THE FIRST PERFORMANCE.
Mendelssohn arrived in London on August 17 or 18 (1846), and again
stayed with Klingemann, at 4, Hobart Place, Eaton Square. A pianoforte
rehearsal of the vocal solos of "Elijah" was held on the 19th
(Wednesday), at Moscheles's house, 3, Chester Place, Regent's Park.
Mendelssohn commenced the rehearsal by playing the Overture from
memory, to the delight and admiration of those who heard it. The lady
vocalists gave the composer some trouble. The soprano requested him to
transpose "Hear ye, Israel," a whole tone down, and to make certain
changes to suit her particular style! "It was not a lady's song," she
said. Mendelssohn resisted with studied politeness, and said, "I
intended this song for the principal soprano; if you do not like it I
will ask the Committee to give it to some other vocalist." Afterwards,
when alone with Moscheles, he most unreservedly expressed himself as
to the "coolness of such suggestions."
When "O rest in the Lord" was tried over, the singer was anxious to
introduce a long shake (on D) at the close! "No," said the composer,
"I have kept that for my orchestra," and he then archly played the
familiar shake, which is given to the flute in the orchestral
accompaniment. He was still doubtful, even at the eleventh hour,
whether he should not withdraw "O rest in the Lord." "It is too
sweet," he said. His friends urged him at least to try its effect, and
ultimately their advice was accepted. Mr. Charles Lockey, the young
tenor singer, immediately won the composer's golden opinion, and
Mendelssohn was more than satisfied with his beautiful and sympathetic
voice at the first performance. The tenor solos had been previously
assigned to Mr. J.W. Hobbs, who generously relinquished them in favour
of the younger singer. The soloists had to sing from MS. copies which
contained only the vocal melody and bass of the accompaniment. These
copies, neatly written by Bartholomew on oblong-folio music-paper,
contain several alterations in Mendelssohn's own hand.
The orchestral parts had been previously tried over and corrected at
Leipzig; the way was therefore made smooth for the band rehearsals in
London. These rehearsals took place at the Hanover Square Rooms on the
Thursday and Friday preceding the Festival. "Mendelssohn," records the
late Mr. Rockstro, "looked very worn and nervous; yet he would suffer
no one to relieve him, even in the scrutiny of the orchestral parts,
which he himself spread out on some benches beneath the windows on the
left-hand side of the room, and insisted upon sorting out and
examining for himself." The late Henry Lazarus, the eminent
clarinettist, related to me a personal incident in connection with
this first London rehearsal. Near the end of the chorus "He, watching
over Israel," occurs the following instrumental phrase in the
clarinets and flutes--a phrase which is not fully discernible in the
pianoforte arrangement of the score, and which is practically
inaudible at a performance:--
[Music: Bar 14 from the end.
CHORUS. slumbers not, sleeps, not, &c.]
"Mr. Lazarus," said Mendelssohn, "will you kindly make that phrase a
little stronger, as I wish it to stand out more prominently? I know I
have marked it _piano_." "Of course," added Mr. Lazarus, "I was
playing it religiously as marked."
The story that the holding C's for the oboe in No. 19 (which accompany
"There is nothing") were inserted by Mendelssohn at the end of the
first rehearsal to satisfy Grattan Cooke, the oboeist, is a pure myth.
A MS. score of the work, used at Birmingham, and now in the possession
of Messrs. Novello, Ewer and Co., shows that these notes were not
subsequently added, but formed part of the original design. Moreover,
Mendelssohn would hardly be guilty of the mock-descriptive in allowing
the words "There is _nothing_" to be sung without any accompaniment.
And Cooke could not complain that the composer had not given him any
oboe solos, after he had played the beautiful oboe obbligato in "For
the mountains shall depart," which was doubtless written by
Mendelssohn expressly for Cooke.[47] The story probably took its
origin from the following circumstance, which has been fully told by
Dr. E.J. Hopkins. When the vocal score of "Elijah" was first
published, Mendelssohn presented a copy to Grattan Cooke, who was a
great favourite with the composer. In this copy Mendelssohn wrote the
following inscription:--
[Music]
"An Grattan Cooke, zum freundlichen Andenken.
"FELIX MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY.
"London, Fruehling, 1847."
