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"Elijah", by Frederick George Edwards
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Title: The History of Mendelssohn's Oratorio "Elijah"
Author: Frederick George Edwards
Contributor: Sir George Grove
Release Date: December 5, 2011 [EBook #38223]
Language: English
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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 Mücke, 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 Lübeck, 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,
Düsseldorf, 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 Cäcilien-Verein.
During his temporary residence in the old Hanseatic city, Mendelssohn
met Mdlle. Cécile 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 Cécile. 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 Maccabæus,' 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 Düsseldorf 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 Lübeck. 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 Männer 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."
CHAPTER II.
BIRMINGHAM.
Mendelssohn does not seem to have done anything with the _music_ of
"Elijah" until 1845. The Committee of the Birmingham Musical Festival
were then making arrangements for their approaching triennial music
meeting, to be held in 1846.
The history of the Birmingham Musical Festival, which dates back to
1768, is full of interest. The artistic excellence of the Festival,
and the enterprise which has also so long distinguished it, have
earned for this great music-meeting a European reputation. Charity, in
one of its best forms--the relief of the sick and suffering poor--has
been richly sustained by the benefactions, amounting in the aggregate
to the munificent sum of £132,000, which the Festivals have brought
into the treasury of the Birmingham General Hospital.
Mendelssohn loved England and the English people. He was never happier
than when visiting this country, and Birmingham had a warm corner in
his heart. His receptions at the Festivals of 1837 and 1840, when he
conducted respectively his "St. Paul" and the "Hymn of Praise," were
most cordial, and highly gratifying to him. It was therefore quite
natural that the Festival Committee should look to Mendelssohn for the
composition of a work which, in all probability, would give
distinction to their Festival; and, that they should, if possible,
secure, as an extra attraction, the presence of the composer as
Conductor. The previous chapter shows that "Elijah" had occupied
Mendelssohn's mind for many years previous to 1846; therefore, it can
scarcely be said that he composed the oratorio "expressly for
Birmingham," as is commonly stated and generally supposed. But,
considering the composer's early death (in 1847), it may reasonably be
assumed that had it not been for the Birmingham Festival of 1846,
Mendelssohn's oratorio of "Elijah" would never have been given to the
world.
At a meeting of the Birmingham Festival Committee, held June 11, 1845,
the following resolution was carried--doubtless _nem. con._:--
"That it appears to this Committee desirable that the services of Dr.
Mendelssohn be obtained to act as Conductor at the next Festival; and
that he be requested to consider whether he can provide a new
oratorio, or other music, for the occasion."
This resolution was communicated to the composer by Mr. Joseph Moore
(1766-1851), the indefatigable manager of the Festivals from 1802 till
his death. Mr. Moore not only caused the noble Town Hall to be erected
(in 1834), but spared no exertions to raise the Birmingham
music-meetings to their present exalted position in the realm of
music. Mr. Moore, who had early made the acquaintance of the
Mendelssohn family in Berlin, became very intimate with Felix, who
was always Mr. Moore's guest during his visits to Birmingham.
[Illustration: JOSEPH MOORE
(1766-1851)
_Manager of the Birmingham Musical Festivals._]
Here is Mendelssohn's reply to the Committee's invitation:--
[TO JOSEPH MOORE, ESQ.]
[_Written in English._]
"FRANKFORT, _July_ 24, 1845.
"My dear Sir,--Have many thanks for your very kind and
welcome letter, which I received a few days ago, and pray
tell the members of the Committee for the next Festival how
truly indebted I feel to them for the honour they have done
me in inviting me to come over to their meeting next year.
"I hope nothing shall prevent me to accept of so flattering
and honourable an invitation, and beg to thank the Committee
and yourself, my dear Sir, most sincerely for it.
"You know with how great a pleasure I have always visited
your country; the prospect of doing so again affords always
a true gratification to me, and your kind and hospitable
invitation greatly adds to the pleasure I may thus
anticipate. I have only to wish, then, that nothing may
occur to prevent me from accepting so much kindness; for it
is indeed a long time--more than a year--for settling any
plans. Pray let me know at what time you would wish to have
a positive and decided answer--I mean at what time you would
consider my answer as an engagement, which could not be
altered on any account; and let me also know what you mean
in saying that I am to assist you in selecting music,
conducting and directing as much as possible. As for
selecting, of course I shall be most happy to offer any
advice which may be asked; but do you mean that I should
have to conduct _all_ the performances, or the _greater_
part of them? This, I fear, would be a task above my powers;
but before I can say anything more on this subject, pray
explain me what _your_ meaning is, and name the period about
which I asked you before.
"Since some time I have begun an oratorio,[22] and hope I
shall be able to bring it out for the first time at your
Festival; but it is still a mere beginning, and I cannot yet
give you any promise as to my finishing it in time.
"I have written to Mr. Webb[23] some months ago, to tell him
that I had already begun to work on another subject, and
that I could not avail myself of his poem for that reason,
much as I regretted it. If my oratorio should be ready in
time (as I hope it will), there would be no occasion for any
other things of mine at the morning performances; but if I
should not be able to finish it, I have several other things
of mine which I could propose in its stead, either for the
morning or evening concerts.
"The 'Oedipus' (which is to be performed next month at
Potsdam) will scarcely do for any concert, I am afraid; but,
as I said, I have other things.
"I hear with much pleasure that you still go on with
improvements in your splendid organ; but if I shall play it
with pleasure, I must have a lighter touch, and broader keys
in the pedals than what I found there last year [? time]. I
am sure the pedals from C up to D (_two_ octaves and a note)
are quite enough, and it could then be contrived that the
keys have the breadth which feet and boots usually require.
And as for the heavy touch, I am sure that I admired your
organist very much who was able to play a Fugue on them. I
am afraid I would not have strength enough to do so, without
a very long previous practice. Perhaps you may speak to Mr.
Hill [the builder of the organ] of these observations, and
hear what he says to them....
"Believe me always, very truly yours,
"FELIX MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY."
[Footnote 22: "Elijah."]
[Footnote 23: The Rev. John Webb, M.A. (1776-1869), often referred to
as "the friend of the charity"--_i.e._, the Birmingham General
Hospital. He submitted to Mendelssohn the text of an oratorio,
entitled "Rachel in Ramah," which is the "poem" referred to in this
letter.]
On August 26 (exactly a year before "Elijah" was first performed) the
Orchestral Committee resolved to recommend to the Musical Committee
"That Dr. Mendelssohn Bartholdy be requested to compose a performance
(_sic_) for the Wednesday morning, and to conduct all the morning
performances." The Musical Committee at once adopted this
recommendation, and communicated its purport to Mendelssohn, who
replied as follows:--
[TO JOSEPH MOORE, ESQ.]
[_Written in English._]
"LEIPZIG, _October_ 19, 1845.
"My dear Sir,--I received your first letter after an absence
of a few weeks, and should have answered it long ago, for
you know with how much pleasure I read it, and how truly
indebted I felt to you and the Committee for continuing your
very kind feeling towards me! But I was uncertain which
answer I had to give to some of the most important points,
and this uncertainty is still the same; yet I must write, as
I receive to-day your second letter, which shows your wish
to have an immediate answer.
"The principal point about which I am uncertain is whether I
shall be able to have my new oratorio ready in time for your
Festival. There would have been no doubt of it, had I been
able to continue my work quietly at Frankfort, as I began
it. But now there are so many businesses here, at Dresden,
and at Berlin, which took up all my leisure time during the
last months, that I have not been able to go on with it. If
the businesses continue as they have begun (which, however,
I hope they will not), I _shall not_ be able to finish my
oratorio in time. If they do _not_ continue, I _shall_
finish it in time. But during this uncertainty I am not able
to make an engagement as to the first performance of this
work.
"The second point is that I am afraid I shall not be strong
enough to go through the office of being sole conductor of
the morning performances at such a Festival as yours is. In
former years I had only to conduct my compositions, not the
other pieces of your programme; and yet I recollect how
excited and fatigued I always felt after the Festival was
over. Therefore, I hesitate to accept of the honour which
you intend doing me, and which I fear I should not be able
to go through, although I sincerely wished it.
"The question now is whether you would want me yet (to come
to the Festival without having a certainty as to these two
points, and even with the possibility of my answering them
at last in the negative), or whether you consider them as so
essential that the whole idea of my coming over (much as I
would regret it) must be given up with them.
"I beg you will give me an answer to this question as soon
as you conveniently can. If the first should be the case
(and I hope you fully know how glad I should be to see you
again, and to come), I would set at work as hard as I could
whenever any leisure is left me to finish my new piece; and
at any rate I should propose several others (although not so
extensive ones) for the morning performances. But if the
second should be the case, I sincerely hope and trust you
would be convinced of my deep regret, and would allow me
another year to enjoy of an honour and a treat which I
should have been obliged to give up so much against my
wishes this time. Be it as it may, I beg you will present my
best and most sincere thanks to the Committee, and I beg you
will think of me, my dear Sir, as of one who shall _always_
feel true gratitude and thankfulness for all the kindness
and friendship you have shown to him!...
