Media Reviews
A triumphant opener for Mendelssohn Choir
John Terauds
The Toronto Star
October 26, 2009
The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir's season has begun the same way the first one did 115 years ago: by singing in a brand new venue. It's hard to imagine that its Massey Hall debut could have been any better than its performance of George Frideric Handel's oratorio Israel in Egypt at Koerner Hall on Saturday night.
It was an odd combination of forces: a small, Baroque-size modern orchestra of 29 backing up the massive, Victorian-size choir of more than 150. But music director Noel Edison succeeded in teasing out the full texture of the instrumental score, balancing it perfectly against the impeccably prepared voices.
There isn't much work for soloists to do in this unusual oratorio, but what we did hear was up to the same high standard, thanks to sopranos Suzie LeBlanc and Sheila Dietrich, countertenor David Trudgen, tenor James McLennan and bass-baritones Thomas Goertz and Neil Aronoff.
Handel's setting of the Old Testament tribulations and salvation of the Israelites has pain, pathos and gratitude flowing from every note and is a masterpiece of musical drama. But it wasn't born that way. The first performance of Israel in Egypt, in 1739, was a flop. The London audience was used to opera, and didn't know what to make of the work. The composer, who wrote Messiah two years later, made several cuts and changes, including adding extra arias for soloists. Handel eventually gave up on the oratorio, but the final, short-and-snappy version we heard Saturday is a showcase of everything he could do.
By the end of the 19th century, Israel in Egypt was almost as popular as Messiah. And the Mendelssohn Choir gave it – and the Royal Conservatory's magnificent new concert hall – its full due.
