Municipal, maestoso Mendelssohn can be a little moribund in the wrong hands. That is often what happens in performances of the composer's Second Symphony, his 'Lobgesang', written to celebrate 400 years of the publishing industry. But if you maintain a sense of drive through to fleet thrust of the opening movement, as Pablo Heras-Casado does on this new recording for Harmonia Mundi, the effect can be thrilling.
The BRSO cannot quite lift the oh-so-civic introductory gestures of this distinctly hybrid work, but their attention to detail is palpable. Rossinian crescendos meet with Mitteleuropean steadfastness, bringing sensational tenacity to this music, not least the opening movement’s final furlong.
There’s coyness to the Allegretto which follows, where the BRSO woodwind plays with lilting care. The strings dominate the opening of the ensuing Adagio religioso, warm and weighty in their delivery, which the woodwind’s beautifully balanced and tuned chorales again answer in kind. Heras-Casado is alive to the inner workings of Mendelssohn’s harmonies here, though he is careful not to labour the suspensions, bringing a winning lightness of touch to the minor key middle section.
The focus of this ‘Hymn of Praise’ is, of course, the Cantata that forms its extended fourth movement. Heras-Casado has at his disposal the suitably hefty Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks – they might occasionally leave you wanting a little more attack at the top – as well as soloists Christiane Karg, Christina Landshamer and Michael Schade. Schade is largely secure, bringing a potent and often heroic tone to his recitatives and arias. Karg and Landshamer’s efforts, the former richer, the latter more immediately Mendelssohnian, are slightly undermined by some slack ensemble in their beguiling ‘Ich harrete des Herrn’. But these are passing infractions in what is a strong and often gripping performance, whose initial excitements are matched in the final chorus. Click here to order a copy.
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