"Very truly yours,
"FELIX MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY."
Mendelssohn then set vigorously to work at the music. Miss Dolby,
afterwards Madame Sainton-Dolby, made her first appearance at the
Leipzig Gewandhaus Concerts, for which she had been engaged by
Mendelssohn, on October 25, 1845; and she records the progress of the
new oratorio in the following anecdote. "We were dining," she says,
"at Dr. Härtel's, and were all seated at the table. The guests
included Dr. and Madame Schumann; but Mendelssohn, who was also
invited, came late. A vacant place had been left for him by my side.
He arrived after the soup had been served, and excused himself by
saying he had been very busy with his oratorio; and then turning to me
he said, 'I have sketched the bass part, and now for the contralto.'
'Oh!' I exclaimed, 'do tell me what that will be like, because I am
specially interested in that part.' 'Never fear,' he answered, 'it
will suit you very well, for it is a true woman's part--half an angel,
half a devil.' I did not know whether to take that as a compliment,
but we had a good laugh over it."[24]
[Footnote 24: In case the point of Mendelssohn's joke should be missed
by anyone, it must be remembered that the contralto singer in "Elijah"
takes the parts of both the Angel and Jezebel, the Queen.]
Shortly afterwards Jenny Lind also made her first appearance at the
Gewandhaus; and it may here be mentioned that there is every reason to
suppose that Mendelssohn wrote the soprano part of his "Elijah"
expressly for the "Swedish Nightingale." It is stated in the "Memoir"
of Jenny Lind that amongst the beautiful notes of her splendid voice,
"the upper F sharp possessed an irresistible charm" for Mendelssohn.
He often spoke of it with admiration, and fully remembered that
"wonderful F sharp," when he was writing the soprano part of his
"Elijah." "He used it with striking effect, as the initial note of the
first phrase in 'Hear ye, Israel,' and in many other passages, in
which it rings like a trumpet-call throughout the air."[25] This will
account for Mendelssohn's having set "Hear ye, Israel," in the keys of
B minor and B major--the dominant note of which, and the predominating
note of the air, is the said "F sharp."
[Footnote 25: "Memoir of Madame Jenny Lind-Goldschmidt." By H. Scott
Holland and W.S. Rockstro. London: John Murray (1891). II., p. 243.]
Mendelssohn definitely accepted the invitation of the Birmingham
Committee in the following letter, which, however, still left the new
oratorio an "open question":--
[TO JOSEPH MOORE, ESQ.]
[_Written in English._]
"LEIPZIG, _December_ 11, 1845.
"My dear Sir,--Many thanks for your very kind letter. I have
now made up my mind to come to Birmingham in August; but I
wish to conduct only my own music, as in former years, and
have nothing to do with the other parts of the programme. I
cannot yet give any promise as to my new oratorio; but in a
month or two I shall be able to tell you for certain
whether, and when, I can send it. If I cannot, I would try
to propose something else of my new music. You want
something, whether new or old, for the Friday: would the
'Walpurgisnacht' do for it? I conducted it only once in
England, at the last Philharmonic, 1844, and they seemed to
like it then. Or would the music to the 'Midsummer Night's
Dream' be the thing? My Symphony in A minor, about which you
questioned me in one of your former letters, lasts about
thirty-five to forty minutes.
"And if you can have Jenny Lind for the Festival, by all
means have her, for we have now no singer on the Continent
who is to be compared to her. But although she has no fixed
engagement, neither at Berlin nor elsewhere, I fear it will
be difficult to make her come, as they are all mad about
her, and force her into more engagements than she can
accept. And Pischek would also be the man, I am sure! But he
is known already in England; and if you get Jenny Lind, it
will be such a novelty at the same time, and will give a new
character to the Festival. Now, before all, I hope that
these lines may find you in better health, that your
indisposition will be forgotten long before they arrive, and
that I may meet you again in perfect strength and happiness.
"Yours very truly,
"FELIX MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY."
The Committee at once acted upon Mendelssohn's suggestion that Jenny
Lind should be invited to sing; and at their meeting on December 26
resolved--"That Mr. Moore be requested to use his endeavours to engage
Jenny Lind, and impress upon Mendelssohn the importance of completing
his new oratorio." Moore evidently asked Mendelssohn to be the
negotiator between the Committee and Jenny Lind, judging from the
following letter:--
[TO JOSEPH MOORE, ESQ.]
[_Written in English._]
"LEIPZIG, _January_ 15, 1846.
"My dear Sir,--Yesterday I received your letter of the 7th,
and answer it as early as I can. My oratorio is in progress,
and becomes every day more developed; but whether I shall be
able to finish it in time for your preparations is another
question, which I shall not be able to answer positively
before _two months_ are elapsed. It will then be the middle
of March, more than five months before the period of your
Festival, and if I should fail in my efforts of ending my
work in time (which I fully hope and trust to do), there
will be ample time for you to make it up by something else.
Your question about Jenny Lind is very important to the
success of the Festival, as I consider her, without
hesitation, as the first singer of the day, and perhaps of
many days to come. But I am not able to undertake the
negotiation which your chairman would entrust me with, as I
know how much she is surrounded with engagements of all
sorts, and how little likely it is that I could get anything
like a positive answer from her, unless a formal application
from the Committee had previously been made to her. It is by
no means certain that such an application would be
successful, but at any rate I think it the only way, if
there is one. When you formally wrote to me about the same
subject, I was at Berlin, and spoke to her about it, but
then she said she should not go to England, she had declined
it already twice, it was quite impossible, etc., etc.; so
that I am sure that she will not come to _London_ at least
(for I did not make any direct enquiries about Birmingham
and the Festival at that time). When you have determined
what you will do, and if you have written, or if another
(perhaps at Berlin) has negotiated for you, pray let me know
of it, and I could then, perhaps, be of some use in removing
some difficulties which might still arise, and in persuading
her to accept the Festival, which I should be most happy to
do. But at present, I am afraid, by beginning to talk or
correspond with Jenny Lind about this subject, I would do
your cause no good, and I therefore beg to be excused.
"Truly and sincerely yours,
"FELIX MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY."
Nothing daunted, the Committee at their next meeting (January 30,
1846) instructed Moore to ask Moscheles (who had been appointed
Conductor-in-chief of the Festival) to use his influence with Jenny
Lind. Although a good deal of pressure seems to have been brought to
bear upon her to visit Birmingham for the purpose of singing in the
first performance of "Elijah," it was of no avail. The reason of Jenny
Lind's inability to come to England at that time may be traced to her
fear of Mr. Alfred Bunn, the opera manager. Those who wish to follow
the circumstances of that unpleasant episode in the great singer's
career will find the story fully told in the chapter headed "The Bunn
Contract," in Messrs. Holland and Rockstro's "Memoir of Jenny
Lind-Goldschmidt," Vol. I., pp. 228 and 290; also Vol. II., pp. 39 and
198.
Meanwhile, the work of composition made slow progress, and the fate of
the oratorio was decidedly precarious. On April 20, four months before
the Festival, Mendelssohn wrote to Moscheles suggesting that "Athalie"
should be an alternative to "Elijah." To Hauser, of Vienna, he wrote:
"I sit, over both my ears, in my 'Elijah,' and if it only turns out
half as good as I often think it will, I shall be glad indeed! The
first part will be quite finished within the next few days, and a
goodly portion of the second part also. I like nothing more than to
spend the whole day in writing the notes down, and I often come so
late to dinner that the children come to my room to fetch me, and drag
me out by main force."[26]
[Footnote 26: "Memoir of Madame Jenny Lind-Goldschmidt," I., 402.]
Writing to Moscheles, Mendelssohn says: "I absolutely require a
first-rate high baritone. Can such an one be found?" Again: "If, after
all, there is no baritone to be got, the whole thing falls to the
ground." To Jenny Lind: "Sometimes, in my room, I have jumped up to
the ceiling when it seemed to promise so very well. (Indeed, I shall
be but too glad if it turns out only half as good as it now appears to
me.) But I am getting a little confused, through writing down, during
the last few weeks, the immense number of notes that I previously had
in my head, and working them now and then upon the paper into a
piece, though not quite in the proper order, one after another."[27]
To Devrient: "I am working day and night at my new oratorio to send to
England, otherwise it will not be in time." To his sister Fanny: "I am
more driven than ever, as an immense piece of 'Elijah' is not yet
copied, whilst the first part is already in rehearsal in England....