[Footnote 47: According to the late Mr. J.W. Davison, "Mendelssohn was
a long time uncertain whether he should add the oboe part, or limit
the score to the string quartet."]
Mendelssohn knew that Grattan Cooke was fond of a joke, and, as Dr.
Hopkins says, the composer's quiet humour is well shown in the above
inscription. The length of the note is seven bars of slow time, the
last of which is not only indefinitely prolonged by a pause, but has
in addition a _crescendo_ and _diminuendo_ mark. "Any oboeist,"
observes the Temple organist, "who would dare to try and sustain that
note as directed would, before bringing it to a termination, himself
cease to exist!"[48]
[Footnote 48: As a specimen of Grattan Cooke's humour, the following
incident was related to me by a veteran musician who was a
fellow-student of the witty oboeist at the Royal Academy of Music. At
one of the early rehearsals of Mendelssohn's "Midsummer Night's Dream"
Overture, Cooke was missed from his place in the orchestra, and was
soon afterwards seen walking up the room carrying a ladder. "What on
earth have you got that for?" he was asked. Cooke replied: "He's
written the notes so tremendously high, that I've brought a ladder to
get up to them!"]
"Elijah" was honoured with the novelty of a preliminary analytical
notice in _The Times_ of Monday, August 24, 1846, two days before the
first performance. This article, two columns in length, was one of the
earliest contributions of the late J.W. Davison, on his joining the
staff of _The Times_, of which paper he was for many years the musical
critic.
Euston station presented an animated scene on the Sunday afternoon
preceding the Festival, when a special train, which left London at 2
p.m., conveyed Mendelssohn, the solo singers, the band, the London
contingent of the chorus, and the "Gentlemen of the Press" to
Birmingham.
Monday morning was set apart for a full rehearsal of "Elijah" in the
Town Hall, which is thus described in the _Birmingham Journal_:--
Mendelssohn was received by the performers with great
enthusiasm, renewed again and again, as his lithe and
_petit_ figure bent in acknowledgment of these spontaneous
and gratifying tributes to his genius, personal affability,
and kindness.... His manner, both in the orchestra and in
private, is exceedingly pleasing. His smile is winning, and
occasionally, when addressing a friendly correction to the
band or choir, full of comic expression. He talks German
with great volubility and animation, and speaks English
remarkably well. He possesses a remarkable power over the
performers, moulding them to his will, and though rigidly
strict in exacting the nicest precision, he does it in a
manner irresistible--actually laughing them into perfection.
Some of his remarks are exceedingly humorous. In the
Overture to the "Midsummer Night's Dream" [played at the
Festival], the gradations of sound were not well preserved;
a rattle of his _baton_ on the music-stand brings the band
to a dead halt. "Gentlemen," says Mendelssohn, "that won't
do. All _fortissimo_, all _pianissimo_, no _piano_! A little
_piano_ between, if you please. Must have _piano_,
gentlemen; when you come to _fortissimo_, do as you like."
All this is expressed with animation and good humour, and a
roar of laughter over, the band tries again, and a smile
playing on the expressive features of the conductor, attests
the power of his pleasantly administered corrective.... At
its conclusion the whole band and chorus broke into a
torrent of enthusiastic acclamation. After the oratorio had
been rehearsed, Mendelssohn expressed himself highly pleased
with the manner in which the performers had rendered his
work, and complimented them on their extraordinary
efficiency.
As Moscheles, the Conductor-in-chief of the Festival, was unwell,
Mendelssohn conducted the evening rehearsal for him. At Mendelssohn's
request the usual Tuesday evening concert was given up for an extra
rehearsal of "Elijah." "After the rehearsal," says Mrs. Moscheles, "I
helped Mr. Bartholomew in correcting the 'text,' and so we went on
till one o'clock in the morning."
The band and chorus for the Festival consisted of 396 performers. The
band, mostly of the Philharmonic and the Opera orchestras, numbered
125 players--93 strings and double wood-wind. The chorus, including a
contingent of 62 from London, totalled 271, distributed thus:
sopranos, 79; altos (all male voices, "bearded altos," as Mendelssohn
called them), 60; tenors, 60; and basses, 72.
