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THE HISTORY
OF
MENDELSSOHN'S ORATORIO
'ELIJAH'
BY
F.G. EDWARDS.
WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY
SIR GEORGE GROVE, C.B.
LONDON: NOVELLO AND COMPANY, LIMITED
AND
NOVELLO, EWER AND CO., NEW YORK.
1896.
LONDON:
NOVELLO AND COMPANY, LIMITED,
PRINTERS.
[Illustration: FELIX MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY
AT THE AGE OF 26.
_From a Pencil Drawing by Muecke, in the possession of Mrs. Victor
Benecke._]
INTRODUCTION.
I have been asked to say a few words as introduction to this volume,
and I do so with pleasure.
To the mass of music-loving people of this country, however, I believe
that Mendelssohn requires no introduction. It has been the fashion in
some quarters to speak of him slightingly, nay injuriously; but this
will pass, and he needs no defence--certainly not when "Elijah" is in
question. In England the oratorio has taken its place, if not on a
level with "The Messiah," very near it; and what more does any work of
musical art require? Fortunately every additional fact that is
elicited about this great composer testifies all the more to his
insight, to the depth and warmth of his feelings, and to the
indefatigable earnestness with which he worked until he had realised
the entire meaning of his text and expressed it in music to the utmost
of his power and with all the dramatic force that it was capable of.
The letters now given--many of them for the first time--abound in
instances of this.
The information which my friend Mr. Edwards has so carefully collected
and so clearly stated, the new portrait which is due to the kindness
of Mrs. Victor Benecke, and the _fac-simile_, will be very welcome;
and the book is in my opinion a gain to musical literature, while it
forms the fittest symbol to mark the anniversary of the production of
the greatest oratorio of this century.
GEORGE GROVE.
LOWER SYDENHAM,
_January_ 27, 1896.
PREFACE.
It is fifty years since Mendelssohn's "Elijah" was first performed.
The place was Birmingham: the date August 26, 1846. The Jubilee of
this event provides a fitting opportunity for presenting a history of
Mendelssohn's familiar oratorio.
In compiling the following pages, I have been favoured in having had
access to much original matter on the subject of "Elijah." Especially
is this the case in regard to the numerous letters from Mendelssohn
and his correspondents which are here made public for the first time.
These letters are not only unique in the information they convey, but
they form the most interesting links in the chain of this "History."
For the rest, I have carefully kept in view the duty of the historian,
which is--I take it--that he should tell his story in as accurate,
straightforward, and pleasant a manner as he can.
I have to acknowledge the kind help of those who have so greatly
facilitated my work. In addition to those specially mentioned in the
course of the book, I tender my best thanks to Mrs. Carson
(granddaughter of the late Mr. Edward Buxton, the former proprietor of
the business of Messrs. Ewer & Co.); Dr. Carl and Dr. Felix
Klingemann; Felix Moscheles, Esq.; William Moore, Esq.; and
especially to Professor Dr. Julius Schubring of Luebeck, for their
kindness in allowing me to publish the correspondence which passed
between Mendelssohn and their respective relatives. Except where it is
otherwise stated, the letters are translated from the German
originals.
Also to Messrs. Longmans, Green & Co., for extracts from
"Mendelssohn's Letters from 1833 to 1847"; to my friends, Mr. Andrew
Deakin, of Birmingham, and Mr. J.S. Shedlock, for their kind
assistance; and in a special degree to Mrs. Victor Benecke
(Mendelssohn's elder daughter), who has very kindly helped me to
obtain permission to publish several letters relating to "Elijah"
which have hitherto been unknown. Mrs. Benecke has also allowed the
portrait of her father, which forms the frontispiece to this book, to
be published. It was taken in 1835, and is here reproduced for the
first time.
My thanks are specially due to Miss Mounsey (formerly Miss Elizabeth
Mounsey), without whose invaluable co-operation it would have been
impossible for me to write this "History" with any approach to
completeness. Miss Mounsey enabled me to acquire, three years ago, the
originals of fourteen letters on the subject of the English
translation of "Elijah," written by Mendelssohn to her brother-in-law,
the late Mr. William Bartholomew. She subsequently placed in my
possession a collection of MS. copies, parts, &c., of the oratorio,
which were made for the production of the work at Birmingham, in 1846.
These sheets, with the exception of some engraved chorus parts, are
all in Mr. Bartholomew's handwriting, but they also contain several
alterations written by Mendelssohn himself. Some of them possess
additional interest from the fact that they are the actual copies from
which the soloists sang at the first performance. Not only am I
greatly indebted to my good friend Miss Mounsey for these manuscripts
and a copy of the original word-book of 1846, but also for her
encouragement and the kindly interest she has taken in this "History,"
from the time I first mentioned it to her to that of its completion.
My last word is one of gratitude to Sir George Grove for his kindness
in contributing an Introduction.
F.G.E.
HAMPSTEAD,
_February_, 1896.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
CHAPTER I.
THE LIBRETTO 1
CHAPTER II.
BIRMINGHAM 28
CHAPTER III.
THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION 48
CHAPTER IV.
THE FIRST PERFORMANCE 76
CHAPTER V.
