Pslams) available to the American public in May 2006. For shame!



They don't tell you much about this recording here. It's performed by the Geneva Symphony Orchestra and Geneva University Choir under the baton of Chen Liang-Sheng, whom the notes do not discuss.



I wasn't able to discover much about him through Internet search. It appears he is linked with the Geneva forces and performs a lot of choral music. The vitae of several choral performers were attached to this conductor and forces. They all do a fine job in these Mendelssohn works, which are similar is design to Bach cantatas.



Other conductors and groups have recorded these over the years. My favorites were those led by Michal Corboz and a group from Lisbon. They made noise with the Psalms 42 and 95 several decades back and re-released them with 3-4 others on a two-disk set a couple years ago on a Warner label. Last I looked, that music was still available in England through Amazon.com.UK



This group may not be as fine as Corboz's but they do well with these religious numbers. My favorite is Psalm 95, "Kommt, lasst uns anbeten" which begins with a lovely tenor aria assisted by the full choir that shows off the strengths of each section of the choir.



Tenor Olivier Dufor does a good job in this recording although he can be nasal and thin at times. He seems better in the concluding aria for tenor and choir that ends in an emotional whirlwind that can bring goose flesh to any fan or religious choral music.



Psalm 42, "Wie der Hirsch schreit", is perhaps the best of this batch. It is the most complete psalm and best mimics the design of Bach's cantatas. It consists of a choral opening, soprano air, soprano recitative with chorus, chorus, soprano recitative, quintet and very memorable choral finale that will have you singing along joyously.



Soprano Yvonne Perrin, whose voice can be unsteady, does a nice job in this music and conductor Chen seems to understand Mendelssohn and choral music. This makes an attractive collection of Mendelssohn choral music if the Corboz collection can't be found.



The Corboz collection did not show up when I searched for this disk. The recent American Record Guide Mendelssohn overview suggested a Psalm 42 by Helmuth Rilling and a Cantate disk led by Wilhelm Ehmann. I've heard neither of those.



The 1992 recording, apparently made in Lusanne, is adequate but far from outstanding. It seems one-dimensional and lacks depth. The biggest moment is at the end of Psalm 42 where the organ and timpani play important roles. You can hear everything but the depth problem is obvious. If you have a pre-digital pre-SACD stereo, pushing your "loudness" button helps in an artifical way."