The principal vocalists in "Elijah" were Madame Caradori-Allan, Miss
Maria B. Hawes, Mr. Charles Lockey, and Herr Staudigl; the subordinate
parts were filled by the Misses Williams (who sang the _duet_ "Lift
thine eyes," now the trio), Miss Bassano, Mr. J.W. Hobbs, Mr. Henry
Phillips, and Mr. Machin. Dr. Gauntlett was specially engaged to play
the organ in the new oratorio. Mr. James Stimpson was the
chorus-master and official organist of the Festival.
* * * * *
The first performance of "Elijah" took place in the Birmingham Town
Hall, on Wednesday morning, August 26, 1846. Benedict thus describes
the scene: "The noble Town Hall was crowded at an early hour of that
forenoon with a brilliant and eagerly-expectant audience. It was an
anxious and solemn moment. Every eye had long been directed towards
the conductor's desk, when, at half-past eleven o'clock, a deafening
shout from the band and chorus announced the approach of the great
composer. The reception he met with from the assembled thousands on
stepping into his place was absolutely overwhelming; whilst the sun,
emerging at that moment, seemed to illumine the vast edifice in honour
of the bright and pure being who stood there the idol of all
beholders."
The new oratorio was received with extraordinary enthusiasm, and the
composer's expectations of his work were more than realised. _The
Times_ said: "The last note of 'Elijah' was drowned in a
long-continued unanimous volley of plaudits, vociferous and deafening.
It was as though enthusiasm, long-checked, had suddenly burst its
bonds and filled the air with shouts of exultation. Mendelssohn,
evidently overpowered, bowed his acknowledgments, and quickly
descended from his position in the conductor's rostrum; but he was
compelled to appear again, amidst renewed cheers and huzzas. Never was
there a more complete triumph--never a more thorough and speedy
recognition of a great work of art."
Eight numbers were encored: "If with all your hearts," "Baal, we cry
to thee," "Regard Thy servant's prayer" (now "Cast thy burden"),
"Thanks be to God," "He, watching over Israel," "O rest in the Lord,"
"For the mountains shall depart," and "O! every one that thirsteth."
Herr Staudigl gave a majestic and ideal rendering of the music of the
Prophet. In the opinion of the late Mr. Stimpson, who spoke from forty
years' experience of the Birmingham Festivals, Staudigl's
interpretation of the bass part has never yet been equalled. The
junior tenor of the Festival, Mr. Charles Lockey, fairly won his
laurels. He sang his two songs "deliciously," says a critic; the
first, "If with all your hearts," was encored, and "the smile upon
Mendelssohn's face while it was being sung showed how much he was
pleased with the chaste execution of this young tenor." The soprano
and contralto soloists failed to satisfy Mendelssohn.
No small measure of the success of the performance was due to Mr.
Stimpson, the unwearied chorus-master. At its conclusion Mendelssohn
took him by both hands and said: "What can I give you in return for
what you have done for my work?" The composer was delighted with the
manner in which the band and chorus had rendered his music; and an old
member of the band records "the eagerness with which Mendelssohn shook
hands with all who could get near him in the artists' room, thanking
them warmly for the performance." A veteran member of the choir,
speaking from the recollections and experiences of more than fifty
years, says of Mendelssohn's appearance and conducting: "It was one of
the most impressive memories I have in matters musical."
Before going into the Hall, Mendelssohn said to Chorley, the musical
critic of the _Athenaeum_: "Now stick your claws into my book. Don't
tell me what you like, but tell me what you _don't_ like." After the
performance, he said in his merriest manner to Chorley: "Come, and I
will show you the prettiest walk in Birmingham." He then led the
critic and other friends to the banks of the canal, bordered by coal
and cinder heaps. There, on the towing-path between the bridges, they
walked for more than an hour discussing the new oratorio. According to
the late Mr. Moore, it was then and there, amidst the scenery of the
cinder heaps, that a sudden thought struck Mendelssohn to change "Lift
thine eyes" from a duet into a trio.
Shortly after this "prettiest walk in Birmingham," Mendelssohn poured
out his delighted feelings to his brother Paul in the following
letter:--
[TO PAUL MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY.]
"BIRMINGHAM, _August_ 26 [? 27], 1846.