THE REVISED ORATORIO 97
INDEX 135
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
PORTRAIT OF MENDELSSOHN _Frontispiece._
PORTRAIT OF MR. JOSEPH MOORE 30
PORTRAIT OF MR. WM. BARTHOLOMEW 48
PORTRAIT OF MADAME CARADORI-ALLAN 88
PORTRAIT OF HERR JOSEPH STAUDIGL 96
FAC-SIMILE OF MENDELSSOHN'S METRONOMIC TIMES FOR "ELIJAH" 125
FAC-SIMILE OF A LETTER FROM MENDELSSOHN TO WM. BARTHOLOMEW 142
THE HISTORY OF MENDELSSOHN'S "ELIJAH."
CHAPTER I.
THE LIBRETTO.
Mendelssohn had no sooner completed his first oratorio, "St. Paul,"
than he began to think about setting another Bible story to music.
"St. Paul" was produced at the Lower Rhine Musical Festival,
Duesseldorf, May 22, 1836, under the composer's personal direction.
Mendelssohn was then twenty-seven years of age. He spent six weeks in
the summer of that year at Frankfort-on-the-Maine, as _locum tenens_
for his friend Schelble, the founder of a Choral Society, famous then
and now, under the name of the Caecilien-Verein.
During his temporary residence in the old Hanseatic city, Mendelssohn
met Mdlle. Cecile Jeanrenaud, to whom he was betrothed in September.
He spent the month of August at Scheveningen for the benefit of the
sea-bathing there, and also, as we learn from the "Recollections" of
his friend Devrient, to test the strength of his affection for the
beautiful Cecile. Although his thoughts naturally and constantly
turned towards Frankfort, he did not neglect his beloved art. He wrote
the following letter, hitherto unpublished, to his old and attached
friend, Carl Klingemann, in London.[1]
[Footnote 1: Carl Klingemann (1798-1862) was for upwards of thirty
years resident in London as Secretary to the Hanoverian Legation. "He
was," says Sir George Grove, "a man of great cultivation, considerable
literary power, and very rare judgment in music." He wrote the
libretto of Mendelssohn's operetta known as "Son and Stranger"; and
nine of Mendelssohn's songs are set to words by Klingemann.]
[MENDELSSOHN TO KLINGEMANN.]
"THE HAGUE, _August_ 12, 1836.
"... A thousand thanks for all your care, and for the
interest you take in the whole affair.[2] It is no doubt
important for me that the performance and all the
arrangements should be as perfect as possible; therefore,
let me thank you for it all once more.
"But I wish you knew what a far greater favour you would
confer upon me if, instead of doing so much for my old
oratorio, you would write me a new one; and, by so doing,
would stir me up to fresh activity, instead of my having to
do this myself. When I have finished a composition, that
which really gives me pleasure in it is the progress I see
in the work, and the hope that it may lead me to attain to
greater excellence in the next. Therefore, I long to be rid
of all care of the finished work; and I feel as if I could
only really thank you, from my heart, if you showed me that
you like this oratorio sufficiently to help me to find a new
'text,' and thus encourage me to write another oratorio. If
you would only give all the care and thought you now bestow
upon 'St. Paul' to an 'Elijah,' or a 'St. Peter,' or even an
'Og of Bashan!'
"It may seem ungrateful that I write to you just now in this
strain, and in a letter which should be all thanks; but it
is as I feel at present, and we are far too intimate with
each other for me to attempt to hide from you my present
mood. You know, don't you, that I am not ungrateful? But I
have felt very strongly of late that I need and long for an
external impulse to urge me on; no recognition of work done
can come up to that; it gives me great pleasure, but it has
not the stimulating effect upon me which a suggestion for
new work would have."
[Footnote 2: The proposed performance of "St. Paul" at the Liverpool
Musical Festival, where it was given for the first time in England,
under the direction of Sir George Smart, October 7, 1836.]
This letter, which discloses an article of Mendelssohn's artistic
creed, is important, because it contains the earliest known reference
to the oratorio of "Elijah." The date should be carefully noted, as it
shows that Mendelssohn was engaged, more or less, upon his great
oratorio for a period of more than ten years before it was given to
the world in its finished and published form.
Klingemann does not seem to have been taken with his friend's proposal
that he should compile an oratorio libretto, even upon so original a
subject for musical treatment as "Og of Bashan." The following letter,
written a few weeks before the composer's marriage, contains a request
for the "text" of an oratorio as a wedding present--surely a novelty
in the way of a nuptial gift.
[MENDELSSOHN TO KLINGEMANN.]
"LEIPZIG, _February_ 18, 1837.
"... Here comes my request. Do write for me within the next
few weeks the text for a Biblical oratorio, so that I can
set to and compose it during next summer. The last time we
talked about it I mentioned to you two subjects which I like
equally well--'St. Peter' or 'Elijah.' What I would like
best would be for you to take 'Elijah'--divide the story
into two or three parts, write it out in choruses and airs,
either in verse or prose of your own; or, compile it from
the Psalms and Prophets, with powerful big choruses, and
then send it to me. The translation of Handel's oratorios
gave you so little trouble that I think you will only
require a few evenings, and the will to give them up to it,
and my 'text' will be written. You may let it be dramatic
like 'Judas Maccabaeus,' or epic, or both combined. I am
satisfied with anything you do. You need not ask my advice,
but just write out what you think best. Then I can compose
it at once.