The first thing to-morrow morning I shall shut myself up, and decline
to budge till 'Elijah' is finished, which may not be for another three
weeks, and that I also swear by my beard."
[Footnote 27: "Memoir of Madame Jenny Lind-Goldschmidt," I., 392.]
The anxiety of the Birmingham Committee was somewhat relieved by the
receipt of the following letter from the composer:--
[TO JOSEPH MOORE, ESQ.]
[_Written in English._]
"LEIPZIG, _May_ 8, 1846.
"My dear Sir,--I write these lines to inform you that I
intend to send the whole of the first part of my oratorio to
Mr. Moscheles in the course of the next fortnight. It is by
far the greater part of the two; the choruses from the
second part will be in England towards the beginning of
July, and the rest of the whole in the middle of that month.
All this, _Deo volente_.
"I wish Mr. Bartholomew, in London, who has translated
several other vocal pieces of mine, would undertake also
this; and I wish he might take advice of my friend, Mr.
Klingemann, who understands both languages thoroughly, and
who understands my music better than both languages.
"The most essential condition for my oratorio is a most
excellent barytone singer--a man like Pischek, or Staudigl,
or Oberhofer. Will you have such a m...."
[Here the letter is torn away, and concluded in a lady's
handwriting, thus:]
"Believe me always yours truly,
"FELIX MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY."
The summer of 1846 was very hot, and Mendelssohn often became
exhausted over the close application which he gave to his work. "I
have lived the life of a marmot," he writes, but he kept his time. The
complete Part I. was despatched from Leipzig on May 23. He was then
interrupted in the process of composition for three weeks by having to
conduct the Lower Rhine Musical Festival at Aix-la-Chapelle (May 31 to
June 2);[28] then a Soirée at Düsseldorf; after that the production of
his "Lauda Sion," at Liège, on the Feast of Corpus Christi, June 11;
and finally a great Choral Festival at Cologne--"an enormous
'Sängerfest,'" he writes, of "nearly 2,000 men, which I have also to
direct." For this Mendelssohn had composed a Festgesang on Schiller's
"An die Künstler" ("To the Sons of Art"), Op. 68.
[Footnote 28: It was on this occasion that Mendelssohn omitted the two
"redundant bars" in the _Scherzo_ of Beethoven's C minor Symphony. See
Sir George Grove's forthcoming work on "Beethoven," and the chapter on
the C minor Symphony; also the "Dictionary of Music and Musicians,"
Vol. II., 288_a_.]
On his return to Leipzig, Mendelssohn heard that some members of the
Philharmonic band, who had been discourteous to him during his
previous visit to London, were not to be engaged for the Birmingham
Festival. He at once wrote off to Moscheles in the following emphatic
terms:--
[MENDELSSOHN TO MOSCHELES.]
"LEIPZIG, _June_ 26, 1846.[29]
"My dear Friend,--The occasion of these lines is a passage
in Mr. Moore's letter, in which he says: 'Nearly the whole
of the Philharmonic band are engaged [for Birmingham]; a few
only are left out who made themselves unpleasant when you
were there.'[30]
"Now, I strongly object to this restriction; and as I fancy
you can exercise your authority in the matter, I address my
protest to you, and beg you to communicate it to Mr. Moore.
There is nothing I hate more than the reviving of bygone
disputes; it is bad enough that they should have occurred.
This one of the Philharmonic is, as far as I am concerned,
dead and buried, and must on no account have any influence
on the selection made for the Birmingham Festival. If men
are to be rejected because they are incompetent, that is not
my business and I have nothing to say in the matter; but if
it is because 'they made themselves unpleasant when I was
there,' I consider that an injustice, against which I
protest. Any further disturbance on the part of these
gentlemen, I am sure, is not to be feared. That at least is
my belief, shared probably by all concerned. So you will
sincerely oblige me by having the selection made exactly as
if I were not coming to England. The only consideration that
can be shown me is not to take me into consideration at all.
You will do me a favour by putting this very strongly to Mr.
Moore, and requesting him to let the matter drop. If my
wishes are to be complied with, the incident must herewith
end. Should it be otherwise, I shall write a dozen letters
in protest against what I should consider a spirit of
vindictiveness. Excuse all this.--Ever yours,
"FELIX."
[Footnote 29: From "Letters of Mendelssohn to I. and C. Moscheles," by
Felix Moscheles (Trübner), p. 274.]
[Footnote 30: At a Philharmonic rehearsal in 1844.]
Two months before the performance Mendelssohn reports that "an immense
piece of 'Elijah' is not yet copied"; and he writes to Moscheles to
the effect that as the touch of the Birmingham organ was so very heavy
the last time he played, he would not play one of his Sonatas at the
Festival until he had first tried the organ; also that when "St. Paul"
was given in 1837, it was followed by a selection from Handel's
Oratorios. "I much disapproved of this," he says, "and trust it is not
to be the case this time." He further adds that "Elijah" will take two
hours in performance; and that if there must be something added to
occupy the orthodox three hours, it should be a short complete work:
"but, however this may be," he says, "don't let us have a ragout
afterwards."
Meanwhile the Birmingham Committee were completing their arrangements.
The fee paid to Mendelssohn for his attendance at the Festival was 200
guineas. Madame Caradori-Allan (the soprano) received a similar
amount. Other fees were:--Staudigl (the original _Elijah_), 150
guineas; John Braham (then sixty-eight years old), for one morning
performance ("The Messiah"), £50; Dr. Gauntlett, as solo organist and
organist in "Elijah," £30. Cooke and Willy, violinists, (leaders), £40
and £20 respectively; Dando, violinist, £11; thirty-eight chorus
singers from London, £6 each, instead of £7, as at the previous
Festival, the difference being a free railway ticket.
The Committee had some financial difficulty with the "Italian Party,"
which seemed to be an indispensable and expensive feature of these
Festivals. Mario, when treating for himself, doubled his former terms!
Mr. Beale, the agent of the "Italian Party," asked for Grisi, 380
guineas; Mario, 320; Lablache, 75; and Benedict, 50; making a total of
825 guineas for the three singers and their accompanist. This amount
alarmed the Committee, who resolved: "That these exorbitant terms be
rejected, and that, the services of Benedict not being required, an
offer of £700 be made for the other three." The fee of £100 paid to
Moscheles as Conductor-in-chief of the Festival, and that of £210 to
Mendelssohn, cannot be considered exorbitant, when compared with the
amounts paid to the solo vocalists.
The choral rehearsals were conducted by Mr. James Stimpson, the
chorus-master of the Festival. It was not until after the middle of
June, only two months before the Festival, that Mr. Stimpson received
the first instalment of the chorus parts. Although these were printed
(all the rest of the oratorio was sung and played from MS. copies),
the deciphering of them was no easy matter, owing to the many
alterations--black, red, and blue ink being freely used to indicate
the alterations and re-alterations in the parts. Mr. John Bragg, who
sang tenor in the chorus in 1846 and at several Festivals since,
relates the following incident in connection with the first rehearsal
of "Thanks be to God." Mr. Bragg says: "At the passage beginning 'But
the Lord,' which was an entirely new one to choralists, Mr. Stimpson
rapped his desk and asked for the separate voice parts one after
another. He then compared them with his own MS. copy of the score,
and, being evidently puzzled, said 'Well, gentlemen, the voice parts
are right, and we must sing it so.' And _so it was sung_," adds the
veteran Mr. Bragg, "then and ever after; and one of the greatest gems
in the work shone out for the first time. Great was the enthusiasm of
the chorus when they had completed the passage and realised the full
effect of this masterly modulation."
Mr. Stimpson had a most arduous task in preparing the choruses in the
limited time at his disposal. As late as August 3, twenty-three days
before the performance, the arrival of the first two choruses of Part
II. was reported, and the last chorus was not received till nine days
before the Festival! But the Birmingham singers were on their mettle.
They enjoyed rehearsing the work, and they worthily maintained those
splendid choral traditions which have so eminently distinguished the
Birmingham Musical Festival.
CHAPTER III.
THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION.
The music of "Elijah" was composed to German words; an English version
was therefore necessary. Mendelssohn had no hesitation in assigning
the task of making the English translation to Mr. Bartholomew--"the
translator _par excellence_," as he called him--who is so well known
as the translator or adaptor of Mendelssohn's "Athalie," "Antigone,"
"Oedipus," "Lauda Sion," "Walpurgis Night," the _Finale_ to
"Loreley," "Christus," and many of his songs and part-songs.
Bartholomew also supplied the words of "Hear my Prayer," "which," he
says, "its dear and lamented author composed for my paraphrastic
version of the 55th Psalm."