"My dear Brother,--From the very first you took so kind an
interest in my 'Elijah,' and thus inspired me with so much
energy and courage for its completion, that I must write to
tell you all about its first performance yesterday. No work
of mine ever went so admirably the first time of execution,
or was received with such enthusiasm, by both the musicians
and the audience, as this oratorio. It was quite evident, at
the first rehearsal in London, that they liked it, and liked
to sing and to play it; but I own I was far from
anticipating that it would acquire such fresh vigour and
'go' in it at the performance. If you had only been there!
During the whole two hours and a half that it lasted, the
two thousand people in the large hall, and the large
orchestra, were all so fully intent on the one object in
question, that not the slightest sound was to be heard among
the whole audience, so that I could sway at pleasure the
enormous orchestra and choir, and also the organ
accompaniment. How often I thought of you during the time!
More especially, however, when the 'sound of abundance of
rain' came, and when they sang the final chorus with
_furore_, and when, after the close of the first part, we
were obliged to repeat the whole movement ['Thanks be to
God']. Not less than four choruses and four airs were
encored, and not one single mistake occurred in the whole of
the first part; there were some afterwards in the second
part, but even these were but trifling. A young English
tenor[49] sang the last air ['Then shall the righteous shine
forth'] so beautifully, that I was obliged to collect all my
energies so as not to be affected, and to continue beating
time steadily. As I said, if you had only been there!"
[Footnote 49: Mr. Charles Lockey.]
In a letter written from London (August 31, 1846) to Frau Livia Frege,
of Leipzig--a gifted amateur singer with a very lovely and high
soprano voice--Mendelssohn said:--
"You have always shown so much kind interest in my 'Elijah,'
that I look upon it as a duty to write to you after its
performance, and to give you an account of it. If this
should weary you, you have only yourself to blame; for why
did you allow me to come to you with the score under my arm,
and play to you those parts that were half completed, and
why did you sing so much of it to me at sight? You really
ought to have felt it a duty to travel with me to
Birmingham; for one ought not to make people's mouths water
and make them feel dissatisfied with their condition where
one cannot help them; and it was just the solo soprano part
I found there in a most helpless and lamentable state. But
there was so much that was good by way of compensation that,
on the whole, I bring back a very pleasant impression, and I
often thought that you also would have taken pleasure in it.
"The rich, full sounds of the orchestra and the huge organ,
combined with the powerful voices of the chorus, who sang
with sincere enthusiasm; the wonderful resonance in the huge
grand hall; an admirable English tenor; Staudigl, too, who
took all possible pains, and whose talents and powers you
already well know; some very good second soprano and
contralto solo singers; all executing the music with special
zest and the utmost fire and spirit, doing justice not only
to the loudest passages, but also to the softest _pianos_ in
a manner which I never before heard from such masses; and,
in addition, an impressionable, kindly, hushed, and
enthusiastic audience--now still as mice, now exultant--all
this is indeed sufficient good fortune for a first
performance. In fact, I never in my life heard a better, or
I may say one as good; and I almost doubt whether I shall
ever again hear one equal to it, because there were so many
favourable combinations on this occasion.
"With so much light the shadows were not absent, and the
worst was the soprano part. It was all so pretty, so
pleasing, so elegant, at the same time so flat, so
heartless, so unintelligent, so soulless, that the music
acquired a sort of amiable expression about which I could go
mad even to-day when I think of it. The alto had not enough
voice to fill the hall ... but her rendering was musical and
intelligent, which to me makes it far more easy to put up
with than want of voice. Nothing is so unpleasant to my
taste as such cold, heartless coquetry in music. It is so
unmusical in itself, and yet it is often made the basis of
singing and playing--making music, in fact."
To Jenny Lind, Mendelssohn wrote:--
"The performance of my 'Elijah' was the best performance
that I ever heard of any one of my compositions. There was
so much go and swing in the way in which the people played,
and sang, and listened. I wish you had been there."
[Illustration: MADAME CARADORI-ALLAN
(1800-1865)
_The original soprano in Mendelssohn's "Elijah."_]
The opinions of the professional critic and the composer have been
given; the impressions of a cultured amateur in the audience may
therefore appropriately follow. The subjoined extract is from a letter
written by the late Mrs. Samuel Bache, of Birmingham (mother of those
gifted musicians, Francis Edward and Walter Bache), to her nephew, Mr.
Russell Martineau, M.A., in which she gives a full account of the
Festival:--
"EDGBASTON, _September_ 4, 1846.