"If you do not care for either of these two subjects, then I
am willing to take any other--for instance, 'Saul.' But
somehow I think 'Elijah,' and his going up to heaven in the
end, would be a most beautiful subject. And if you think of
using Bible words, read up Isaiah lx. and lxiii., to the end
of the Prophet, and also chapter xl., and Lamentations, and
all the Psalms. When you have done this you will easily find
the right language. Just think what sort of an oratorio I
ought to be able to write at this moment, and such an one
send me. It ought to be your wedding present to me; it would
be the gift I would value most. Do not refuse my request. Of
course, if you are too busy, do not be vexed with me for
asking this of you; but do write to me, anyhow, very soon."
Mendelssohn was married at Frankfort, on March 28, 1837. Klingemann
evidently did not send a wedding present in the form of an oratorio
"text" in time for the ceremony, since Mendelssohn, while on his
honeymoon, wrote the following letter to his London friend:--
[MENDELSSOHN TO KLINGEMANN.]
FREIBURG, _April_ 30, 1837.
"... Will you soon be able to fulfil your promise about
'Elijah'? Forgive my pressing you thus for an answer. It is
not my fault; it is the fault of circumstances. It seems to
me more and more a mistake to imagine that anyone can make a
lasting impression by _one_ single work--it ought to be done
steadily, uninterruptedly, by progressive writings. Out of
these the best will eventually stand forth, if all are
conceived in an earnest spirit. Therefore, I want to write
some more sacred music soon, especially as I see no chance
of being able to compose an opera. Perhaps this is as well,
for it seems to me as if all the German theatres were at the
present moment in such bad condition, that one cannot reckon
on a good performance anywhere, and therefore there may yet
be a few years' time before me, and I may do it all the
better then; for that I must write operas is an idea I
cannot give up. The choral societies, on the other hand, are
just now good, and long for new music; and I should like to
give them something that would please me better than my 'St.
Paul' does. Do help me to this, and send me a new oratorio
'text.'"
In the autumn of his marriage year, Mendelssohn paid his fifth visit
to England, in fulfilment of an engagement to conduct his 'St. Paul'
at the Birmingham Musical Festival of 1837, at which he also played
the pianoforte and organ. He stayed (in London) at Klingemann's, 4,
Hobart Place, Eaton Square. The house, which still stands, is opposite
St. Peter's Church. During this visit Mendelssohn spent two whole
mornings with his host on the "plan" of an oratorio of "Elijah." This
"plan," or "sketch," was left with Klingemann for him to develop and
to put "into verse." A few months afterwards he received the following
letter:--
[MENDELSSOHN TO KLINGEMANN.]
LEIPZIG, _January_ 9, 1838.
"... Over all this chatting I am forgetting a very important
affair. I received last week by post a parcel (which cost me
nearly 10s. for postage), containing an English 'text' for
an oratorio of 'Elijah,' which was sent to me by a Mr.
Charles Greville (18, Vineyards, Bath, Somersetshire), in
the name of the poet, with a strange letter. Do you know
this gentleman, or the name of the poet, J. Barry, a
clergyman? I have never heard of them.... I should like to
know how they fixed on 'Elijah,' and on this way of treating
the subject, which certainly resembles our 'sketch' very
closely.... They have already dedicated their 'Elijah' to
the Duchess of Kent, and no doubt will make much ado about
it; and if I do not compose it, Neukomm, or some one else
may do so. Therefore--you see what is coming--I beg you for
two things: 1st, make our 'sketch' into verse and send it to
me at once (you may take Bible words to help you, or
whatever you like), so that I may compose it forthwith; and
secondly, send me, in any case (even if you will not comply
with No. 1), our 'plan' or 'sketch,' as we made it when last
we met (with all remarks) _copied_, and write to me at the
same time."
The Rev. Mr. Barry's libretto of "Elijah," above referred to, was not
published till 1869. A copy of the little book, now "out of print," is
before me. Its title is:--
"ELIJAH, or the Baalim in Israel: a Metrical Libretto, in
four parts, dedicated in the year 1838, by express
permission, to Her late Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent.
By the late Rev. James Barry, M.A., curate of Bratton
Clovelly, Devonshire. Oxford and London: James Parker & Co.,
1869."
The Preface, signed "E.S.B.B.," states:--
"The following production, illustrating the chief incidents
of Ahab's reign, was submitted in the year 1837 to Felix
Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, as a theme for one or more sacred
oratorios. His famous 'Elijah,' which since then has taken
its place among the masterpieces of Handel, Haydn, and
Beethoven, had not been given to the world; but on returning
this manuscript to its Author, Mendelssohn announced his
engagement on the same great subject, adding, that although
this work possessed both literary and poetical merit, it was
in his opinion too long for an Oratorio, but might well be
published as a Metrical Libretto. But for this
disappointment, a public having little leisure for songs
without music, might yet, in the pauses of their enthusiasm,
after hearing the 'Elijah,' have let fall some crumbs of
approbation on a poem in which the immortal part of
Mendelssohn had found a channel for his farewell
inspirations.