[Illustration: WILLIAM BARTHOLOMEW
(1793-1867)
_The English Translator of Mendelssohn's "Elijah."_
_From the original Painting, now in the possession of Mrs. Harper._]
William Bartholomew (1793-1867) was "a man of many
accomplishments--chemist, violin player, and excellent flower
painter." In 1841 he submitted to Mendelssohn the libretto of a fairy
opera, entitled "Christmas Night's Dream"; and in this way an
acquaintance commenced which developed into a close friendship
between the two men--a friendship severed only by death.
Here is Mendelssohn's first letter to Bartholomew on the subject of
"Elijah."
[MENDELSSOHN TO BARTHOLOMEW.]
[_Written in English._]
"LEIPZIG, _May_ 11, 1846.[31]
"My dear Sir,--Many thanks for your kind letter of the 4th,
to which I hasten to reply, and to tell you that the
oratorio for the Birmingham Festival is _not_ the 'Athalie'
(nor the 'Oedipus,' of course), but a much greater, and
(to me) more important work than both together; that it is
not quite yet finished, but that I write continually to
finish it in time; and that I intend sending over the first
part (the longest of the two it will have) in the course of
the next ten or twelve days. I asked Mr. Moore from
Birmingham to have it translated by you, and I have no doubt
he will communicate with you about it as soon as he gets my
letter, which I wrote four or five days ago; and I beg you
will be good enough, if you can undertake it, to try to find
some leisure time towards the end of this month, that the
Choral parts with English words may be as soon as possible
in the hands of the Chorus singers. And pray give it your
best English words, for till now I feel so much more
interest in this work, than for my others--and I only wish
it may last so with me.
"Always very truly yours,
"FELIX MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY."
[Footnote 31: The original autograph of this letter is now in the
Library of the Royal College of Music. The "important work" referred
to in the letter is, of course, the oratorio of "Elijah."]
The music of "Elijah" came to Bartholomew from Mendelssohn in
instalments. The English translation was the subject of a long and
elaborate correspondence between the composer and his translator in
London. Both were unsparing in the labour they bestowed upon the
translation. The following letters show that Mendelssohn went through
the English version bar by bar, note by note, syllable by syllable,
with an attention to detail which might be termed microscopic. These
letters, written in Mendelssohn's own English, and the majority of
which are now made public for the first time, cannot fail to be of
interest.[32]
[Footnote 32: With two exceptions, the letters from Mendelssohn to
Bartholomew quoted in this "History" are now in my possession.]
A letter from Bartholomew to Mendelssohn may, however, first be
quoted, to show the spirit in which the English translator discharged
his congenial task.[33]
[Footnote 33: I am greatly indebted to Frau Geheimrath Wach, of
Leipzig (Mendelssohn's younger daughter), and her daughter, for their
kindness in copying the long correspondence on "Elijah" from
Bartholomew to Mendelssohn. These letters are still carefully
treasured in the "27 large green volumes" in which Mendelssohn
"preserved all the letters he received, and stuck them in with his own
hands."]
[BARTHOLOMEW TO MENDELSSOHN.]
"2, WALCOT PLACE,
"HACKNEY, LONDON, _June_ 23, 1846.
"My dear Sir,--I have at last, after toiling day and night,
got through the first portion of your noble oratorio. I wish
I could render words more worthy of such music. My endeavour
has been to keep them as _scriptural_ as possible; and in
order that you may be able to judge how far I have
succeeded, do me the favour to refer to the verses notified
in an English version of the Bible. When the second part, or
the parts of that, as they are completed, are sent, I hope
we shall have the words in the score written in letters
which are readable to us. I know not how so bad a scribe as
he who penned the libretto could have been found; words, nay
even _sentences_ were omitted, and words _changed_: _leben_
was written for _beten_, and there were no references to
where the verses might be seen in 'The Book.' All these
caused me much perplexity, trouble, and, what is worse than
all, _loss of time_. These, too, enhanced by my journeys to
Hobart Place, and the necessity of copying by my _own hand
all_ the vocal portion of the score for the engravers, and
those parts which you will receive through the medium of Mr.
Buxton for your perusal and decision, have rendered my toil,
although a labour of love, incessant. The choral portions
will this day be in the hands of the engravers; and I trust
you will send by every packet each of the pieces yet
forthcoming--one at a time--never mind how short, for the
time is short--and I want all the time to enable me to do it
as well as I can. And the choralists want all the time to
rehearse it as often as they can, for the more often it is
rehearsed the better.
"No. 6 wants the time; and I hope you will have time to
write an overture, or introduction, unless you expressly
design there shall be none. I understand they (the
Birmingham Directors) have engaged Staudigl, I hope with the
intention of giving him the Prophet's part, although it is
reported here that Phillips is to sing it. Much will depend
on who sings it [the oratorio] so far as the soloists are
concerned; but the choruses! they will be the main feature,
and the glory of their composer. The Baal Priests' choruses
are wrought to a climax truly _sublime_. Go on, my dear Sir,
go on! until you soar with your 'Elijah' on the returning
fire to the height from which he called it down!
"Your grateful and obliged
"W. BARTHOLOMEW."
[MENDELSSOHN TO BARTHOLOMEW.]
[_Written in English._]
"LEIPZIG, _July_ 3, 1846.[34]
"My dear Sir,--Many, many thanks for your kind letter and
for your translation of the first part of Elijah. I can but
write in great haste, else I would try to say more, and to
thank you better for all your kindness. But I will do so in
person, and meanwhile I merely say--I thank you most
heartily, most sincerely, and I hasten to answer your
questions.
"Those words in the choruses which you or I may now or
hereafter object to, might, I hope, still be altered _in
pencil or ink_ in the parts, if already printed; for if an
improvement can be made, it must never be omitted because
the printing should be finished. A little more trouble will
be amply repaid by a little improvement! And as for the Solo
Parts, they _must not be printed at all_ for the Festival,
but only written out (copied), and can only be printed
together with the pianoforte arrangement, and _after_ the
performance. For these accordingly we have time till then,
to alter and improve. Pray let Mr. Buxton [Ewer and Co., the
English publishers] read all this!
"No. 1. I wish to keep this if possible as in the English
Bible version; therefore I propose[35]:--
[Music: there shall not be dew nor rain these years, not dew
nor rain &c.]
"No. 5, at the end, I propose to say 'and in our affliction
He comforteth us,' and to slur from D to E flat, because I
prefer to have the word af_flic_tion on the G flat.[36]
"No. 6 {3}. The time is _Andante tranquillo_. The first
words are from Jerem. xxix., 13. And the following from Job
xxiii., 3, and I wish to keep these last literally: 'Oh,
that I knew (_slurred_) where I might find Him, that (added
note, as you also have) I might come [slur symbol] even to
His seat' (or 'presence,' perhaps, if the two notes shall
not be slurred.)[37] And before the first subject and the
first words return, the notes may be altered thus:--
[Music: Oh, that I knew, where I might find Him. If with
all, &c.]
"In No. 7 {5}, I prefer your first idea, 'for _He_ is Lord
and God,' to the two others which you propose; and I wish
you would have the 'He,' &c., inserted still in the choral
parts.
"No. 8 {6}, I prefer an alteration in the notes, and to keep
the words:--
[Music: and hide thyself by the brook Cherith.]
as also--[Music: and thou shalt drink of the brook.]
[Music: and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee, &c.]
"No. 9 {7}. Pray let the beginning stand as in the Bible,
viz.:--
[Music: For He shall give His _angels charge_ over thee.]
and if the end 'and thus harm thee' can be spared, and it
can finish with the words 'against a stone,' I should like
it better.
"No. 10 {between 7 and 8}, in the middle I propose again to
alter the notes in order to keep the Bible version:--
[Music: -bide. _Behold I have commanded a widow woman there
to sustain thee_, and thou shalt want nothing, _nor she and
her house_, through, &c.]
"No. 11[38] {8}. Again the same (bar 16, &c.):--
[Music: and his sickness is so sore, that there is no breath
left in him.]
and then--
[Music: art thou come to call my sin, to call my sin to
remembrance, to slay my son, to slay, to slay my son?]
and at the end: 'there is no breath, no [slur symbol] breath
[slur symbol] left in him,' instead of 'exhausted,' etc.
"Then again:--[Music: ELIJAH. give me thy son.]
"And instead of 'that he again may live,' I should prefer
always as you have at the end, 'that he again may praise
Thee.' Again the music should be altered for the Bible
version's sake in this:--
[Music: Wilt thou indeed show wonders to the dead?]
"In the following _Allegro agitato_, I prefer 'thy _prayer_'
to 'thy petition,' and beg you will alter the notes
accordingly.
