Composer: Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy
Work: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Op. 21 & Op. 61
Performers: Freiburger Barockorchester, RIAS Kammerchor Berlin
Conductor: Pablo Heras-Casado
Label: Harmonia Mundi
Released: 2025
Total time: 1 hour and 2 minutes
Available on all major streaming platforms
Note: Two editions available — one purely musical, and one with melodrama narration in German by Max Urlacher.
By Damián Autorino
Editor at Moto Perpetuo
Some composers dazzle you. Others enchant you. Felix Mendelssohn often does both at once. His music is immediately attractive—melodious, elegant, shimmering with energy. But listen closely, and a more intricate world emerges: full of invention, rhythmic play, and elusive irony.
This new recording of A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Pablo Heras-Casado, the Freiburger Barockorchester, and the women of the RIAS Kammerchor Berlin is a perfect case in point. Light on its feet yet rich in character, it reminds us that Mendelssohn’s musical fairies aren’t just charming—they’re clever, quick, and occasionally a little wild.
The Overture, written when Mendelssohn was just 17, still captivates with its freshness and dramatic contrasts. Heras-Casado brings out its energy and clarity with vivid colors from the period instruments. Winds sing with a vocal glow, and the string textures dance without losing precision.
That sense of storytelling carries through the incidental music. The Scherzo bristles with lightness and mischief. The Song with choir (Lied mit Chor, track 5), featuring two sopranos and women’s chorus, is a highlight. The soloists—Mi-Young Kim and Anna Erdmann—are both drawn from the RIAS Kammerchor. The chorus supports with precision and transparency, creating a beautifully layered texture that feels both intimate and luminous.
In the Notturno, the velvety horns and soft low strings create a warmth that suggests not just sleep, but dreams. And the famous Wedding March, far from sounding pompous or routine, has a rhythmic clarity and lightness that fits this theatrical world: celebratory, yes—but also playful.
The album is available in two versions. The melodrama edition includes narration in German, inspired by Mendelssohn’s own original setting for a stage production in 1843. The music-only version lets the score unfold without spoken text, offering a different kind of immersion in Mendelssohn’s world.
Historically informed and playfully precise, this reading lets Mendelssohn’s imagination speak clearly—through color, character, and craft. It’s a fresh take on a familiar classic, and a reminder that beneath the sparkle lies something far more enduring.
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