"... The manuscript was laid aside for nearly twelve years,
when, in January, 1849, he [the author] again took it up,
resolving to publish it in the form suggested by
Mendelssohn; but his death intervened to prevent it, and
again it was laid aside.... More than thirty years have thus
elapsed since this Libretto underwent the favourable
criticism of Mendelssohn ... and after much consideration,
the Author's children have at length ventured to offer to
the public, 'Elijah,' or the Baalim in Israel...."[3]
[Footnote 3: The Rev. James Barry, M.A., who seems to have been curate
at Bratton Clovelly for only a few months, died in April, 1849, aged
forty-two, at the Parsonage there, and was buried in the centre of the
chancel of the church. I am indebted to the Rev. Edward Seymour, M.A.,
the present rector of Bratton Clovelly, for this information.
Strangely enough, Mr. Barry's libretto begins with the familiar
Recitative: "As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand,
there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my
word."]
The receipt of Mr. Barry's libretto put Mendelssohn on his mettle, and
he became very anxious as to the fate of _his_ projected oratorio (of
"Elijah"). Klingemann, however, does not seem to have considered the
matter as being of such paramount importance. His reply to
Mendelssohn's letter of January 9 could not have been very reassuring
to the composer, if we may judge from the following letter:--
[MENDELSSOHN TO KLINGEMANN.]
"LEIPZIG, _February_ 9, 1838.
"You say in your letter that ... you are now intending to
become poetical (as you express it), but you need to live to
be a hundred years old for it. If I now therefore ask you,
_when_ you can send me a worked-out copy of our 'plan,' do
not see in the question an _overbearing reminder_. I am just
now in such good working trim, and I must work for the next
few years with a will and get on. I have responsibilities
now, and also a great longing for work, and I think I could
write an oratorio within a year. My new Psalm,[4] which we
tried for the first time the day before yesterday, and which
pleases me more than any other church music of mine, proves
to me that I am right; for I wrote five new numbers for it
quite lately, which makes it sound now as I wanted it to
sound. The opera libretto--if I get it--will not be ready
before the middle of the summer. I should like to have a new
oratorio for the Duesseldorf Festival in 1839 ... therefore,
for all these reasons, I must ask you: _when_ could you send
it (the 'sketch') to me? And if other occupations, or
annoyance at my repeated requests, or any other reason,
prevent you from complying with my wish, do please send me,
by _return of post_, a copy of our 'sketch' of the oratorio,
and tell me whether I am to leave you in peace about the
matter, so that I know where I am. Only I must set to work
soon; that you will understand."
[Footnote 4: Probably "As the hart pants."]
After one or two more letters had passed between Mendelssohn and
Klingemann, the latter returned to the composer the "sketch" they had
made together in London in the autumn of 1837, and henceforth
"Elijah," except in a casual way, drops out of their correspondence.
Mendelssohn then sought the aid of his intimate friend and the
companion of his boyhood, the Rev. Julius Schubring, D.D., Rector of
St. George's Church, Dessau--the same friend who has recorded some
delightful reminiscences of the composer in his youthful days,[5] and
who rendered him valuable service in the preparation of the "book" of
"St. Paul." The interesting correspondence between Mendelssohn and
Schubring on the subject of oratorio libretti has been published (in
German), edited by Professor Dr. Julius Schubring, the son of
Mendelssohn's clerical friend.[6]
[Footnote 5: "Daheim" (Leipzig) for 1866, No. 26. English translation
in _Musical World_, May 12 and 19, 1866.]
[Footnote 6: The full title of the book is: "Briefwechsel zwischen
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy und Julius Schubring, zugleich ein Beitrag
zur Geschichte und Theorie des Oratoriums. Herausgegeben von Prof. Dr.
Jul. Schubring, Direktor des Katharineums zu Luebeck. Leipzig: Verlag
von Duncker und Humblot. 1892."]
Mendelssohn, having at last received the "sketch" from Klingemann,
showed it to his friend Schubring, who was staying with the composer
at Leipzig. The following letter gives Schubring's views on the said
"sketch":--
[SCHUBRING TO MENDELSSOHN.]
"DESSAU, _October_ 28, 1838.[7]
"At last I must make a start. I wanted to write to you the
first week after my visit, but when I thought of what you
had entrusted to me, and to which I had done nothing, I felt
ashamed; therefore the manuscript[8] became somewhat odious
to me. I took it up three or four times, but either some of
the sheets--large and small--had got mixed, or I could not
make out the abbreviations; and then again I was often
interrupted by other work. I was afraid I should have to
send it back to you untouched. But yesterday the light
suddenly dawned upon me and I understood everything at
once--the whole and also the details. I see at the same time
that there is still much to be done, and therefore I write
at once to-day to ask if you can let me keep the MS. a
little longer."
[The letter then goes on to make suggestions for the "text,"
which it is not necessary to reproduce here.]
[Footnote 7: "Briefwechsel," p. 124.]
[Footnote 8: This refers to Klingemann's "sketch" for "Elijah,"
London, September, 1837.]
To the above communication Mendelssohn replied in a letter which has
hitherto been quoted as being the _earliest_ mention of "Elijah" in
the Mendelssohn correspondence.
[MENDELSSOHN TO SCHUBRING.]
