Percy snowdons 1975 arrangement for unaccompanied singers of the motet from elijah. To the noble artist who, when surrounded by the baalworship of the false, has, like a second elijah, employed his genius and his skill in the service of the true. Boston symphony performs mendelssohns elijah youtube. The music treasures consortium is an alliance of many libraries. Mendelssohns elijah was premiered to great acclaim and was perhaps the greatest triumph of his lifetime and performances of the oratorio were attended by, among others, queen victoria and prince albert. God then appears before elijah and the people of israel, and elijah ascends to heaven in a fiery chariot to gain his final reward. Elijah, prophet of carmel, will always challenge audiences wherever and whenever mendelssohns oratorio is performed. Chandos records is one of the worlds premier classical music record companies, best known for its ground breaking search for neglected musical gems. The grandson of moses mendelssohn 17291786, a german jew who rose from the ghetto of dessau to become a worldrenowned philosopher of the enlightenment, felix was baptized at. Apr 02, 2010 taken from performance footage, april 1, 2010. Elijah part i drought the ominous prologue marked grave in the score to mendelssohns elijah. Containing the music of the principal solos, duets, and choruses see other formats mendelssohnbartholdy, felix c elias. This new recording of mendelssohns elijah continues the special relationship between these anglopolish musicians in a different way, bringing the wroclaw philharmonic choir to the uk to join gabrieli and its newly established young singers scheme, forming a performing ensemble of over 400 musicians to. Mendelssohn had strong connections with the united kingdom, which included the inspiration for his hebrides overture and scottish symphony following a visit to scotland, and his close association with choral music in birmingham.
Our musicians send you musical messages and prove that it is possible to make. Written in the spirit of bach and handel, whose music he loved, felix mendelssohns powerful choral masterpiece brings to life some of the most dramatic moments in the old testament. Though once recommended by the dearly departed penguin guide, in this age, when magnificent performances of mendelssohns elijah are everywhere, this recording with nondescript willard white in the lead role and richard hickox conducting without passion or direction is, at best, a mediocrity. This is easily, for me, the best performance of mendelssohns elias elijah in german that ive ever heard. John passion is a fitting signpost to the new testament message of salvation and a reference to john the baptist as elijah reincarnated. Mendelssohn himself advised on revisions to the instrument, which had the first full 32foot speaking stop on an english organ, mounted at the very front of the instrument for greatest acousticand visualimpression. This recording of felix mendelssohn s elijah is a rousing testament to the combined talents of three west chester, pennsylvania based church choirs. The grandson of moses mendelssohn 17291786, a german jew who rose from the ghetto of dessau to become a worldrenowned philosopher of the enlightenment, felix was baptized at age seven and became a faithfully practicing protestant. Mar 04, 2018 from deep drought to the moment of elijah s fiery ascension into the heavens, mendelssohn s dramatic work shows the influence of composers such as bach, handel, and haydn, while existing as a thoroughly romantic work. Annette dasch was born in berlin and studied at various colleges, including the academy for music and theatre in munich. In the character of elijah, mendelssohn created a musical personality as comprehensive as any in 19 thcentury opera. The duke chapel choir is joined by the duke chorale, professional vocal soloists, and orchestra.
This led to a burst of activity with both pastor julius. This recording captures all the drama of mendelssohn, and although there are some choral inconsistencies and occasional spit and polish flaws, the spirit and drive of the work is all here. The berliner philharmoniker and seiji ozawa perform elijah by felix mendelssohn. Not onlv was he the most celebrated musician in europe, equally in. The harvest now is over, the summer days are gone, and yet no power cometh to help us.
The popular vocal score for mendelssohns elijah is shown below rehearsal recordings to help learn your voice part soprano, alto, tenor, bass are described below full video version to hear the work in full is also below the novellopilkington edition of mendelssohns elijah. Many occurrences of italics are added in this version, to aid comprehension. Perhaps the bestknown representation of the story of elijah is felix mendelssohn s oratorio elijah. It became second in popularity to handels messiah in englishspeaking lands and elsewhere held its own in the choral repertoire. This article, two columns in length, was one of the earliest contributions of the late j. Felix mendelssohn elijah san francisco choral society. For mendelssohn, the objective was the merger of music and drama. Although mendelssohn first thought of composing an elijah oratorio as far back as 1836, and although he worked with several librettists over a period of several years, he did not actually begin to compose the work until he received a commission in.
