Felix Mendelssohn was born into a wealthy and cultured family during a time of rapid cultural change for the Jewish people of Germany. His grandfather, Moses Mendelssohn, was a renowned philosopher of the Enlightenment who encouraged liberal thought. In fact, he had changed his name from Mendel Dessau to Mendelssohn as an act of assimilation. His son Abraham, Felix’s father, was a successful banker who added Bartholdy to the family name (after the former owners of a garden site that his mother had purchased), converted to Protestantism, and baptized all four of his children. Felix became a committed Lutheran but remained proud of his Jewish heritage.
Felix and his older sister, Fanny, began taking piano lessons at home from their mother, and both showed early promise as gifted musicians. They were sent to Paris to study piano and the works of Mozart and Bach. Felix became so skilled that he gained a reputation as the second Mozart. By his mid-teens he was already composing mature works, including 12 string symphonies, the rapturous Octet for Strings and the Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream. After completing his studies at the University of Berlin, Mendelssohn traveled and performed throughout Europe. He enjoyed great fame in Victorian England, causing Prince Albert to dub him “The Second Elijah.”
Mendelssohn loved the choral works of Bach and Handel. He famously presented J. S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion at the Leipzig Gewandhaus when he was 20, thereby rescuing the work of the great master from obscurity. Thus, when he received a commission for an oratorio in 1831, he leapt at the opportunity. The result was St. Paul, which premiered in Düsseldorf in 1836, followed by performances the following year in Liverpool, London, and Birmingham, sung in English. He was eager to repeat the success of St. Paul and planned for an oratorio on the subject of the Old Testament prophet Elijah. But he was too busy to work on it until he received a commission from the Birmingham Festival in 1845 to compose a new oratorio.
The Old Testament story resonated deeply with Mendelssohn. The life of the prophet Elijah epitomized the evolution of Jewish faith from worship of the Babylonian pantheon of idols and myths to worshiping one monotheistic God. He saw the drama in the story as perfect for musical storytelling. Mendelssohn again turned to his St. Paul librettist, Julius Schubring, a Lutheran minister and family friend, to prepare the libretto, combining the story of Elijah as told in the Book of Kings with other biblical texts. The two disagreed, however, on the approach to take. Mendelssohn wanted to emphasize the dramatic content of the story, while Schubring saw it as an opportunity for Christian theology and moral lessons. Mendelssohn continually sent the libretto back for revision, requesting specific scenes and texts to be set. Eventually a satisfactory libretto was constructed. Mendelssohn engaged his friend William Bartholomew to prepare the English translation, and worked closely with him, fine-tuning the exact wording and adjusting the music to conform to the English text. Mendelssohn worked feverishly on the score, finally completing it in mid-August of 1846, only two weeks before the scheduled premiere. After frenzied rehearsals, Mendelssohn conducted the premiere in Birmingham on August 26, 1846. The work was an immediate success, with thunderous applause and no less than four choruses and four arias encored. The ever-critical Mendelssohn immediately began a series of revisions, and he performed the revised version in England in the spring of 1847. Sadly, Elijah was to be the composer’s last large-scale work. Exhausted by an extremely rigorous concert schedule and the demands of preparing the Elijah score for publication—and disconsolate over the unexpected death earlier that year of his beloved sister, Fanny—Mendelssohn suffered a series of strokes and died on November 4, 1847, at the age of thirty-eight.
Felix and his older sister, Fanny, began taking piano lessons at home from their mother, and both showed early promise as gifted musicians. They were sent to Paris to study piano and the works of Mozart and Bach. Felix became so skilled that he gained a reputation as the second Mozart. By his mid-teens he was already composing mature works, including 12 string symphonies, the rapturous Octet for Strings and the Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream. After completing his studies at the University of Berlin, Mendelssohn traveled and performed throughout Europe. He enjoyed great fame in Victorian England, causing Prince Albert to dub him “The Second Elijah.”