"LEIPZIG, _November_ 2, 1838.[9]
"Dear Schubring,--Many, many thanks for your letter, which I
received the day before yesterday, and for the parcel, which
came to-day. You again render me an essential service, and I
feel most grateful to you. How can you ask whether I wish
you to proceed in the same way? When all is so well put
together, I have almost nothing to do but to write music for
the words. I ought to have previously told you that the
sheets you took away with you are by no means to be regarded
as containing a mature design, but as a mere combination of
the materials I had before me for the purpose of eventually
forming a plan. So the omission of the passage of the widow,
and also of the raven, is decidedly most advisable; and also
the abridgment of the whole commencement, in order that the
main points may be dwelt upon to one's heart's content. I
would urgently entreat you to proceed with your work, so far
as your time and leisure will permit, and soon to send me
the continuation of the first part, which ought now to be
considerable, from where you left off. Rest assured that, as
I already told you, you will earn my most sincere gratitude.
"You say that at first you could not make anything of the
subject, but that a sudden light dawned upon you. I figured
to myself Elijah as a thorough prophet, such as we might
again require in our own day--energetic and zealous, but
also stern, wrathful, and gloomy; a striking contrast to the
court rabble and popular rabble--in fact, in opposition to
the whole world, and yet borne on angels' wings. Is this the
inference you also draw from the subject, and is this the
sense in which you conceived an affection for it? I am most
anxious to do full justice to the _dramatic_ element, and,
as you say, no epic narrative must be introduced. I am glad
to learn that you are searching out the always
heart-affecting sense of the Scriptural words; but if I
might make one observation, it is that I would fain see the
dramatic element more prominent, as well as more exuberant
and defined--appeal and rejoinder, question and answer,
sudden interruptions, etc., etc. Not that it disturbs me
that Elijah, for example, first speaks of assembling the
people, then forthwith addresses them--such liberties are
the natural privileges of a composition such as an oratorio;
but I should like to have the representation itself as
spirited as possible; for instance, it annoys me that Elijah
does not reply to Ahab's words, No. 16, till No. 18, various
other speeches and a chorus intervening. I should like to
have had an instant and eager rejoinder, etc., etc.
"But we are no doubt likely to agree about this; and I would
only entreat you, when you resume your work, to think of
this wish of mine. Above all, accept my thanks for your
kindness, and write to me soon on the same subject.--Ever
yours,
"FELIX M.-B."
[Footnote 9: "Briefwechsel," p. 134.]
Schubring sent to Mendelssohn another "plan," for Part I., dated
"Reformationsfest [October 31], 1838," accompanying it with the
following (selected) observations[10]:--
[Footnote 10: "Briefwechsel," p. 129.]
[SCHUBRING TO MENDELSSOHN.]
"I have sought throughout--although it is not always
possible--to introduce pieces, not merely suitable to the
particular situation in question, but such as might awaken
an echo in the hearts of the hearers--as, for instance, this
aria ['If with all your hearts']. I have noticed that in
your 'St. Paul,' for example, such numbers have excited the
most interest.... In oratorios it does no harm if you
exaggerate the dramatic effect: on the contrary, it seems to
me necessary.... I think it will often occur to you, as it
does to me, to marvel at the manifold things which can be
found in the Bible."
In the letter[11] ("Dessau, November 1, 1838") which accompanied the
new "plan," Schubring remarks:--
[Footnote 11: _Ibid._, p. 137.]
"... I fear the first part will be too rich, or rather the
second part too poor. I confess I have some misgivings about
the second. As it now stands it is far from pleasing me. If
not unreasonable, I would propose to bring in the rain scene
at the beginning of the second part, and something could
certainly be found to replace it in the first part.
"What I feared and wrote to you about, has really come to
pass; and the thing is becoming too objective--an
interesting, even thrilling picture, but far from edifying
the heart of the listener. All the curses, the scenes of the
sacrifice and the rain, Jezebel, etc., in all this there is
nothing which now-a-days would come from the heart, and
therefore nothing which would go to the heart. Pieces in
your 'St. Paul,' like the aria in B minor ['Consume them
all'], or choruses, 'Ihr Maenner von Israel helfet' [No. 38,
in the English edition], etc., are certainly fine and
characteristic; but they are interesting rather than
edifying. You will probably never hear people singing that
aria at the pianoforte for their pleasure; but the second
and third arias in 'St. Paul,' or that for tenor towards the
close ['Be thou faithful unto death'], they are for
everybody. There are many more passages in 'St. Paul' of
general interest than there are in this 'text' in its
present form. Therefore you must carefully consider whether
this time you prefer to turn away from Church music (_i.e._,
music which refreshes, consoles) and create a tone-picture
after the manner of the 'Blocksberg-Cantata.'[12] If not, we
must diligently set to work to keep down the dramatic, and
raise the sacred element, and always aim at this. Perhaps it
will suffice to lead back from the second part to the effect
of the rain scene in the first. I expect that will be very
fine. It can only be surpassed by bringing out prominently
Elijah's meaning (signification) for the New Covenant, as
the forerunner of the Messiah, pointing towards His coming,
and such like.
"All this lies in the future, and at present I am waiting
until you have written to me about the first part.
Therefore, let me conclude for the present--not my thoughts
of you, but my letter, and soon gladden me again with
something--not to do--but to enjoy. Good-bye. N.B.--The
_third_ letter to you this week!"
