City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra - Mendelssohn in Birmingham, Vol. 3 (2015) [Hi-Res]

Tracklist
---------
01. Meeresstille und glückliche Fahrt, Op. 27, MWV P 5: Meeresstille. Adagio
02. Meeresstille und glückliche Fahrt, Op. 27, MWV P 5: Glückliche Fahrt. Molto allegro e vivace
03. Symphony No. 2 in B-Flat Major, Op. 52, MWV A 18 "Lobgesang": Ia. Sinfonia. Maestoso con moto
04. Symphony No. 2 in B-Flat Major, Op. 52, MWV A 18 "Lobgesang": Ib. Allegretto un poco agitato
05. Symphony No. 2 in B-Flat Major, Op. 52, MWV A 18 "Lobgesang": Ic. Adagio religioso
06. Symphony No. 2 in B-Flat Major, Op. 52, MWV A 18 "Lobgesang": IIa. Allegro moderato maestoso. All Men, All Things, All That Has Life and Breath
07. Symphony No. 2 in B-Flat Major, Op. 52, MWV A 18 "Lobgesang": IIb. Molto più moderato ma con fuoco. Praise Thou the Lord, O My Spirit
08. Symphony No. 2 in B-Flat Major, Op. 52, MWV A 18 "Lobgesang": IIIa. Rezitativ. Sing Ye Praise, All Ye Redeemed of the Lord
09. Symphony No. 2 in B-Flat Major, Op. 52, MWV A 18 "Lobgesang": IIIb. Allegro moderato. He Counteth All Your Sorrows in the Time of Need
10. Symphony No. 2 in B-Flat Major, Op. 52, MWV A 18 "Lobgesang": IV. A tempo moderato. All Ye That Cried unto the Lord in Distress and Deep Affliction
11. Symphony No. 2 in B-Flat Major, Op. 52, MWV A 18 "Lobgesang": V. Andante. I Waited for the Lord, He Inclined unto Me
12. Symphony No. 2 in B-Flat Major, Op. 52, MWV A 18 "Lobgesang": VIa. Allegro un poco agitato. The Sorrows of Death Had Closed All Around Me
13. Symphony No. 2 in B-Flat Major, Op. 52, MWV A 18 "Lobgesang": VIb. Allegro assai agitato. We Called thro' the Dardness
14. Symphony No. 2 in B-Flat Major, Op. 52, MWV A 18 "Lobgesang": VII. Allegro maestoso e molto vivace. The Night Is Departing
15. Symphony No. 2 In B-Flat Major, Op. 52, Mwv A 18 "Lobgesang": Viiia. Andante Con Moto. Let All Men Praise The Lord
16. Symphony No. 2 In B-Flat Major, Op. 52, Mwv A 18 "Lobgesang": Viiib. Un Poco Più Animato. Glory And Praise To God
17. Symphony No. 2 in B-Flat Major, Op. 52, MWV A 18 "Lobgesang": IX. Andante sostenuto assai. My Song Shall Be Alway Thy Mercy
18. Symphony No. 2 in B-Flat Major, Op. 52, MWV A 18 "Lobgesang": Xa. Allegro non troppo. Ye Nations, Offer to the Lord Glory and Might!
19. Symphony No. 2 in B-Flat Major, Op. 52, MWV A 18 "Lobgesang": Xb. Più vivace. O Give Thanks to the Lord

Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage is the second in a trilogy of concert overtures by Mendelssohn, the two others being A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Hebrides, the latter recorded on Vol. 1 in this Chandos series. Based on two poems by Goethe these sonorous images describe a ship helplessly becalmed in the open sea, then carried by rising winds towards land. The densely textured, immensely slow opening evocation of oceanic calm and the following quickening full-orchestral crescendo strikingly depict Goethe’s verses.

Symphony No. 2 was valued as one of Mendelssohn’s greatest and most influential achievement for much of the nineteenth century – not least in Britain – but it has since come to be viewed equivocally. A fusion of neo-baroque procedures with romantic sentiment provides the backdrop of this hybrid Symphony-Cantata, made up of three orchestral movements and a choral finale, in which smooth contrapuntal arias contrast with exuberant, dramatic choral sections. The soloists are all emerging young artists in Britain, the wonderfully talented soprano sisters Mary and Sophie Bevan and the tenor Benjamin Hulett.

"Gardner conjures up something akin to a serenely unruffled Turner seascape coaxing a sonorous luminosity from the splendid CBSO strings Indeed, the radiance and natural perspectives of Chandos’s engineering capture the stasis of the passage in a way that’s utterly mesmerizing in its effect, abetted in part by the warm acoustics of Birmingham Town Hall This is in very sense an unreservedly absorbing account, exceptionally well played and directed with admirable facility and understanding by Gardner. I’d go as far as to say that I’d happily pay he price of this recording just to acquire this unusually touching and masterful performance of Meeresstille und glückliche Fährt ..." (Michael Jameson, International Record Review)

DOWNLOAD IsraCloud [flac]

DOWNLOAD IsraCloud [Hi-Res]