Mendelssohn loved the choral works of Bach and Handel. He famously presented J. S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion at the Leipzig Gewandhaus when he was 20, thereby rescuing the work of the great master from obscurity. Thus, when he received a commission for an oratorio in 1831, he leapt at the opportunity. The result was St. Paul, which premiered in Düsseldorf in 1836, followed by performances the following year in Liverpool, London, and Birmingham, sung in English. He was eager to repeat the success of St. Paul and planned for an oratorio on the subject of the Old Testament prophet Elijah. But he was too busy to work on it until he received a commission from the Birmingham Festival in 1845 to compose a new oratorio.
The Old Testament story resonated deeply with Mendelssohn. The life of the prophet Elijah epitomized the evolution of Jewish faith from worship of the Babylonian pantheon of idols and myths to worshiping one monotheistic God. He saw the drama in the story as perfect for musical storytelling. Mendelssohn again turned to his St. Paul librettist, Julius Schubring, a Lutheran minister and family friend, to prepare the libretto, combining the story of Elijah as told in the Book of Kings with other biblical texts. The two disagreed, however, on the approach to take. Mendelssohn wanted to emphasize the dramatic content of the story, while Schubring saw it as an opportunity for Christian theology and moral lessons. Mendelssohn continually sent the libretto back for revision, requesting specific scenes and texts to be set. Eventually a satisfactory libretto was constructed. Mendelssohn engaged his friend William Bartholomew to prepare the English translation, and worked closely with him, fine-tuning the exact wording and adjusting the music to conform to the English text. Mendelssohn worked feverishly on the score, finally completing it in mid-August of 1846, only two weeks before the scheduled premiere. After frenzied rehearsals, Mendelssohn conducted the premiere in Birmingham on August 26, 1846. The work was an immediate success, with thunderous applause and no less than four choruses and four arias encored. The ever-critical Mendelssohn immediately began a series of revisions, and he performed the revised version in England in the spring of 1847. Sadly, Elijah was to be the composer’s last large-scale work. Exhausted by an extremely rigorous concert schedule and the demands of preparing the Elijah score for publication—and disconsolate over the unexpected death earlier that year of his beloved sister, Fanny—Mendelssohn suffered a series of strokes and died on November 4, 1847, at the age of thirty-eight.
Synopsis of the story of Elijah
Part I
1 Kings 17, 18
Part I
1 Kings 17, 18
Elijah tells of several key incidents in the life of the 9th century BCE prophet. In Part I, God brings on a drought because of Israel’s faithlessness, Elijah proves that his God is the true and only one, and rain returns to the parched land.
The action starts immediately as Elijah announces the curse, vividly painted by a series of descending tritones. Then a turbulent orchestral overture depicts this tragedy. In the ensuing chorus (“Help Lord!”) the people beg again and again for God’s help. The soprano and alto soloists sing a plaintive melody, “Zion spreadeth her hands for aid,” in alternation with the chorus’s plea “Lord, bow Thine ear to our prayer.” After a recitative and aria (“If with all your hearts”), sung by Elijah’s friend, Obadiah, the people bemoan God’s jealous wrath (“Yet doth the Lord see it not”). Then, as the harmonies shift from minor to major, they praise His forgiveness.
The next scene begins with a restatement of the declamatory music of the introduction. Elijah stands accused of causing Israel’s troubles. He responds that the people have brought their problems upon themselves by worshipping false gods. Elijah challenges the priests of the god Baal to a duel of the Gods, in which each is to prepare a sacrifice and pray to their respective deities to ignite the fire beneath it. The Baalists go first (“Baal, we cry to thee”). Baal’s failure to respond is depicted by dramatic silences. Elijah mockingly demands that the priests pray louder. The chorus again implores their god (“Hear and answer Baal”), but still there is no answer. When Baal fails to light the fire, Elijah exhorts the people of Israel to turn their prayers to the one true God: “Draw near, all ye people, come to me!” In response, God sends fire (“The fire descends from heaven!” ) to consume the sacrifice, and the scene ends with Elijah ordering the priests of Baal slain.
An alto reproaches those who have forsaken God: “Woe unto them who forsake Him!” Elijah turns away from the bloodbath to join the people in praying to God to end the drought: “Open the heavens and send us relief.” Three times he sends a youth to see if rain clouds have appeared. Three times there are none. Finally the child sees a little cloud in the distance—the rains have come at last. By denouncing false gods and accepting the one true God, the people of Israel have been saved. In the final chorus of Part I the people sing thanks to the one Lord: “Thanks be to God, He laveth the thirsty land.”