[Footnote 12: Mendelssohn's setting of Goethe's "Walpurgis Night."]
Schubring sent to Mendelssohn a draft sketch for Part II. on November
17, 1838,[13] saying:--
[Footnote 13: "Briefwechsel," p. 140.]
"Before I set to work I should like to know your idea of the
matter. For the rest, I am more and more convinced that you
will have to supply the principal part of the text yourself.
How is one to know what is running through your mind on this
or that occasion? Therefore the words are only set down as
hints, suggesting what might be written."
Mendelssohn replied to Schubring in words which show that there was
some difference of opinion between them as to the "plan" of the
oratorio. Here is the composer's letter:--
[MENDELSSOHN TO SCHUBRING.]
"LEIPZIG, _December_ 6, 1838.[14]
"Dear Schubring,--Along with this you will receive the organ
pieces and 'Bonifacius,' which I also enclose. Thank you
much for the letter and for the manuscripts you have from
time to time sent me for 'Elijah'; they are of the greatest
possible use to me, and although I may here and there make
some alterations, still the whole thing, by your aid, is
now placed on a much firmer footing. With regard to the
dramatic element, there still seems to be a diversity of
opinion between us. With a subject like 'Elijah' it appears
to me that the dramatic element should predominate, as it
should in all Old Testament subjects, Moses, perhaps,
excepted. The personages should act and speak as if they
were living beings--for Heaven's sake let them not be a
musical picture, but a real world, such as you find in every
chapter of the Old Testament; and the contemplative and
pathetic element, which you desire, ought to be entirely
conveyed to our understanding by the words and the mood of
the acting personages....
"I am now myself about to set to work again on the 'Elijah,'
and to plough away at the soil as best I can; if I do not
get on with it you must come to my aid, and I hope as kindly
as ever, and preserve the same regard for your
"FELIX MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY."
[Footnote 14: _Ibid._, p. 146.]
The following letter is the next from Schubring that is printed; but
it was not written till nearly two months after that from Mendelssohn,
just quoted.
[SCHUBRING TO MENDELSSOHN.]
DESSAU, _February_ 2, 1839.[15]
"... Unfortunately I can offer you nothing besides my good
[birthday] wishes, though I would willingly have done so. I
always thought that the 'Elijah' would turn out all right,
but it will not, and you must seek help elsewhere. At a
distance I seemed to have thought out the subject quite
nicely; but whenever I come to it at close quarters I cannot
clearly distinguish the separate figures. Elijah is in the
society of the angels; he is in good company, leave him
there. It is unbecoming for men to drive away the angels. I
have held to one point where the Lord Himself ought to or
could speak to Elijah. It seemed to me that as Elijah
appeared to Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew
xvii.), so Christ might come to Elijah, transfigure him, and
show him from afar the streams of peace, which flow over the
heavenly Canaan. These three personages--Christ, Elijah, and
the heavenly choir of angels--might suffice, with suitable
dramatic alteration, to transform the earth into heaven,
until the removal of Elijah. But you well know how
sluggishly my poetical vein flows; how, here and there, with
great effort I manage to gather a few crumbs together, but
then I get no farther. Unless I am in the pulpit--where the
Lord usually helps me joyfully to honour Him by my
preaching--the creative power fails me utterly."
[Footnote 15: "Briefwechsel," p. 149. Mendelssohn was born February 3,
1809.]
For nearly seven years the subject of "Elijah" drops out of the
Mendelssohn-Schubring correspondence, except two unimportant
references. In a letter to Mendelssohn, dated January 17, 1840,
Schubring says: "How about 'Elijah'? Have you quite put him aside?"
And on November 10 of the same year: "You have told my brother that
for the present you have given up composing oratorios. To this I have
no objection; but I would like to see something else--sonatas, for
instance, not short pieces."
It seems to be quite evident that the subject of "Elijah" was lying
more or less fallow in Mendelssohn's mind for six years (1839-1845).
There are, it is true, two casual references to the oratorio. To
Moscheles, Mendelssohn wrote: "A new oratorio, too, I have begun; but
how it is to end, and what is to come in the middle, Heaven only
knows." And to Klingemann: "I have thought anew seriously of 'Elijah.'
Perhaps I shall attack him now." But it was not until the summer of
1845, when he received the invitation from Birmingham (see the next
chapter), that Mendelssohn, to use his own words, "again began to
plough up the soil." He was then glad to seek fresh help from
Schubring in the technicalities of the "text," which he did in the
following letter to his clerical friend:--
[MENDELSSOHN TO SCHUBRING.]
"LEIPZIG, _December_ 16, 1845.[16]
"My dear Schubring,--I now send you, according to your
permission, the text of 'Elijah,' so far as it goes. I do
beg of you to give me your best assistance, and return it
soon with plenty of notes in the margin (I mean Scriptural
passages, etc.). I also enclose your former letters on the
subject, as you wished, and have taken them out of the book
in which they were. They must, however, be replaced, so do
not forget to send them back to me. In the very first of
these letters (at the bottom of the first page), you
probably allude to the chief difficulty of the text, and the
very point in which it is still most deficient--universally
accepted and impressive words and thoughts; for of course it
is not my intention to compose what you call 'a Biblical
Walpurgis Night.' I have endeavoured to obviate this
deficiency by the passages written in Roman letters; but
there is still something wanting, even to complete these,
and to obtain suitable comprehensive words for the subject.
