The Bible and Music

On Friday March 17th, I had the opportunity to attend a live performance of Mendelssohn’s Elijah at the Palladium at the center for the performing arts in Carmel. It has taken me almost a month to produce a description of the event that I believe would give it justice. I was amazed by the performance but the words to capture the experience seemed to escape me.

I had seen the exterior of the Palladium when my parents and I took a driving tour and had browsed through pictures of the interior when flipping through brochures at the Booth Tarkington Theater across the street. Thus, a chance to see the inside of the theater and experience a live show was quite exciting. The architecture and magnificence of the Palladium did not disappoint. I did not conduct much research prior to the performance as I did not want to set any expectations.

The grandeur of the theater’s interior contributed to my experience of the performance. I had attended symphony and orchestra concerts previously but had not attended a performance with singing as such a major component.

Ushers distributed programs as guests settled into their seats. The program included a transcript of the entire performance. The program listed the full title of Mendelssohn’s work as “Elijah: Oratorio on Words of the Old Testament”. I believe that Mendelssohn gave his work this title as it draws from a variety of books in the Old Testament. The transcript included references to specific books, chapters, and verses for each recitative and chorus portion of the text. I greatly appreciated this transcript throughout the performance. While the cantors’ diction was close to flawless, the transcript helped me monitor the progression of the plot.

I was mesmerized by the quality of the cantors’ voices and their remarkable ranges. I expected some introductory remarks at the start of the performance. However, the cantors just jumped into the performance. The overtures provided some background but the performance opened with Elijah and the people of Israel in the throws of several major dilemmas.

I was somewhat familiar with Elijah’s story in the Bible but not familiar enough for the performance to be dull or boring by any means. In fact, I think even if I had been more familiar with Elijah’s story, the performance would have held my attention. The live performance of this compilation of bible made the story all the more dramatic. I was captivated by the story. Even though I was familiar with the ultimate resolution of the conflict, I felt nervous for Elijah and wondered whether the people would turn back to God.

One of my favorite elements of the performance was the children’s choir. Their voices sounded angelic. Their location  in the upper chambers of the theater contributed to their resemblance of angels.

I hope to attend another performance of an oratorio. If the oratorio is biblical in nature, all the better.