The action starts immediately as Elijah announces the curse, vividly painted by a series of descending tritones. Then a turbulent orchestral overture depicts this tragedy. In the ensuing chorus (“Help Lord!”) the people beg again and again for God’s help. The soprano and alto soloists sing a plaintive melody, “Zion spreadeth her hands for aid,” in alternation with the chorus’s plea “Lord, bow Thine ear to our prayer.” After a recitative and aria (“If with all your hearts”), sung by Elijah’s friend, Obadiah, the people bemoan God’s jealous wrath (“Yet doth the Lord see it not”). Then, as the harmonies shift from minor to major, they praise His forgiveness.
The next scene begins with a restatement of the declamatory music of the introduction. Elijah stands accused of causing Israel’s troubles. He responds that the people have brought their problems upon themselves by worshipping false gods. Elijah challenges the priests of the god Baal to a duel of the Gods, in which each is to prepare a sacrifice and pray to their respective deities to ignite the fire beneath it. The Baalists go first (“Baal, we cry to thee”). Baal’s failure to respond is depicted by dramatic silences. Elijah mockingly demands that the priests pray louder. The chorus again implores their god (“Hear and answer Baal”), but still there is no answer. When Baal fails to light the fire, Elijah exhorts the people of Israel to turn their prayers to the one true God: “Draw near, all ye people, come to me!” In response, God sends fire (“The fire descends from heaven!” ) to consume the sacrifice, and the scene ends with Elijah ordering the priests of Baal slain.
An alto reproaches those who have forsaken God: “Woe unto them who forsake Him!” Elijah turns away from the bloodbath to join the people in praying to God to end the drought: “Open the heavens and send us relief.” Three times he sends a youth to see if rain clouds have appeared. Three times there are none. Finally the child sees a little cloud in the distance—the rains have come at last. By denouncing false gods and accepting the one true God, the people of Israel have been saved. In the final chorus of Part I the people sing thanks to the one Lord: “Thanks be to God, He laveth the thirsty land.”
Part II
1 Kings 19; 2 Kings 1, 2
1 Kings 19; 2 Kings 1, 2
The second half of the oratorio alternates scenes that further the plot with those that present Bible passages, including sayings of the prophet. Elijah flees to the wilderness, resigned to the failure of his mission, but his spirit and strength are restored by the appearance of God, and he ascends into heaven.
Part II opens with a soprano aria of comfort and dignity, “Hear ye, Israel!” This is followed by the chorus expressing similar sentiments, “Be not afraid.” The story continues when Elijah appears before King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. Elijah accuses the king of having angered God by worshiping Baal. The queen in turn accuses Elijah of treachery against the people of Israel and of trying to usurp King Ahab’s power. With mounting fury Queen Jezebel tells the people that Elijah must perish because he destroyed the priests of Baal. She even convinces the Israelites that Elijah was responsible for the famine. The mob goes after Elijah: “Woe to him!”
The prophet’s friend Obadiah tells him to flee for his life. Elijah goes into the wilderness, where he longs for death. The aria “It is enough,” a direct reference to “Es ist vollbracht” from Bach’s St. John Passion, portrays his despondency with a poignant melody accompanied by a cello. The prophet’s anger at the people of Israel flares up, but his despair returns. An unaccompanied chorus of women portrays angels comforting the prophet, “Lift thine eyes,” followed by the full chorus, “He watching over Israel.”
An angel (alto) summons Elijah to arise and journey 40 days to Mount Horeb, where the Lord will reveal himself. In the emotional climax of the oratorio, Elijah cries out that all of his efforts have been in vain. He has failed to make the people of Israel accept God. Elijah’s faith falters, as he asks God why He created His own adversaries and hardened their hearts against Him. The angel returns to comfort Elijah, telling him again and again in a beautiful aria, “O rest in the Lord,” to wait for God and not be concerned with evildoers. The final time, the alto lingers on the word “wait,” thus symbolically indicating that Elijah’s one remaining task is his hardest: to be patient. The chorus sings a chorale stating the lesson Elijah must learn: “He that shall endure to the end shall be saved.”