This, then, is the first point to which I wish to direct
your attention, and where your assistance is very necessary.
Secondly, in the 'dramatic' arrangement. I cannot endure the
half operatic style of most of the oratorio words (where
recourse is had to common figures--as, for example, an
Israelite, a maiden, Hannah, Micaiah, and others; and where,
instead of saying 'this and that is come to pass,' they are
made to say, 'Alas! I see this and that happening'). I
consider this very weak, and will not follow such a
precedent. However, the everlasting "he spake," etc., is
also not right. Both of these are avoided in the text; but
this part still remains its weakest point.
"Will you consider, too, whether it is justifiable that no
other dramatic figure besides Elijah appears? I think it is.
He ought, however, at the close, at his ascension to heaven,
to have something to say (or to sing). Can you find
appropriate words for this purpose? The second part,
moreover, especially towards the end, is still in a very
unfinished condition. I have not as yet got a final chorus;
what would you advise it to be? Pray study the whole
carefully, and write in the margin a great many beautiful
arias, reflections, pithy sentences, choruses, and all sorts
of things, and let me have them as soon as possible....
"Speaking is a very different thing from writing. The few
minutes I lately passed with you and yours were more
enlivening and cheering than ever so many letters.--Ever
your
"FELIX"
[Footnote 16: "Briefwechsel," p. 204. The date of the letter is
wrongly given in Lady Wallace's translation of the "Letters" (p. 294)
as 1842, instead of 1845.]
Early in January, 1846, Mendelssohn and Schubring met, and the plan of
the oratorio was doubtless fully discussed between them. Soon after
his return to Dessau, Schubring returned Mendelssohn's MS. of the
"sketch," to which he had added a number of comments and suggestions.
This "sketch" and its annotations are too long to be inserted here,
but an extract or two may be quoted.
[SCHUBRING TO MENDELSSOHN.][17]
"In oratorios, chorales have produced the most powerful
effect on me when they came _after_ other pieces of music
[Schubring evidently knew Bach's "Passion"]. Dignity,
simplicity, nobility, are then most perceptible in these
circumstances. Therefore, it would be better to have no
chorales at the beginning.... The overture, picturing a
famine, must represent a period of three years...."
[Footnote 17: "Briefwechsel," p. 208.]
Upon the words "Hear the prayer and petition of Thy servant, O Lord,"
Schubring remarks: "Here it would be well to have a reference to God's
own promise that He will answer prayer. (Daniel ix., 18; Psalm xxv.,
6; Isaiah liv., 10, 7). Then the chorale--'Out of the depths I cry to
Thee' (_Aus tiefer Noth_), verses 1 and 4, increasing in intensity.
Pray do not reject this suggestion. There are plenty of praying people
who heartily endorse the petition of Elijah."
Schubring's continued interest in the oratorio is shown in the
following letter:--
[SCHUBRING TO MENDELSSOHN.]
"DESSAU, _February_ 3, 1846.[18]
"... I am curious to know how you are getting on with
'Elijah.' I must confess that I am getting more and more
interested in it, and greatly look forward to it. Be sure
and keep well at it. If some things in the text do not
please you, they will come right in their proper time."
[Footnote 18: "Briefwechsel," p. 219.]
In May (1846), only three months before the oratorio was performed at
Birmingham, Mendelssohn again sought the aid of Schubring. He wrote:--
"LEIPZIG, _May_ 23, 1846.[19]
"Dear Schubring,--Once more I must trouble you about
'Elijah'; I hope it is for the last time, and I also hope
that you will at some future day derive enjoyment from it;
and how glad I should be if this were to be the case! I have
now quite finished the first part, and six or eight numbers
of the second are already written down. In various places,
however, in the second part I require a choice of really
fine Scriptural passages, and I do beg of you to send them
to me! I set off to-night for the Rhine, so there is no
hurry about them; but in three weeks I return here, and then
I purpose forthwith to take up the work and complete it.
Therefore, I beseech you earnestly to send me by that time a
rich harvest of fine Bible texts. You cannot believe how
much you have helped me in the first part; this I will tell
you more fully when we meet. On this very account I entreat
you to assist me in beautifying the second part also. I have
been able to dispense with all historical recitative, and to
substitute individual persons; and I have always introduced
an angel, or a chorus of angels, instead of the Lord. By
that means the first part, and the largest half of the
second, are finely rounded off. Now, however, the second
part begins with the words of the Queen, 'So let the gods do
to me, and more also,' etc. (1 Kings xix., 2); and the next
words about which I feel secure are those in the scene in
the wilderness (same chapter, 4th and following verses); but
between these I want, _first_, something more particularly
characteristic of the persecution of the prophet; for
example, I should like to have a couple of choruses
_against_ him to describe the people in their fickleness and
their rising in opposition to him; _secondly_, a
representation of the third verse of the same passage; for
instance, a duet with the boy, who might use the words of
Ruth, 'Where thou goest, I will go,' etc. But what is Elijah
to say before and after this? and what could the chorus say?
