Spirit of the Past: Felix Mendelssohn’s Elijah & Its Romantic Take on the Oratorio

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Milton Jackson
1 June 2009
MUS 24B
Spirit of the Past: Felix Mendelssohns Elijah & Its Romantic Take on the Oratorio
Felix Mendelssohns oratorio Elijah is a great example of a composer paying
homage to his predecessors while illustrating singles own style as a musician. While
Mendelssohn uses the look of Handels previous oratorios, however, with distinct and
certain stylistic elements, the melodic and easily analyzed setting of the story of Elijah,
and the extension of exertion contributions fork out-day conductors have added,
Mendelssohn has made Elijah an oratorio that harps on its prize of the past yet stands
all on its own.
Prior to typography Elijah, in 1836 Mendelssohn had just finished writing his oratorio
St. Paul, as somewhat regard has his finest work. St. Paul was written in 1834 for the Lower
Rhine Music fiesta in Düsseldorf in 1836, premiering on May 22nd. Mendelssohn was
save 27 age old at the time of the premiere. after(prenominal) the premiere of St. Paul, he began
work on Elijah. Mendelssohn immediately precious to write another oratorio based on the
biblical story of Elijah since he had organized and conducted the first performance of
lives St.



Matthew Passion since Bachs death in 1829, where an abbreviated and
modified version of it was performed in Berlin to great acclaim. Mendelssohns revival meeting of
the St. Matthew Passion brought the music of Bach, in particular the larger-scale works,
to the public as well as scholarly attention that has continued into the present era.
Scholars also note that Handels oratorios, such as the Messiah, had evermore been
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fashionable in England and never went out of style. accord to Frederick George
Edwards, Mendelssohn letter to his friend Carl Klingemann in London in rattling(a) of
1836 shows that Mendelssohn had actually invested time in writing an oratorio for 10
years (Edwards 2), but never had the drive to actually complete one(a) prior to his
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