The appearance of the Lord (“Behold God the Lord passed by”) is heralded with music that vividly depicts first a tempest, then an earthquake, and finally fire—in none of which can God be found. Rather, He is in a “still, small voice” accompanied by string arpeggios. A chorus of angels sings of the holiness of God and directs Elijah to “Go, return upon thy way.” Elijah accepts God. He has waited for the Lord and receives his peace: “Thy kindness shall not depart from me, neither shall the covenant of Thy peace be removed.” The chorus then sings of Elijah’s ascent into heaven.
Here ends the story of Elijah. Mendelssohn had originally intended to bring the oratorio to a close here as well, but Schubring convinced him to add an aria, “Then shall the righteous shine forth,” a recitative, and three choruses that do not bear directly on the personality of Elijah. The last of these, “And then shall your light break forth,” which glorifies God, is a brilliant fugue that forms a powerful conclusion to this massive work.
Part II opens with a soprano aria of comfort and dignity, “Hear ye, Israel!” This is followed by the chorus expressing similar sentiments, “Be not afraid.” The story continues when Elijah appears before King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. Elijah accuses the king of having angered God by worshiping Baal. The queen in turn accuses Elijah of treachery against the people of Israel and of trying to usurp King Ahab’s power. With mounting fury Queen Jezebel tells the people that Elijah must perish because he destroyed the priests of Baal. She even convinces the Israelites that Elijah was responsible for the famine. The mob goes after Elijah: “Woe to him!”
The prophet’s friend Obadiah tells him to flee for his life. Elijah goes into the wilderness, where he longs for death. The aria “It is enough,” a direct reference to “Es ist vollbracht” from Bach’s St. John Passion, portrays his despondency with a poignant melody accompanied by a cello. The prophet’s anger at the people of Israel flares up, but his despair returns. An unaccompanied chorus of women portrays angels comforting the prophet, “Lift thine eyes,” followed by the full chorus, “He watching over Israel.”
An angel (alto) summons Elijah to arise and journey 40 days to Mount Horeb, where the Lord will reveal himself. In the emotional climax of the oratorio, Elijah cries out that all of his efforts have been in vain. He has failed to make the people of Israel accept God. Elijah’s faith falters, as he asks God why He created His own adversaries and hardened their hearts against Him. The angel returns to comfort Elijah, telling him again and again in a beautiful aria, “O rest in the Lord,” to wait for God and not be concerned with evildoers. The final time, the alto lingers on the word “wait,” thus symbolically indicating that Elijah’s one remaining task is his hardest: to be patient. The chorus sings a chorale stating the lesson Elijah must learn: “He that shall endure to the end shall be saved.”
The appearance of the Lord (“Behold God the Lord passed by”) is heralded with music that vividly depicts first a tempest, then an earthquake, and finally fire—in none of which can God be found. Rather, He is in a “still, small voice” accompanied by string arpeggios. A chorus of angels sings of the holiness of God and directs Elijah to “Go, return upon thy way.” Elijah accepts God. He has waited for the Lord and receives his peace: “Thy kindness shall not depart from me, neither shall the covenant of Thy peace be removed.” The chorus then sings of Elijah’s ascent into heaven.
Here ends the story of Elijah. Mendelssohn had originally intended to bring the oratorio to a close here as well, but Schubring convinced him to add an aria, “Then shall the righteous shine forth,” a recitative, and three choruses that do not bear directly on the personality of Elijah. The last of these, “And then shall your light break forth,” which glorifies God, is a brilliant fugue that forms a powerful conclusion to this massive work.
We hope you enjoy this large-scale presentation! If you are attending on Friday or Saturday, please urge your friends to come to one of the remaining performances. We also look forward to seeing you in June for a completely different kind of concert. On June 5–7 we will again present the music of a single composer: me! That’s right, in honor of my 20th season as Bay Choral Guild’s Artistic Director, “In the Dolian Mode” features unaccompanied choral works I’ve created over the past 30 years—various church anthems and poetry settings, my arrangements of popular tunes from the American Songbook, and the world premiere of “Peace on Earth,” commissioned by the Bay Choral Guild and newly composed for this program.