"No. 12 {9}.[39] Is it as scriptural to say 'the men' as
'the man'? And if not, could not the sentence be 'Blessed is
the man who fears Him, who delights,' and so on? And what do
you like better: the amplification, 'light shining over
them,' or to say instead of these words, 'to the upright,'
and to slur the two notes thus:--
[Music: through darkness riseth light, light to the
_up_right.]
"Pray do it as _you_ think best.
"At the beginning of No. 13 {10}, I should wish to have the
same words as in No. 1, viz.: 'before whom I stand,'
instead of 'I tell thee truly.' And instead of 'that the
rain may fall,' etc., I should propose:--
[Music: and God will send rain again upon the earth.]
which is more according to the Bible. I prefer 'Let him be
God' to 'He shall be God' (which you have added in pencil).
Instead of 'I, even I alone stand here among you,' I propose
the alteration:
[Music: I, even I, only remain, &c.]
"I prefer 'Invoke your forest gods,' etc., as you do.
"In No. 15 {11}, is not the accent extírpate a wrong one?
The syllable _tir_ will always be the first in the bar and
the strongest, with a marked accent.
"No. 16. {12} [Music: or he is pursuing.]
and then--[Music: journey; _or_, peradventure.]
"In No. 18 {13}, could not the words 'with lancets cut
yourselves after your manner' be kept?
"No. 20. {14} [Music: people that I have done these things
according to Thy word! O hear me, Lord, &c. O hear me Lord,
&c.]
"I prefer 'and let their hearts again be turned,' as you do.
"In No. 22 {16}, could not the end be: 'and we shall have no
other god before Him,' or 'the Lord' (from Exodus xx., 3)?
Then instead of 'let not a prophet,' I propose:
[Music: and let not one of them escape ye: _bring_ them,
&c.]
"In No. 23 {18}, I prefer '_thee_' &c., to the other
version, according to your remarks. But the end I wish
thus:--
[Music: Woe unto them, woe unto them.]
"No. 24. {19} [Music: O Lord, Thou hast overthrown Thine
enemies, and destroy'd them! Now look on us, &c.]
"Then I wish the following notes altered:--
[Music: ELIJAH. Go up now, child, and look toward the sea.
Has my prayer been heard by the Lord?]
"I also prefer 'the heavens are _as_ brass'--a note might be
added. Then afterwards I propose:--
[Music: closed up, _because they have sinn'd, have sin-ned
against Thee_]
"And afterwards if 'and turn from _their_ sin' seems
preferable to you, a note might be added to keep the words
as in the Bible. In the following sentence it sounds to me
more scriptural to leave the words as in 2 Chronicles vi.,
27:--
[Music: Then hear from heav'n, and forgive the sin.]
"Then I wish the notes altered thus:--
[Music: Go up again, and still look towards the sea.]
"Then also 'the earth is _as_ iron.' And then would you like
this:--
[Music: There is a sound of abundance of rain.]
"If possible I should wish to have omitted 'I implore Thee,'
which does not sound as scriptural to me. If I am wrong,
pray leave it; but if not, the words 'to my prayer' might be
repeated instead of them. The following is Psalm xxviii.,
1:--
[Music: Unto Thee will I cry, Lord, my rock: be not silent
to me.]
and could not the following sentence be thus:--
[Music: and Thy great [_or_ Thy gracious] mercies do
remember, O Lord!]
"Then I prefer--[Music: like a man's hand!]
"Instead of 'His boundless,' I propose to omit the G (the
first note), and have instead 'for His' (mercies, &c.), and
to add afterwards a note (A), in order to say 'endureth
_for_ evermore.' I prefer 'The Lord is _above them_,' to 'is
the highest.'
"I am so very sorry you had that trouble with the words! And
the first portion of the second part, which I sent off
before the receipt of your letter, was again written in
German characters. But the numbers you receive with this
will, I hope, be legible; and I have made reference to the
verses of the Bible, and will continue to do so. With the
next packet you will again receive some pieces, and so
always on till the whole (at least of the choruses) is in
your hands, which I hope shall not last more than a
fourthnight (_sic_). And if there should be something left
it would be here or there a solo-piece, which (as it must
not be printed) will easily be done and copied in time. You
are right, the great question is, Who is to sing the
Elijah?--and I am at a loss why I have not yet heard some
news respecting this most essential point.
"My intention was to write no Overture, but to begin
directly with the curse. I thought it so energetic. But I
will certainly think of what you say about an Introduction,
although I am afraid it would be a difficult task, and do
not know exactly what it should or could mean before that
curse. And after it (I first thought to write the Overture
_after_ it), the chorus _must_ immediately come in. Now once
more excuse the haste and accept the thanks of
"Yours very truly,
"FELIX MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY."
[Footnote 34: This letter is reproduced in _fac-simile_ at the end of
this book.]
[Footnote 35: In order to make the musical examples in the following
letters more intelligible to the general reader, and easier of
reference to the printed score, I have added clefs and key signatures
where Mendelssohn did not think it necessary to insert them when
writing to Bartholomew. The figures in brackets refer to the _present_
numbers in Novello's Edition of the Oratorio.]
[Footnote 36: This No. 5 was the _original_ form of the tenor
Recitative (now No. 3), "Ye people, rend your hearts." Before the
Birmingham performance Mendelssohn re-wrote it, making it much shorter
(10 bars instead of 17) and less elaborate, and in the form in which
it is now sung. The concluding bars of the original are here appended,
with the two versions of the words, to show the force of Mendelssohn's
suggested alteration:--
[Music: TENOR SOLO.
Bar 16 of _original_ RECIT.
(_Bartholomew._) and He comforteth us in affliction, If with all &c.
(_Mendelssohn._) and in our affliction He comforteth us.]
The words of this Recit., as originally written by Bartholomew, were:
"Ye people, rend your hearts, and not your garments, for your
transgressions; even as Elijah hath sealed the heavens through the
word of God.
"I therefore say to ye, Forsake your idols, return to God; for He is
ever enduring in goodness; repenting of the evil. He turneth our
sorrow to gladness, and He comforteth us in affliction."]
[Footnote 37: Bartholomew originally had these words: "Ah! could I
find Him; and at His footstool bow before His presence."]
[Footnote 38: Mendelssohn greatly altered the "Widow" scene before the
oratorio was published.]
[Footnote 39: The music of this chorus ("Blessed are the men") was
afterwards much altered.]
In regard to the Overture, referred to at the end of the foregoing
(very long) letter, it may be interesting to quote an extract from one
of Bartholomew's letters to Mendelssohn:--
"I have maturely considered, and, with Mr. K[lingemann],
think it will be a new feature, and a fine one, to announce
the curse, No. 1. Then let an Introductory-movement be
played, expressive, descriptive of the misery of famine--for
the chorus (I always thought) comes so very quickly and
suddenly after the curse, that there seems to elapse no time
to produce its results."
It seems evident that Mendelssohn was indebted to Bartholomew for the
suggestion of an Overture to "Elijah." That Mendelssohn accomplished
what he calls his "difficult task" we know full well, and Bartholomew
must have felt quite satisfied when the composer wrote to him and
said, "I have written an Overture, and a long one."
[MENDELSSOHN TO BARTHOLOMEW.]
[_Written in English._]
"LEIPZIG, 18_th_ _July_, 1846.
"My dear Sir,--I received yours of the 9th. And many thanks
again! And you copy yourself the solo parts! Whatever your
reason may be, I feel what an obligation you confer upon me.
"Now I go on with my remarks about those pieces of the
second part which you sent me the translation of, viz.: Nos.
33, 34, and 35. By-the-bye: No. 33 will be altered and
another Recit. (for a _Soprano_) comes in its stead with the
next parcel; but the words are the same, and your
translation will go quite as well to the new Recit.
"In No. 34 I again wish to alter the notes in order to keep
the English scriptural version. And it seems to me so
important that this should be done that I hope it is time
still to make the alteration in all the choral parts. The
beginning I wish altered thus:--
[Music: And behold, the Lord passed by.]
or, if 'passed' must have two syllables:--
[Music: Lord pass-ed]
"The end of the first phrase 'as He approached' is not quite
agreeable to me; could you not find _four_ syllables instead
of them (making the two _slurred_ notes single
ones)--_e.g._, 'as the Lord drew near' (don't laugh), or
something in which _the accent on the last syllable is
strong and decided_!
"Then comes:--
[Music: But the Lord was not in the tempest.]
"Then again: 'And behold, the Lord passed by.' And at the
end again, 'But the Lord was not in the earthquake.' Also
the third time: 'But the Lord was not in the fire.'
[Music: But the Lord, &c.]
"Then--
[Music: And after the fire there came a still small voice]
(here I think it is _quite_ necessary to keep the scriptural
expression _at least_ at the beginning!) And then perhaps:
'And in that voice the Lord came unto him.'
