Fordingbridge Choral Society

Mendelssohn - 'Elijah'

A Background

Mendelssohn's Oratorio "Elijah" has some claim to be considered his greatest work. It was given its first performance on 26 August 1846 at the Birmingham Festival, conducted by Mendelssohn himself. The work was originally written to a text in German, but Mendelssohn (who spoke fluent English) took great pains that the English version would be as accurate as possible. "Elijah" was a subject that Mendelssohn has long wanted to set to music and he greatly enjoyed the work's success before his untimely death the following year aged only 38.

The work draws largely from the Biblical account of Elijah in the book of Kings. Whereas the bass solo is always Elijah, somewhat confusingly the other soloists play different roles: the tenor can either be Obadiah (good) or Ahab (bad); the alto is either an angel or the evil Queen Jezebel. The chorus represents the people, or the Priests of Baal; or they may simply recount the Biblical words. The story is continuous and therefore difficult to cut, and we apologise for the several necessary excisions in tonight's performance. This is a brief synopsis:-

The work opens with a highly original feature: before the overture, Elijah pronounces God's curse that there shall be no dew nor rain for these years; the ensuing Overture depicts the years of drought and leads without a break into the first chorus. The people lament God's punishment. Obadiah calls on the people to repent, and the people continue to bewail their fate. An angel tells Elijah that as Cherith's brook is dried up he should depart for Zarapath. He meets a widow whose son is dead; Elijah calls upon God to restore him to life. A chorus expresses the blessings of God. Elijah calls upon God to send rain, but is accused by Ahab of troubling Israel. Elijah tells the priests of Baal to make a sacrifice to see whose God is Lord. The people in growing desperation call upon Baal, but there is silence. Elijah meanwhile prays to God and fire descends from heaven. Elijah has the priests of Baal put to the sword. Elijah again calls on God to open the heavens and send rain. A youth is sent to watch out to sea. Eventually, a cloud the size of a man's hand is seen and the waters rush over the earth to the great chorus of praise which ends Part One of the oratorio.

Part Two begins with a long soprano aria which ends with the words "Be not afraid". This leads into another great chorus on these words. After this, Elijah confronts Ahab again, but comes up against the opposition of Queen Jezebel who incites the people to violence against Elijah. Obadiah counsels Elijah to depart for the wilderness where, in the deepest despair, Elijah falls asleep beneath a juniper tree. Angels appear and remind him that God is always watching over Israel. The angel tells him to go on a long journey of forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God, and she sings the famous aria "O rest in the Lord". (Surprisingly, Mendelssohn nearly omitted this movement from his revised version of "Elijah"). The chorus reminds him that "He that shall endure to the end shall be saved" and another angel tells Elijah that God's glory will appear to him if he stands on the mountain. An exciting chorus describes a mighty wind, a tempest, earthquake and fire, but God is not amongst these; only in a small, still voice is He to be found. Elijah realises that the mountains and hills shall depart, but God's kindness will remain, and is taken up to heaven in a whirlwind by fiery horses in fiery chariots. The Tenor sings that the righteous shall shine forth as the sun and the chorus of people add a final hymn of praise which brings the oratorio to a joyful conclusion.

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