Concert to bring 3,000-year-old story to life

The Northwest Sacred Music Chorale will finish its season with Felix Mendelssohn's "Elijah."

The spring concert will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 18, and 3 p.m. Sunday, April 19, at the Salvation Army Kroc Center, 1765 W. Golf Course Road, Coeur d'Alene. "Elijah" will be performed again Sunday, April 26, at 3 p.m. at Central Lutheran Church, 512 S. Bernard St., Spokane.

"Elijah" tells the story of God's boldest prophet who waged a nearly single-handed struggle against idolatry.

Nationally known baritone Aaron St. Clair Nicholson will sing the title role of Elijah.

He'll be joined by soprano Hannah Kimball, alto Debbie Raby and lyric tenor Dr. Charles Sorensson to supply the narrative threads.

The entire production, including 50 chorus members and a chamber orchestra, will be under the baton of chorale directors Kent Kimball and Gaynell Coppess.

The core of "Elijah," first performed in 1848, concerns Elijah's direct challenge of Ba'al, a god of fertility, soil and water, the favorite deity of the northern Israelite King Ahab and his wife, Jezebel.

Elijah told the king to his face that his region would suffer a relentless drought, broken only by Elijah's word.

After avoiding the angry Ahab's soldiers for three parched years, Elijah again dares to confront the king and issues a challenge to the 450 priests of Ba'al - a head-to-head contest at Mount Carmel between Ba'al and Jahweh, the God of Israel.

The idolatrous priests try everything they can think of to summon their god - they chant, they dance, they even immolate themselves. But nothing happens. Nothing.

Then Elijah calls on his God to prove his power, and God's fire falls from heaven, followed by the rain so badly needed.

Mendelssohn's soaring oratorio is faithful to the dramatic stories told in the biblical books of "Kings."

The work is modeled on that of Handel and Bach, two masters beloved by Mendelssohn. But his musical lyricism and use of orchestral and choral color clearly stamped Mendelssohn as an early Romantic-era genius.

Ideas for putting Elijah's life and struggles to music bubbled in Mendelssohn's mind for years, starting in the late 1830s. He put it in final form in 1845 and 1846, and had it performed in English for the first time in Birmingham, England.

The first version in German premiered on the composer's birthday, Feb. 3, 1848, in Leipzig, just a few month's after Mendelssohn's death.

Northwest Sacred Music Chorale is a nonprofit comprising more than 60 members from throughout the Inland Northwest. The group has been promoting quality choral music since its inception in 2001. Its primary focus is to present beautiful and uplifting sacred music based on the belief that music is an art form that transcends all boundaries of religious creeds and brings unity, peace and joy to all who attend its concerts. For complete information about the concert season, soloists, the chorale and our artistic director visit www.nwsmc.org.

Admission: Adults/$15, seniors, students and children/$12

Group tickets of 10 or more are $10 each.

For tickets: www.nwsmc.org or by phone, (208) 762-9956

Advance tickets can also be purchased in Coeur d'Alene at the following locations: Great Harvest Bread Company, Northwest Academy of Music and First Presbyterian Church.

Tickets also available day of concert at the door.