The 40th-anniversary concert of the Hong Kong Oratorio Society was rightly celebrated with Mendelssohn's Elijah, a piece which can either be pretty or dramatic. Conductor Chan Wing-wah chose the former. This was not easy to hear, as some of the music is honestly thrilling.
The suspense between Elijah and The Youth has real drama. The duet between the widow and Elijah upon the resurrection of her son has an operatic pathos.
The Baal chorus is honestly wicked. But compared to great works of the spirit - the Ninth Symphony, the Magic Flute, the Bach B Minor - this is but pretty stuff, which has to be run by with real drama. Noted composer Dr Chan Wing-wah conducted the work with respect, and his chorus responded with thrilling passages.
The Baal choruses were never too fast, allowing the final 'Hear our cry' to burst out with tragic surprise. The great fugues were taken with transparent joy. At the same time, this Elijah was perhaps too respectful, in a way too colourless. This could not be put down to the chorus, but to the faintly sanitised soloists. Most important was the part of Elijah.
Baritone Cheung Kin-wah has a powerful voice, but the timbre remained the same, no matter what the situation was. Tenor Tai Chun-bun and soprano Christina Chan both showed vigour, if a certain sameness.
Alto Cynthia Luff has a purity of voice best shown in 'Woe unto them who forsake him!'; beautifully done. One cannot forget Yip Yue-ching, the boy soprano, who exemplified Elijah at its best.