Can you furnish me with, first, a duet and also a chorus in
this sense? Then, until verse 15, all is in order; but there
a passage is wanted for Elijah, something to this effect:
'Lord, as Thou wilt, be it unto me' (this is not in the
Bible, I believe?); for I wish that _after_ the
manifestation of the Lord, he should announce his entire
submission, and after all this despondency declare himself
to be entirely resigned and eager to do his duty. I am in
want, too, of some words for him to say at, or before, or
even after, his ascension, and also some words for the
chorus. The chorus sing the ascension historically with the
words from 2 Kings ii., 11, but then there ought to be a
couple of very solemn choruses. 'God is gone up with a
shout' (Psalm xlvii., 5) will not do, for it is not the Lord
but Elijah who went up; however, something of _that_ sort.
At the close, I should wish to hear Elijah's voice once
more.
"(May Elisha sing soprano? or is this inadmissible, as in
the same chapter he is described as a 'bald head'? Seriously
speaking, must he appear at the ascension as a prophet, or
can he do so still as a youth?)
"Lastly, the passages which you have sent for the close of
the whole (especially the trio between Peter, John, and
James) are too historical and too far removed from the
grouping of the (Old Testament) story; I could, however,
manage to get over this difficulty by composing a chorus,
instead of a trio to these words. It can easily be done,
and I think that I shall probably do it. I return you the
sheets that you may have every necessary information, but
pray send them back to me. You will see from the sheets that
the outline of Part II. as a whole is quite settled. It is
only such lyrical passages (from which arias, duets, etc.,
could be composed) which I still require, especially towards
the end. Therefore, pray get your large Concordance, look up
the references, and again bestow upon me some of your time,
that when I return three weeks hence at latest, let me find
your answer. Continue your regard for your
"FELIX."
[Footnote 19: _Ibid._, p. 219.]
To the foregoing, Schubring replied in a long letter, from which the
following is an extract:--
[SCHUBRING TO MENDELSSOHN.]
"DESSAU, _June_ 15, 1846.[20]
"... I want to put down a few thoughts concerning the close
of the oratorio. I see most distinctly that the oratorio can
have no other than a New Testament ending; the Old Testament
(Malachi) and also the New Testament demand this in terms of
the most definite kind. Elijah must help to transform the
old into the new covenant--that gives him his great
historical importance. Let Handel in his Old Testament
oratorios move within this narrow circle--personages like
Saul, etc., have no further meaning; but with Elijah, with
you, and in our day, it must be otherwise. Therefore, I
think the sense of the ending must remain essentially as I
have suggested--the words themselves are immaterial.
"Your enquiry whether Elisha may sing soprano is comical.
Such a question should not be put by one who has set
Christ's words for a chorus.[21] There can be no doubt that
at that time Elisha was no more a child. The word _Knabe_
(_Knappe_) is to be understood as referring to service, not
to youth, like [Greek: ho pais] in classical Greek. One who
ploughs with twelve yoke of oxen (1 Kings xix., 19) is no
child. Do you know any passage where Elisha is called a boy?
I think there is none. The first reference to him is in 1
Kings xix., 19 [? 16]....
"I earnestly hope that some of these suggestions may suit
you, so that the work can get on. The news that Part I. is
already finished has given me great joy."
[Footnote 20: "Briefwechsel," p. 222.]
[Footnote 21: The reference is to "St. Paul," in which, at Schubring's
suggestion, Mendelssohn has set the words, "Saul, Saul, why
persecutest thou Me?" for four-part female chorus.]
A short letter (August 8, 1846), in which Schubring sends Mendelssohn
a further suggestion, completes the "Elijah" correspondence between
the composer and his clerical friend.
Schubring, in his pleasant "Reminiscences" already referred to (p.
10), thus speaks of his connection with the composer in compiling the
book of "St. Paul," Mendelssohn's first oratorio:--
"Subsequently to 1832, we frequently discussed the subject
of oratorio 'texts.' With regard to 'St. Paul,' a
considerable amount of preliminary labour had been got
through before I knew anything about it. At Mendelssohn's
request I undertook a certain further amount of work of a
subordinate kind, such as connecting and introducing
suitable passages and arias.... He always proved himself a
thoughtful artist, and strove to obtain a clear appreciation
of each separate point--such, for instance, as the
admissibility of the chorale, of the narrative, recitatives,
etc. He rejected, also, much that was suggested, being so
well acquainted with his Bible, that he obtained a great
deal of valuable material himself. He was, however,
extremely grateful for any assistance."
These words apply, though in a larger measure, to the part which
Mendelssohn took in preparing the libretto of his second oratorio,
"Elijah." Attention is specially directed to the fact that,
notwithstanding the foregoing correspondence between the composer,
Klingemann, and Schubring, Mendelssohn--while availing himself of the
help his friends were willing to give him--accepted nothing without
the most careful scrutiny. The following extract, from Ferdinand
Hiller's "Recollections of Mendelssohn" (Macmillan), may fitly
conclude this chapter.
"One evening," says Hiller, "I found Felix deep in the Bible.
'Listen,' he said; and then he read to me in a gentle and agitated
voice the passage from the first Book of Kings, beginning at the
words, 'And behold, the Lord passed by.' 'Would not that be splendid
for an oratorio?' he exclaimed."