"... Wednesday morning 'Elijah' was performed, and of this I
cannot exaggerate my reverential admiration. The old
admirers of Handel, who always crowd to 'The Messiah,' which
they _must not_ miss whatever else they give up, would be
shocked to hear anyone confess a greater, a more refined and
spiritual influence exercised by Mendelssohn over the mind
and heart; but to me it is so undoubtedly, whether _in part_
from too great familiarity lessening the impression in
Handel's case, I am not quite sure. I think it is that
Mendelssohn's whole nature is profoundly educated; that his
adaptation of the music to the meaning is not of that broad
unmistakable kind which even an uneducated ear can
comprehend, but is of that refined and far-reaching nature
which carries along with it in fullest sympathy, mind,
heart, and soul, be they cultivated ever so highly. If I
could send you my scheme [word-book] of 'Elijah' with my own
remarks, you would at once see what I mean; one instance
must suffice now--the Widow entreating Elijah's 'help' for
her sick son receives this answer, '_Give me_ thy son.' Then
follows his prayer for God's help that he again may live.
The 'Give me thy son' expressed all that religious reliance,
that confidence in power from above which already assured
the prayer's fulfilment; and Staudigl being Elijah,
Mendelssohn's every intention was carried out. Then the
contrast between the 'Baal music' and Elijah's and the
Israelites' prayers and adoration is finely and truly
maintained. To select beauties where the whole is so perfect
seems nearly impossible. There is one song deep in my heart,
like 'the Lord is mindful of His own' from 'Paul,' which I
should call _the song_ of the oratorio--namely, the angel's
comfort to Elijah in his despondency, 'O rest in the Lord,
wait patiently for Him, and He shall give thee thine heart's
desires,' &c. And one quartett of surpassing power and
beauty, viz., 'O! every one that thirsteth.' The choruses I
consider quite uncommonly impressive; no _noise_, all
_music_ and _meaning_, and some of almost unparalleled power
and grandeur. Such a triumphant first performance has, I
should think, seldom been known....
"And where was your cousin Edward [Bache] all the time? He
was in the orchestra, very near his old master, Mr. [Alfred]
Mellon, and our kind friend Mr. Flersheim, and thus had the
great advantage and enjoyment of hearing nearly all the
performances and taking his part on the violin; it has been
a great stimulus to him and an encouragement."[50]
[Footnote 50: F. Edward Bache was then a boy of thirteen. His name
does not appear in the official list of the Band; but Mr. Andrew
Deakin's recollection of the event confirms the statement in Mrs.
Bache's letter.]
At the same time Mrs. Bache wrote to her sister, Mrs. Martineau, the
wife of the Rev. Dr. James Martineau, as follows:--
"Let me tell you that Mendelssohn's noble oratorio of
'Elijah' was even more than I had expected, and I had _very_
great expectations. To see him conducting was worth
anything. He seemed inspired, and might well be forgiven
for something of self-reverence, though he looked all
humility; and when he came down from his chair when it was
all over, he seemed all unstrung as if he could no more. The
interest that invests that man is quite inexpressible, and
indeed I never felt, as I have done throughout this week's
Festival, the _greatness_ of a truly great _composer_; what
are all the performers compared with him!"[51]
[Footnote 51: I am much indebted to Mr. Russell Martineau, and the
surviving members of Mrs. Bache's family, for their kind permission to
use these interesting extracts.]
In a letter ("Leipzig, _September_ 28, 1846"), written in English, to
his Birmingham host, Mr. Joseph Moore, Mendelssohn said:--
"I have now returned home, found all my family as well as I
might have wished, and, while I think over the events of
this last journey, I cannot help addressing these few lines
to you in order to express once more the most sincere and
most heartfelt thanks for your very kind reception, and for
the friendship you have again shown to me during my stay at
your house. Indeed, the first performance of my 'Elijah'
exceeded all the wishes which a composer may feel at such an
important moment, and the evident goodwill of all the
artists in the orchestra, as well as the kindness with which
the audience received the work, will be as long as I live a
source of grateful recollection. And yet it seems to me
that I should not have enjoyed so great a treat as
thoroughly and intensely as I did, if it had not been for
your kindness and continued friendship, and for the
comfortable home which you offered to me during those days
of excitement. Our quiet morning and evening conversations
with Mr. Ayrton and Mr. Webb are to my mind quite connected
with the performances at the Town Hall, and form an
important part of _my_ Musical Festival at Birmingham; and
while I should certainly never have assisted at one of them
if it had not been for our very old acquaintance, and while
I accordingly owe to you the whole of the treat which this
first performance of 'Elijah' afforded me, I must at the
same time thank you no less heartily and sincerely for the
quiet and comfortable stay, and the friendly reception at
your house, which enhanced all those pleasures so
considerably. That your health may now be quite restored
again after the fatigues you have undergone, and that we may
soon meet again (either in your country, or once more in
mine), and that you will continue the same kindness and
friendship which you have now shown to me, and which I
always met with from you since so many years, is the most
earnest wish and hope of
"Yours very truly and gratefully,
"FELIX MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY."