"The instrumental parts are all copied here, and I bring
them with me. Excuse the haste of these lines.--Always yours
very truly,
"FELIX MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY."
[MENDELSSOHN TO BARTHOLOMEW.]
[_Written in English._]
"LEIPZIG, _July_ 21, 1846.
"My dear Sir,--After I had sent off my last letter to you in
the morning, yours of the 14th arrived in the evening. I
hasten to answer it, and will send the metronomes in a few
days, when the last two pieces of the second part will come.
"You receive to-day all the pieces that were still wanting
in the 2nd part, and only the Nos. 36, 37, 38, and 39 are
now to come, and will be sent off in a few days (two of them
are but short recitatives), so that I hope everything is now
safe with regard to rehearsals, &c., &c.
"I am quite of your opinion, that _accent_ is _the_ thing,
and I much prefer the alteration of a few notes to a bad
accent. So I hope you left 'Be not afraid, saith God the
Lord, be not afraid, for I am near,' which seems to me much
better than the other. At any rate, I hope to stay 6 or 8 or
10 days in London _before_ the Festival.
"In the song, 'O rest in the Lord' (_Sei stille dem Herrn_),
I beg you will adopt something like the words of Ps. 37, v.
4, instead of the words 'and He will ever keep the
righteous'! 'and He shall give thee' does very well with the
notes; and there is only another expression, instead of 'the
desires of thy heart,' necessary to make it fit the music
and everything. And instead of the end 'He will defend
thee,' &c., I should prefer also Ps. 37, v. 8, perhaps so:
'and cease from anger, and fret not thyself'; or, 'and cease
from [slur symbol] anger and forsake the wrath,' which will
do with the alteration of one or two notes being not slurred
instead of slurred, and _vice versâ_.
"And pray let always _accent_ go first, especially in the
_Choruses_! And Songs! And Recitatives!
"Always yours very truly,
"FELIX MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY."
Mendelssohn's request for a good verbal accent throughout the whole
translation of his oratorio is frequently expressed in these letters.
No less anxious was he to retain, as nearly as possible, the familiar
words of the English Bible, in preference to introducing new wordings
of well-known texts--_e.g._, "Oh! that I knew where I might find
Him."[40] And when this was not practicable, he would often alter the
notes in order to gain his desired end. It is evident from these
letters that Mendelssohn knew the English Bible well.
[Footnote 40: See the letter to Bartholomew, July 3, 1846, p. 55.]
"O rest in the Lord" has attained such widespread popularity that it
will come as a surprise to many to learn that, before the first
performance, Mendelssohn decided to eliminate this favourite air from
his oratorio. When Bartholomew received the manuscript of the song, he
found that the melody began thus:--
[Music: Sei stille dem Herrn, und warte auf ihn.]
He at once wrote the following letter to Mendelssohn:--
"2, WALCOT PLACE, HACKNEY,
"_July_ 20, 1846.
"And now, my dear Sir, having done all I can with 'Elijah,'
as much as I have of it--having corrected and revised the
second proofs of its printed first portion, and made the
alterations you suggested--nearly all--one or two remaining
for your assistance to complete--I am about to take a great
liberty with you, and the impulse which prompts it--be it
offensive or not--you must place to the account of the
feeling which you or your music has inspired within me. And
what is your music but yourself?--the incarnation of your
spirit, made material by creation, and thus
apparent--apparent through the agency of the body!
"Do you know a Scotch air, called 'Robin Gray'?
[Music: Young Jamie lov'd me well, and ask'd me for his
bride, &c.[41]]
"Now compare the aria (_Andante_, without a number) 'Sei
stille dem Herrn' ['O rest in the Lord'] with it. You may,
perhaps, see nothing semblant in the two; but so much
warranty have I for thinking that there is, that when
Buxton--who brought it to me while I was with Miss
Mounsey,[42] examining some of the proofs of your
'Elijah'--heard her, at his request, try it over--I being
engaged at the table copying--he said: 'Why that's like
"Robin Gray"!' _I_ thought so, ere the above phrase was
completed, and Miss Mounsey agreed with our opinions. I said
nothing more then, but when I returned home I looked at it
again, and at bar 10--look at it!--see the close:--
[Music: pound were both for me.]
[Music: Bar 10. _führen_.[43]]
"Other distinct features may be traced, but these two are
enough to give it the stamp of at _least_ an imitation,
which if you intend it to be, I have nothing further to say
on the subject; except that it will lay you open to the
impertinence of the saucy _boys_ of the musical press, one
of whom has had the audacity to accuse you of copying,
borrowing, making your own, the ideas of the little man of
the party!...
"Enough of this. Place what I have said to the right side of
my friendly account in your _ledger lines_! If you alter the
notation of the song, bring or send me another score of it,
and I will take care to place this one only in _your own
hands_. Mr. Klingemann thought I ought to tell you of the
coincidence, I having mentioned it to him."
[Footnote 41: Mr. Bartholomew doubtless quoted this and the following
example from memory.]
[Footnote 42: Afterwards Mrs. Mounsey Bartholomew.]
[Footnote 43: The German words which Mendelssohn _originally_ selected
for "O rest in the Lord" were: "Sei stille dem Herrn, und warte auf
ihn; der wird dich wohl zum Guten führen. Befiehl dem Herrn deine
Wege, und hoffe auf ihn; der wird dich erretten von allem Übel." He
subsequently changed the second and fourth clauses to the more
familiar Luther version. (Psalm xxxvii., 7, 4, 5, 8.)]
In answer to this letter--which Mendelssohn erroneously considered to
be a request to _omit_ the song--came the following reply:--
[MENDELSSOHN TO BARTHOLOMEW.]
[_Written in English._]
"LEIPZIG, _July_ 28, 1846.[44]
"My dear Sir,--Here are the metronomes, which I beg you will
give the director of the choruses; but tell him that I
cannot promise they will be _exactly_ the same, but _nearly_
so, I think.
"Many thanks for your last letter, with the remarks about
the song ['O rest in the Lord']. I do not recollect having
heard the Scotch ballad to which you allude, and certainly
did not think of it, and did not _choose_ to imitate it; but
as mine is a song to which I always had an objection (of
another kind), and as the ballad seems much known, and the
likeness very striking, and before all, as you wish it, I
shall leave it out altogether (I think), and have altered
the two last bars of the preceding recitative, so that the
chorus in F may follow it immediately. Perhaps I shall bring
another song in its stead, but I doubt it, and even believe
it to be an improvement if it is left out.
"You receive here Nos. 36, 38, and 39. The only piece which
is not now in your hands is No. 37, a song of Elijah ['For
the mountains shall depart']. And this (and perhaps one song
to be introduced in the first part) I shall either send or
bring myself, for they will require only few words, and it
will be plenty of time to copy the vocal parts, and the
instrumental ones I bring over with me. I hope to be in
London on the 17th, and beg you will let us have a grand
meeting on the 18th, to settle all the questions and the
copies of the solo parts.
"Always yours very truly,
"FELIX MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY."
[Footnote 44: The original autograph of this letter, together with a
MS. copy of "O rest in the Lord," also in Mendelssohn's own hand, were
personally presented by the late Mrs. Mounsey Bartholomew to the
Guildhall Library, in May, 1880. But both MSS. suddenly and
mysteriously disappeared at the time, and have not since been found.
See _The Times_, May 15, 1880, p. 13.]
It may perhaps be as well to complete the history of "O rest in the
Lord" before proceeding farther, even at the risk of a little
repetition. Mendelssohn does not seem to have liked the implied
plagiarism of "Auld Robin Gray," although he says he had an
"objection" to his song "O rest in the Lord" "of another kind." He
repeated his request that it "must be left out" (see next letter).
Bartholomew, however, wrote to him saying: "Why omit the song 'O
rest,' when merely a note or two of the melody being changed would
completely obliterate the identity, and I think not spoil the song as
a whole? If you omit it, and especially upon such a reason as my hint
may have afforded, I shall be very much pained."
This last sentence must have so touched Mendelssohn's feelings that he
somewhat relented from his former decision. He wrote to Bartholomew:
"About the song 'O rest in the Lord,' we will settle everything when
we meet." Bartholomew strongly urged him to retain the now familiar
air; but even at the eleventh hour (at the rehearsal in London)
Mendelssohn still wished to delete it from the oratorio. However, the
advice of his friends ultimately prevailed, and "O rest in the Lord"
was thereby spared the fate of utter oblivion. Mendelssohn altered the
fifth note of the melody (taking it _down_ to C instead of _up_ to G)
in order to destroy the supposed "Auld Robin Gray" likeness; but it is
amusing to notice that he _retained his original note_ in the _coda_
of the song, where, in two places, the fifth note goes up to G![45]
[Footnote 45: Amongst the MSS. which Miss Mounsey kindly gave me in
view of this "History," is the identical copy from which "O rest in
the Lord" was first sung in public--by Miss M.B. Hawes, at the
Birmingham Festival of 1846. The copy, written by Bartholomew, has
pencilled alterations in Mendelssohn's own hand.]
