MENDELSSOHN, Felix 1809-1847

[Op. 70]. Elias [Piano-vocal score]

Ein Oratorium nach Worten des alten Testaments ... Clavierauszug mit Text Pr. M. 25. 50.

Berlin: N. Simrock [PN 4648], [ca. 1880].

Folio. Full black cloth with original publisher's light green printed wrapper with titling within decorative border laid down to upper board. 1f. (recto title, verso blank), 3-207, [i] (blank) pp. Text in German.

Small circular handstamp of the Musik-schulen Kaiser, Wien, to wrapper, title, and several pages throughout.

Binding slightly worn, rubbed, and bumped; wrapper slightly trimmed and lightly foxed, with several minor chips and abrasions to margins. Impression to title slightly light; title and final leaf reinforced with paper tape to gutter and outer edge. Light scattered foxing throughout.

First German Edition, later issue. Wehner MWV A 25, p. 35. Not in Krause. Ward Jones III, 361 (earlier issue). Hoboken 10, 251 (first issue).

Elias, an oratorio to a libretto by Julius Schubring after Kings, was first performed in Birmingham on 26 August 1846. Mendelssohn made major revisions to the work following this performance, introducing the new and final version in London on 16 April 1847.

Mendelssohn distinguished himself in many fields, and his contributions to sacred choral music are no exception. He was the most prominent advocate for the music of J.S. Bach, reviving the St. Matthew Passion in 1829, and helped to reestablish the oratorio by providing two superb examples: St. Paul (1836) and Elijah (1846).

"Based largely on the account in 1 Kings, Elijah relates the chief events in the prophet's life: the curse of the Lord and the seven-year drought, Elijah's miraculous revival of the widow's son, his confrontation with the Baal worshippers and the lifting of the drought, his confrontation with Ahab and Jezebel, his flight to the wilderness and encounter with the Lord, and his journey to Mt Horeb and ascension to heaven in a flaming chariot. As in St Paul, Mendelssohn employed chorales and relied heavily upon choral numbers; noteworthy is the sheer diversity of choruses ... In contrast to St Paul, Mendelssohn dispensed with the narrator, allowing the characters themselves to deliver the dramatic action. Elijah diverges from St Paul, too, in its broadly conceived musical cohesiveness; in no other work did Mendelssohn concern himself with musical structure on such a large scale." R. Larry Todd in Grove Music Online.

Item #35203

Price: $125.00  other currencies