In spite of Mendelssohn's protest, "Elijah" was immediately followed
by two Italian "selections" and a Handel chorus! If the Committee
tried their skill at providing an anti-climax, they admirably
succeeded.
At the concluding concert, on Friday morning, the final chorus of
Handel's "Zadok the Priest" was set down for performance. Almost at
the last minute it was found that there was no music for the preceding
Recitative printed in the word-book.[52] The Committee were in a fix,
and then they suddenly thought that Mendelssohn might be able to help
them in their hour of need. He was sitting in the Vice-President's
gallery, enjoying the performance, when the chairman of the Orchestral
Committee, the late Mr. J.F. Ledsam, went to him and stated their
difficulty. Mendelssohn at once proceeded to the ante-room, and, in a
few minutes, composed a recitative for tenor solo, with accompaniment
for strings and two trumpets. The parts were expeditiously copied by
the indefatigable Goodwin, and the whole recitative was performed
_prima vista_ by Mr. Lockey, a quintet of strings, and the two trumpet
players. The audience were entirely ignorant of the circumstance of
this impromptu composition, and doubtless thought that they were
listening to music by Handel.
[Footnote 52: The words of this Recitative, probably written by the
Rev. John Webb, first appeared in the word-book of the 1837 Festival,
just after the accession of Queen Victoria. They supplanted those
beginning "When King David was old," first sung in 1820. These new
(Victorian) words were also used at the Festival of 1840, but not in
1843.]
Through the kindness of the late Dr. W.A. Barrett and Messrs. Goodwin
and Tabb, it is possible to give the score, together with
Mendelssohn's felicitous postscript:--
[Music: RECIT. TENOR. The Lord God Almighty, who ordereth
all things in heaven and on earth, hath anointed His
handmaid, to be ruler over the nations, to gladden the
hearts, the hearts of His servants, Let the trumpets blow,
let the trumpets blow, And let all the people rejoice,
rejoice and say,
[_Chorus_--"God save the Queen."]]
"Composed expressly for this Festival, and for Mr. Lockey,
with _many_ thanks for--
[Music] and for [Music]
"by me,
"FELIX MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY.
"Birmingham, August 28, 1846."
Mendelssohn left Birmingham the same day and came to London, "where,"
he says, "my only important business was a 'fish dinner' at
Lovegrove's at Blackwall; after which I stayed four days at Ramsgate
for sea air, and ate crabs, and enjoyed myself with the Beneckes." The
late Mrs. Benecke, for whom Mendelssohn had a particular affection,
remembered that he was in most cheerful and excellent spirits during
his visit at the seaside, and that he often referred with great
satisfaction to the first performance of his "Elijah." Although his
stay at Ramsgate was so short, he there began to write out the
pianoforte arrangement of the oratorio, and worked at it several hours
daily.
The Festival Committee, at their meeting immediately after the
Festival (August 29), passed the following resolution:--
"That this Committee, deeply impressed by the unprecedented
success of the oratorio of 'Elijah,' written for this
Festival, do return their very cordial and grateful thanks
to Dr. Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy for a Composition in
which the most consummate musical knowledge and the highest
intellectual conceptions are displayed; a Composition which
will soon be universally known, and not only add to the
fame, already so great, of the Author, but tend to exalt the
art which he professes, and on which his genius and judgment
reflect so much honour."
[Illustration: HERR JOSEPH STAUDIGL
(1807-1861)
_The original Elijah in Mendelssohn's Oratorio._]