Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

My first thought on hearing the Overture to Mendelssohn's oratorio was that it reminded me of Gilbert and Sullivan. In my opinion this is no bad thing as Sir Arthur wrote more tunes in a single scene than some composers manage in a lifetime and throughout the two hours of this double CD Mendelssohn's music is consistently enjoyable. But of course there is a but: I do not understand German and while I know the story of the Apostle Paul from the Book of Acts and his own letters I struggled to make sense of what I was hearing. This is hardly Mendelssohn's fault and when I read through the CD booklet things became clearer. Sadly there is no text supplied but we are told that the action takes place in two large sections. Stephen preaches the teaching of the Lord and, slandered by false witnesses, is stoned by the enraged crowd for his "blasphemy". Saul of Tarsus is one of the fanatical opponents of Christianity. On the road to Damascus, however, Jesus of Nazareth speaks to him. He is struck blind for three days but, at God's command, is healed by Ananias and perceives his true vocation. He is baptised and under the new name of Paul becomes a zealous champion of the new faith. As an apostle he travels with Barnabas to convert others and to preach peace but he finds himself in the same situation as Stephen. The mob demands his death but he is saved by God's intervention and moves on to Jerusalem to continue his mission. It is a stirring story although Mendelssohn's abridgement does, by necessity, leave a lot of it untold. Probably his original audience in 19th century Germany knew the story or at least knew where to find it and, in artistic and dramatic terms, it does not matter. This is a re-issue of a 1996 concert recording and there are one or two audible glitches but La Chapelle Royale, Collegium Vocale, the Orchestre des Champs-Elysees and the four soloists do a fine job under the direction of Philippe Herreweghe. 'Paulus' is not so well known as Mendelssohn's later hit 'Elias' but if you enjoy that particular oratorio then you may also want to investigate this one.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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