This break in the continuity of the correspondence may afford an
opportunity of mentioning a phrase used by Bartholomew in one of his
letters to Mendelssohn, which he calls "Irish Echoes." He says: "We
must mind that any notation which may be altered shall not affect the
band parts. Excuse my naming this. You do not write _Irish
Echoes_--but yet by altering the notation they may inadvertently
arise. Lest you should not know what I mean by an 'Irish Echo,' this
may explain it. An Irishman, boasting of his country, said: 'It had an
Echo, which, if you said 'How d'ye do?' replied, 'Pretty well, I thank
you!'"
But to resume the continuation of the letters:--
[MENDELSSOHN TO BARTHOLOMEW.]
[_Written in English._]
"LEIPZIG, _August_ 9, 1846.
"My dear Sir,--I write these lines merely to tell you that I
hope to see and speak to you on the 17th or 18th, and to ask
you to defer the printing of the words of 'Elijah' in the
books till after my arrival _if possible_. Moscheles writes
they want to print the books _now_, but I really think that
a week beforehand is early enough. However, as I do not know
how these things are managed in England, I beg that _if it
must be done_ before my arrival, you will introduce the
following alterations:
"1. After the words of Elijah (the curse), and before the
1st chorus, I should like to have in the books
'Introduction,' or 'Overture,' or some word like this, to
let people know that an Overture is coming before the
chorus--for I have written one, and a long one.
"2. The song 'Sei stille dem Herrn' ['O rest in the Lord']
must be left out.
"3. The _second_ part of No. 41, 'Er wird öffnen die Augen
der Blinden,' must also be left out; so that from the words
'und der Furcht des Herrn' ['and of the fear of the Lord']
it goes immediately to the quartett in B flat 'Wohlan, denn'
['O come, every one that thirsteth']. Pray let the choral
people at Birmingham know this _directly_; it will spare
them much time, as the _Alla breve_ is not easy, and as I
am sure I will not let it stand. Of course the _whole
beginning_ of No. 41, 'Aber einer erscheint, &c.; der wird
des Herrn Namen' must _stand_ and _not_ be omitted; merely
from the _Alla breve_, and from the 1st introduction of the
words 'Er wird öffnen,' is to be left out.[46]
"Pray excuse all this trouble; and let me thank you in
person for all the hard work you have had on my account.
"Always very truly yours,
"FELIX MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY."
[Footnote 46: This section of the chorus (No. 41), which Mendelssohn
rejected almost at the eleventh hour, was a somewhat extended movement
in D, eighty-six bars long. It started with the following subject in
the soprano:
[Music: SOPRANO. He shall open, shall open the blind eyes, and He
shall bring the prisoners from the prison; and them that sit, that sit
in darkness out of the prison house.]]
[MENDELSSOHN TO BARTHOLOMEW.]
[_Written in English._]
"LEIPZIG, _August_ 10, 1846.
"My dear Sir,--In the letter I wrote to you yesterday I
forgot to mention the words of the song which I bring with
me (the No. 37 which is still wanting in your score) in
case it should be _indispensable_ to have the books printed
before my arrival. They are from Isaiah liv., 10, and I find
that the English words will apply literally to my music; so
I beg you will let No. 37 stand thus in the English version:
_No. 37, Arioso (Elijah)_. 'For the mountains shall depart
and the hills be removed; but Thy kindness shall not depart
from me, neither shall the covenant of Thy peace be
removed.'
"Excuse my negligence and the two letters.
"Always yours very truly,
"FELIX MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY,
"who hopes to see you this day week."
"P.S.--I re-open this letter because I receive this moment
yours of the 4th.--Many, many thanks for all the trouble you
take. I shall bring an organ part if possible; and be sure
that I shall not be dissatisfied with _any_ thing you may
have done under your responsibility; I know you too well for
that. The synopsis of the second part is quite right, and
with the addition of No. 37 (as above) it is all in order. I
am certain our conference will not be half so difficult as
you anticipate, and in a few hours we will have settled
everything. Can we meet on the 18th at Mr. Klingemann's?
About the song, 'O rest in the Lord,' we will settle
everything when we meet."
Mendelssohn and Bartholomew duly met in London, and the "everything"
included numerous finishing touches and alterations, both in regard
to the English words and the music. The correspondence between the
two men was only temporarily suspended. It was renewed, with all its
old characteristics, when "Elijah" was under revision; and the
subsequent letters from Mendelssohn to his English translator will be
found in Chapter V.--"The Revised Oratorio."
CHAPTER IV.
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, Frühling, 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 _bâton_ 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 _Athenæum_: "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._]
CHAPTER V.
THE REVISED ORATORIO.
Mendelssohn, upon his return to Leipzig, was much exhausted after the
severe strain of composing, and the exertion connected with the
production of "Elijah." But, although he led "a vegetable existence,
doing nothing the whole day but eat and sleep and take walks," he very
soon began to work at the revision of his new oratorio. It has been
shown that Mendelssohn had to write against time in order to complete
his oratorio for the Birmingham Festival; and after--if not before, or
during--the first performance he discovered numerous instances in
which the work could be greatly improved. He told Mr. Bartholomew that
he should make _many_ alterations, and he did. In a letter to
Klingemann, dated December 6, 1846, Mendelssohn says:--
"I have again begun to work with all my might at my
'Elijah,' and hope to amend the greater part of what I
thought deficient at the first performance. I have quite
completed one of the most difficult parts (the Widow); and I
am sure you will be satisfied with the alterations which I
may call improvements. 'Elijah' has become far more
impressive and solemn here. I missed that in my first
version and was annoyed by this want; but, unfortunately, I
never find out such things till afterwards, and till I have
improved them. I hope, too, to hit upon the true sense of
other passages that we have discussed together. I shall most
seriously revise all that I did not deem satisfactory; and I
hope to see the whole completely finished within a few
weeks, so as to be able to set to work on something new. The
parts that I have already remodelled prove to me again that
I am right not to rest till such work is as good as it is in
my power to make it; even though very few people care to
hear about such things, or notice them, and even though they
take very much time; yet the impression such passages, if
really better, produce in themselves and on the whole work,
is such a different one, that I feel I cannot leave them as
they now stand."
In a letter to his English publisher, Mr. Buxton (Ewer & Co.),
Mendelssohn calls this habit of constant alteration a "dreadful
disease," from which he suffered chronically and severely. He says: "I
was sorry to see that you will have to make so many alterations in the
choral parts; but I think I told you before, that I was subject to
this dreadful disease of altering as long as I did not feel my
conscience quite at rest, and therefore I could not help it, and you
must bear it patiently." In the same letter (written in English) he
says:--"I did what I could to reconcile myself to the idea of adding a
few bars to the Overture to make it a separate piece, and give it a
conclusion; but, I assure you, it is _impossible_. I tried hard to do
what you want, in order to show my goodwill--but I could not find an
end, and I am sure there _is_ none to be found."
The chief alterations (to quote from Sir George Grove's invaluable
article "Mendelssohn," in his "Dictionary of Music and Musicians,"
II., 289) were:--
"The chorus 'Help, Lord!' (No. 1), much changed: the end of
the double quartett (No. 7), re-written: the scene with the
Widow (No. 8), entirely re-cast and much extended: the
chorus 'Blessed are the men' (No. 9), re-scored: the words
of the quartett 'Cast thy burden' (No. 15), new: the soprano
air 'Hear ye' (No. 21), added to and re-constructed: in the
Jezebel scene a new chorus, 'Woe to him' (No. 24), in place
of a suppressed one, 'Do unto him as he hath done,' and the
recitative 'Man of God' added: the trio 'Lift thine eyes'
(No. 28) was originally a duet, quite different: Obadiah's
recitative and air (No. 25) are new: the chorus 'Go,
return,' and Elijah's answer (No. 36) are also new. The last
chorus (No. 42) is entirely re-written to fresh words, the
text having formerly been 'Unto Him that is abundantly
able,' etc. The _omissions_ are chiefly a movement of 95
{86} bars, _alla breve_, to the words 'He shall open the
eyes of the blind,' which formed the second part of the
chorus 'But thus saith the Lord' (No. 41), and a recitative
for tenor, 'Elijah is come already; and yet they have known
him not; but have done unto him whatsoever they listed,'
with which Part II. of the oratorio originally opened. In
addition to these more prominent alterations, there is
hardly a movement throughout the work which has not been
more or less worked upon."
The phrase of four bars (instrumental) at the end of "Man of God" (No.