In 1821, at the age of 12, he astonished goethe and his circle in weimar with his keyboard prowess. Felix mendelssohn, german composer, pianist, music conductor, and teacher, one of. It is fifty years since mendelssohns elijah was first performed. Felix mendelssohns elijah, perhaps his most endearing and embracing work, is a vivid depiction of the prophets dramatic life, expressed. In berlin he entranced all with performances of his string symphonies, concertos and chamber works. I keep coming back to this particular recording, because honestly, willard white is absolutely my favorite elijah. The text for mendelssohns elijah had a very broad scriptural base right from the settings of 1 kings 1719, through to lamentations, joel, psalms, jeremiah, matthew, deuteronomy, etc. The choice among these three translations is dictated by context. Es soll diese jahre weder tau noch regen kommen, ich sage es denn. Mendelssohns elijah, oratorio on words testament, op.
The company has pioneered the idea of the series and proudly includes series of such composers as prokofiev, tchaikovsky, parry, walton, grainger, berkeley and bridge. It depicts events in the life of the biblical prophet elijah, taken from the books 1 kings and 2 kings of the old testament. O rest in the lord felix mendelssohn bartholdy 18091847 o rest in the lord. Files cleaned mar11 felix mendelssohn bartholdy elijah part 1. This is a strongly recommended addition to the mendelssohn elijah discography. Choral sheet music choral satb, piano felix mendelssohn bartholdy. It may be about the most nearly perfect performance of an imperfect and uneven work we are likely to get anytime soon again.
Premiered on august 26, 1846 in birmingham, england. How to interpret mendelssohns elijah has prompted a fair amount of discussion. Mendelssohns elijah, conducted by ann howard jones youtube. Both sides now was the german composers oratorio a nod toward his jewish ancestry or the full fruition of his christian identity. Jakob ludwig felix mendelssohn bartholdy, born, and generally known in englishspeaking countries, as felix mendelssohn 3 february 1809 4 november 1847 was a german composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early romantic period. Mendelssohn, elsie morison, marjorie thomas, richard lewis 3, john cameron, huddersfield choral society, royal liverpool philharmonic orchestra, sir malcolm sargent elijah. Felix mendelssohns oratorio collects key events from the life of old testament prophet elijah as he seeks to reunify the jewish people and recommit them to the worship of the one true god. As god the lord of israel introduction from elijah bass solo. Mendelssohn and elijah merge together as a single figure in the great aria es ist genug it is enough.
English oratorio libretto, elijah presented to gbe library of tbe university of toronto bs bertram 1ft. Mendelssohn breathed new life into a period that most of his con temporaries had long since consigned to the distant past, and by combining baroque forms and. There shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. Learning your voice part soprano, alto, tenor, bass in mendelssohn s elijah does require you to dedicate some time to ensure you know the notes you are singing so you will sing with confidence and really enjoy fully contributing to your choir.
Mendelssohn prepared a scholarly edition of some of handels oratorios for publication in london. There is a competent performance of this work by the boston university college of fine arts and the bu symphony orchestra and symphonic chorus, conductor ann howard jones, on youtube starting here. There is also a free pdf download to print off which provides a step by step guide on how to learn your voice part. How to interpret mendelssohn s elijah has prompted a fair amount of discussion. This tribute to bachs aria es ist vollbracht it is accomplished from st. Not only was he the most celebrated musician in europe, equally in demand as a composer, conductor and pianist, but he was. Wait pa tiently for him, and he shall give thee thy hearts dea44 the angel alto solo n o ks andantino k ks ks kz ks k s ks k t k t kz ks k k k ks k ks k k a44 nnkkz k kk t k k k k k t k k t j kk k k kk kkk o kkk s o kksok kkk 4 k k k kkk k dk k dk. From deep drought to the moment of elijahs fiery ascension into the heavens.
Mendelssohn conducted regularly in birmingham including the first performance of elijah in 1846. The complete symphonies originally aired in 2017 on the new york philharmonic this week, hosted by alec baldwin. O rest in the lord sheet music composed by felix mendelssohn. Full text of the history of mendelssohn s oratorio elijah, see other formats. German text german text see also denn er hat seinen engeln befohlen uber dir felix mendelssohn, created before this oratorio and that has then taken place in it with small changes. Elly ameling is her own inimitable silvervoiced self in several roles the widow, the angel, the seraph, peter schreier one of my very favorite german tenors of the last fifty years as obadiah. Click here for download instructions for your convenience all the files for a specific voice part have been zipped together in one file. This aria is but one of mendelssohns tributes to classical composers in elijah. Drexels department of performing arts presents the university chorus and orchestra mendelssohns epic oratorio elijah. The oratorio as a whole encompasses lofty choral outbursts, heartfelt sentiment, profundity and even humour. The bob cole conservatory of music at california state university, long beach presents.
