Elijah is an oratorio written by Felix Mendelssohn in 1846 for the Birmingham Festival. It depicts various events in the life of the Biblical prophet Elijah, taken from the books 1 Kings and 2 Kings in the Old Testament. An oratorio is a large musical composition for orchestra, vocal soloists and chorus. ... Felix Mendelssohn at the age of 30 Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, born and known generally as Felix Mendelssohn (February 3, 1809 – November 4, 1847) was a German composer and conductor of the early Romantic period. ... 1846 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Elijah in the wilderness, by Washington Allston Elijah (Hebrew: אליהו Eliyahu) was a prophet in Israel in the 9th century BCE. He appears in the Hebrew Bible, Talmud, Mishnah, Christian Bible, and the Quran. ... (Redirected from 1 Kings) The Books of Kings (also known as [The Book of] Kings in Hebrew: Sefer Melachim מלכים) is a part of Judaisms Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible. ... The Books of Kings (also known as [The Book of] Kings in Hebrew: Sefer Melachim מלכים) is a part of Judaisms Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible. ... Note: Judaism commonly uses the term Tanakh. ...

The music and its style

The work can be construed in part as Mendelssohn's tribute to his Baroque predecessors Bach and Handel, whose music Mendelssohn loved – and, in the case of Bach, played an instrumental role in bringing back to the repertoire. Many of the choruses and arias of Elijah seem to be modeled on earlier works by the two Baroque masters. Yet the style clearly also reflects Mendelssohn's own natural tendencies as an early Romantic composer. Baroque music describes an era and a set of styles of European classical music which were in widespread use between approximately 1600 and 1750 (see Dates of classical music eras for a discussion of the problems inherent in defining the beginning and end points). ... Places in which Bach resided throughout his life Johann Sebastian Bach (pronounced ) (21 March 1685 O.S. – 28 July 1750 N.S.) was a prolific German composer and organist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought... George Frideric Handel (German Georg Friedrich Händel), (February 23, 1685 – April 14, 1759) was a German-born British Baroque music composer. ... The era of Romantic music is defined as the period of European classical music that runs roughly from the early 1800s to the first decade of the 20th century, as well as music written according to the norms and styles of that period. ...

The work is scored for four vocal soloists (bass/baritone, tenor, alto, soprano), a full symphony orchestra (including trombones, ophicleide, and an organ), and a large chorus singing usually in four, but occasionally eight or three (women only) parts. The bass/baritone sings the part of Elijah himself, a prized role. The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. ... The ophicleide (pronounced ) is a brass bass instrument related to the bugle. ... Organ in Katharinenkirche, Frankfurt am Main, Germany The organ is a keyboard instrument played using one or more manuals and a pedalboard. ...

Mendelssohn originally composed the work to a German text, but upon being commissioned by the Birmingham Festival to write an oratorio, he had the libretto translated into English, and the oratorio was premiered in the English version. In German speaking countries today, the oratorio is very popular in Mendelssohn's original German version.

The Biblical narrative

For the Biblical background to the oratorio, see the article Elijah. Mendelssohn uses these Biblical episodes, which in the original are narrated in rather laconic form, to produce intensely – almost luridly – dramatic scenes. These were doubtless well fitted to the taste of Mendelssohn's time, and a Victorian sentimentality also seems detectable in places. Among the episodes are the resurrection of a dead youth, the bringing of rain to parched Israel through Elijah's prayers, and the bodily assumption of Elijah on a fiery chariot into heaven. Perhaps the most dramatic episode is the "contest of the gods", in which Jehovah consumes an offered sacrifice in a column of fire, after a failed sequence of frantic prayers by the Hebrew people to their favored god Baal. Mendelssohn did not shrink from portraying the episode in its full Old Testament harshness, as the prophets of Baal are afterward taken away and slaughtered. Elijah in the wilderness, by Washington Allston Elijah (Hebrew: אליהו Eliyahu) was a prophet in Israel in the 9th century BCE. He appears in the Hebrew Bible, Talmud, Mishnah, Christian Bible, and the Quran. ... Jehovah is an English transcription of יְהֹוָה, a specific vocalized spelling of יהוה which is found in the Masoretic Text. ... For other uses, see Baal (disambiguation). ...

It is not known how Mendelssohn's own view of the Biblical text is related to his personal history as a converted Jew (he became a Lutheran at age seven); though certainly many scholars have speculated on this issue. The final section of the oratorio draws parallels between the lives of Elijah and Jesus. The Lutheran movement is a group of denominations of Protestant Christianity by the original definition. ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ...

Reception

Elijah was popular at its premiere and has been frequently performed, particularly in English-speaking countries, ever since. It is a particular favorite of amateur choral societies. Its melodrama, easy appeal, and stirring choruses have provided the basis for countless successful performances.

A number of critics, however, including Bernard Shaw and Richard Wagner, have treated the work harshly, emphasizing its conventional outlook and undaring musical style. (Wagner's opinion must be interpreted in light of that composer's extreme anti-Semitism; see Richard Wagner for details.) George Bernard Shaw (George) Bernard Shaw[1] (born Dublin, 26 July 1856 – died 2 November 1950 in Hertfordshire) was an Irish playwright based in England. ... Wilhelm Richard Wagner (May 22, 1813 – February 13, 1883) was a German composer, conductor, music theorist, and essayist, primarily known for his operas (or music dramas as he later came to call them). ... Wilhelm Richard Wagner (May 22, 1813 – February 13, 1883) was a German composer, conductor, music theorist, and essayist, primarily known for his operas (or music dramas as he later came to call them). ...

Charles Rosen praises the work in general – "Mendelssohn's craft easily surmounted most of the demands of the oratorio, and [his oratorios, which also include St. Paul] are the most impressive examples of that form in the nineteenth century." However, Rosen additionally has characterized Mendelssohn as "the inventor of religious kitsch in music". In Rosen's view, Mendelssohn's religious music "is designed to make us feel that the concert hall has been transformed into a church. The music expresses not religion but piety ... This is kitsch insofar as it substitutes for religion itself the emotional shell of religion." Charles Rosen (born May 5, 1927) is an American pianist and music theorist. ... Kitsch is a German term that has been used to categorize art that is considered an inferior copy of an existing style. ...

References

Charles Rosen's views are quoted from his book The Romantic Generation (1995), Cambridge: Harvard University Press, ISBN 0-674-77933-9.