Search - Matthias Görne, Annette Markert, James Taylor II :: Mendelssohn: Paulus / Diener, Markert, J. Taylor, Görne: Herreweghe

A Classic Approach to Mendelssohn

10/22/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I think the best way to approach the choral music of Mendelssohn is to forget that he was the darling of Queen Victoria and her court and concentrate on the drama and color inherent in the work. Downplay or even try to kill the sentimentality. It will survive anyway, but almost the more it is stifled, the more successful your performance will be. This may sound like a rather flippant formula, but Philippe Herreweghe must have followed something like it, for his "Paulus" is very exciting, with lots of forward thrust--almost no dawdling over the potentially maudlin--and with the clean, clear textures I admire in his excellent Beethoven Missa Solemnis. The approach accentuates the lightness and rightness of Mendelssohn's orchestration and lends a classical purity to his expert choral and vocal writing. There are other ways to approach this music, certainly, but for me, Herreweghe's brings out the best qualities of this often very fine work. Harmonia Mundi provides an excellent live recording to top off the proceedings."