So are the titles of the two sections, though they are obviously what mendelssohn intended. Davison, on his joining the staff of the times, of which. It was only natural that the directors of the birmingham festival turned to mendelssohn in 1846 with a commission for a new oratorio. See also denn er hat seinen engeln befohlen uber dir felix mendelssohn, created before this oratorio and that has then taken place in it with. Full text of the history of mendelssohns oratorio elijah. In part two he grows resigned when he fails to convert humankind to god. Not only had he and his father omri exceeded the sins of all the kings that preceded them in their worship of jehoboams golden calves, but he had also married jezebel, daughter of ethbaal the priestking of the sidonians 878866 bc 1 kings 16.
Elijah is modeled on the oratorios of these two baroque masters. Felix mendelssohn was born jakob ludwig felix mendelssohn and given the additional surname of bartholdy when his family converted from judaism to christianity a move motivated by his parents desire to spare the children from the rife anti semitism of 19thcentury berlin, rather than by some discovery of faith. Elijah by felix mendelssohn jonathan talberg conductor saturday, may 6th, 2017. University of wisconsin author, del santo jm author. Mendelssohn elijah performed march 9, 1997 when the directors of the birmingham festival commissioned felix mendelssohn to compose and conduct a new oratorio in 1846, the thirtyeight year old composer had long been the most celebrated musician in europe. Depending on tempi and how long is taken between the choruses and solos to rearrange the large forces required, it can run anywhere. Sheet music arranged for pianovocal, and singer pro in c major transposable. Mendelssohn elijah download free sheet music and scores scorser. He continued sporadically until 1845, when he received a commission from the birmingham festival committee to write an english oratorio. The oratorio presents episodes from the story of the biblical prophet elijah. A conductors guide to the interpretation of mendelssohns. It is extraordinary how elijahby far the most popular oratorio of the 19th centuryfell from grace in the 20th century. The division into subsections with titles is added in this version.
The title role, sung by a baritone or bass, requires a nearly operatic range of emotional expression for the arias. He will always be the bane of complacency and smugness. As god the lord elijah as god the lord of israel liveth, before whom i stand. Original was satb solo voices with orchestra purchase. In this broadcast semyon bychkov conducts mahlers symphony no. Elijah 1 life and ministry the reign of ahab was a dark hour for israel. Here, too, we sense the composers despair at an increasingly secularized world that has lost its ability to relate to god and to an art characterized by moderation.
Notes these files are part of the werner icking music collection. This recording of felix mendelssohns elijah is a rousing testament to the combined talents of three west chester, pennsylvania based church choirs. Mendelssohns elijah is a very beautiful but very long piece. Most occurrences of this in the present ver sion would go better with bene. The library of congress is hosting the consortium web site which gives bibliographic information on each item. From this perspective, mendelssohn s untimely death was a double blow. Days of elijah behold, i will send you elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the lord. Felix mendelssohn was the most precocious musical genius of all time, mozart included. To find out more how choraline can help you learn your voice part please watch the film and listen to the audio clip below. Mendelssohn elijah performed march 9, 1997 when the directors of the birmingham festival commissioned felix mendelssohn to compose and conduct a new oratorio in 1846, the thirtyeight year old composer had long.
Jun 14, 2011 felix mendelssohn s elijah, perhaps his most endearing and embracing work, is a vivid depiction of the prophets dramatic life, expressed through thrilling musical story telling, brilliant arias. This is easily, for me, the best performance of mendelssohn s elias elijah in german that ive ever heard. The oratorio chronicles many episodes of elijah s life, including his challenge to ahab and the contest of the gods, the miracle of raising the dead, and his ascension into heaven. Mendelssohn elijah, sheet music, scores mendelssohn, arnold mendelssohn, felix. Felix mendelssohns elijah exists in many different performing versions. Elijah in mendelssohns libretto elijah or the jewish. Editorial integrity compels me to state that i was not able to audition this sacd release in its full surroundsound version. The immediate success of elijah 1846 may in some way be regarded as inevitable, given the confluence of elements central to mendelssohn s being as a composer.
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