25), and leading into "It is enough," was an afterthought, and, like
the overture, was due to the English translator. Bartholomew made the
suggestion--a hint, it may be called, but a very interesting one--in
the following words: "Elijah--'Tarry here, my servant, and I will go a
day's journey into the wilderness.' What if an instrumental interlude
(short) gave time for the journey? and then, spent with fatigue, he
might, from very weariness, say, 'It is enough!'"
Another interesting instance of Mendelssohn's afterthoughts is that
near the end of the last Baal chorus, where the sustained and piercing
cry of the sopranos and altos was _not_ originally re-echoed by the
tenors and basses:--
[Music: Hear and answer.]
The above impressive response to the entreaty of the female voices is
inserted, in Bartholomew's writing, in a proof copy of the oratorio,
now in my possession. Its appropriateness is unquestionable; yet it
was not in the original version.
The Sacred Harmonic Society, who, in 1837, had enrolled Mendelssohn as
a member, and had presented him with a silver snuff-box,[53] were
very anxious to be the first to perform the revised oratorio. Within a
month of the Birmingham performance, the Secretary addressed to
Mendelssohn a long letter, in which (1) the Society congratulated the
composer upon the success of his new work, (2) asked that they might
have the honour of giving the first performance of the revised version
before a London audience, and (3) that, if possible, Mendelssohn
should himself conduct the said performance. Here is Mendelssohn's
reply:--
[Footnote 53: This silver snuff-box, which cost nine guineas, bore
upon it the following inscription:--
"Presented to
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy,
by the
Sacred Harmonic Society, London,
on the occasion of
his attendance at their performance of his oratorio
'St. Paul,'
at Exeter Hall, on the 12th day of September, 1837."]
TO T. BREWER, ESQ., _Hon. Sec. to the Sacred Harmonic
Society_, _Exeter Hall, London_.
[_Written in English._]
"LEIPZIG, _October_ 7, 1846.
"Dear Sir,--I beg to express my best thanks for the letter
dated September 24, and it gives me much pleasure that the
Sacred Harmonic Society will undertake the first performance
of my 'Elijah' before a London Audience. I beg to thank the
Committee most sincerely for their flattering intention, and
of course should be most happy to conduct the work myself
on such an occasion, if I can come to London in April next.
I hope and trust that I may have that pleasure, and that
nothing may prevent me from doing so. But I am still
doubtful, and cannot give a positive promise as far as
regards my coming over; and as for the parts which you wish
to have as soon as possible, I shall speak to the Editor
[publisher] of them, Mr. Buxton, who, I hear, is expected
shortly in Leipzig, and will ask him to let you have them as
soon as they can be ready.
"With many thanks to yourself and the Society, believe me,
dear Sir, your very obedient servant,
"FELIX MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY."
Before the receipt of the Sacred Harmonic Society's invitation,
Mendelssohn must have begun the work of revision, as the following
letter to Bartholomew (dated exactly a month after the Birmingham
performance) will show:--
[_Written in English, and on a sheet of music-paper._]
"LEIPZIG, _September_ 26, 1846.
"Dear Mr. Bartholomew,--Many thanks for your new alterations
which you made to meet my wishes. I decidedly prefer the
_second_ version of the beginning of No. 41: 'But the Lord
from the north hath raised _one_!' (this is very good), but
at the last bar before the Andante I cannot approve of--
[Music] instead of [Music]
"Indeed these two long notes are _necessary_, for the
development of the whole phrase, as I intended it. Now,
could you not say '_call His name_,' instead of 'call upon
His name?' Then the chief difficulty would be removed. And
perhaps would it be possible to leave out 'of the sun,' and
only say 'from the rising' (this is done very often, at
least in our German Bible)? Then the second passage would
also stand nearly as with the German words:--
[Music: And from the rising he shall call His Name.]
"The rest of the _Andante con moto_ suits my music now very
well in the alteration, as you wrote it out, but I should
prefer there the first, and in the beginning (_Andante
sostenuto_) the second version. And why not? So the _Andante
con moto_ might begin: 'But the Lord hath upraised one, the
Lord,' etc. But if this is against your conscience, leave
here also the second version. For the beginning is much more
important.
"I prefer:
[Music: He shall call upon His Name, &c.]
"In No. 38 I should prefer: 'his words _appeared_ like
burning torches'--I am so obstinate about the _torches_
because they account for the F minor character which I gave
to that beginning more than any other word could possibly
do.[54]
"As for 'the transgressor,' etc., I may possibly send
another piece instead of the one which now stands, and
therefore we will settle the translation hereafter.
"In No. 34 I prefer:--[Music: Behold, _God the_]
and afterwards--[Music: But _yet_ the]
and likewise--[Music: But _yet_ the]
for I should not like to place the word 'God' on so short a
note, and in such a rhythm, while the word _yet_ is just as
light and insignificant as will do on such a note.
"And again many thanks,
"F.M.-B."
[Footnote 54: Bartholomew had rendered the German words "und sein Wort
brannte wie eine Fackel" as "his words appeared as _light in
darkness_." The English Apocrypha (Ecclesiasticus xlviii., 1) has,
"his word burned like a lamp." It is very difficult to fathom a
composer's mind; but what _can_ be the connection between "torches"
and the key of F minor? Strangely enough the source of these words
(and also of No. 24) has always been wrongly given as Ecclesiast_es_,
instead of Ecclesiast_icus_. This mistake has been continued for fifty
years!]
The following letters from Mendelssohn to Bartholomew, all written in
English, may now follow on, _seriatim_; they lead up to the period of
the composer's arrival--for the last time--in England.
"LEIPZIG, 30 _December_, 1846.
"My dear Sir,--I send to-day to Mr. Buxton all the pieces
which were still wanting in the first part of my 'Elijah.'
Wherever I could, I took the words from the English Bible
and adapted them as well as I could to the alterations, in
order to save you trouble; but, nevertheless, I must ask you
to look over all I have done, that no wrong accent or other
blunders might remain in it. So, for instance, in the 13
bars which I have added before the chorus 'Blessed are the
men,' and which are taken from Psalm cxvi. {12} and
Deuteron. vi., 15 {5}, I wrote the German words under the
English in case you should prefer the notation as originally
composed, and choose to add a word or a syllable here and
there in the English version, in order to give it the same
rhythm as in German. I should wish this in the passage just
quoted, particularly in the beginning of Elijah's answer,
'Du sollst den,' where the two slurred notes 'Thou [slur and
quarter note symbols] shalt' are not equally good. But I
could not find something else, and I also think that
passages like these are best left as in the Bible. In the
following chorus, No. 9, there is a curious specimen of the
different _meaning_ of the German and English version: the
words 'He is gracious,' &c. (or, as you had it, '_they_ are
gracious'), apply, in your version, to the righteous, while
in ours they apply to God, and the passage is in our
version, 'the light ariseth to the righteous _from_ Him who
is gracious, full of compassion,' &c., &c. Now I certainly
composed it with this last meaning, and the question is
whether you would think it advisable to introduce it, or
not. I proposed 'He is' instead of 'they are,' because I
thought it could then be understood both ways; but most
probably you might hit on something much better still.
Instead of 'who delight in His commands,' I preferred 'they
ever walk in the ways of peace' _only_, as more expressive,
and I hope you will be of my opinion. I see in the
Birmingham book that you quoted the words of this chorus
Psalm cvi., 3; but I took them from Psalm cxxviii., 1, and
Psalm cxii., 1 and 4, although nearly the same passage
occurs in Psalm cvi., 3.
"No. 15 is a piece in which I must again require your
friendly assistance. From the time I first sent it away for
the Birmingham performance I felt that it should not remain
as it stood, with its _verses and rimes_, the only specimen
of a Lutheran Chorale in this old-testamential work.[55] I
_wanted_ to have the _colour_ of a Chorale, and I felt that
I could not do _without it_, and yet I did not like to have
_a_ Chorale. At last I took those passages from the Psalms
which best apply to the situation, and composed them in
about the same style and colour, and very glad I was when I
found (as I looked into the English Bible) that the
beginning went word by word as in German. But after the
beginning my joy was soon at an end, and there it is that I
must ask you to come to my assistance. The words are taken
from Psalm lv., 23 {22}; Psalm cviii., 5 {4}; and Psalm
xxv., 3.
"In the chorus No. 16, I added the German words 'Fallt
nieder auf euer Angesicht,' in pencil, because I thought
that the English translation, 'adoring,' etc., did not
express the meaning entirely, nor did it render the rhythm
of the German, which is still more to be felt by the bar I
have added before the pause. Our 'fallt nieder' means
something still more awful, I think, than to 'bow down' or
'to adore'; but query whether it can or should be given in
English![56]
"You will also find the _Allegro_ of the Soprano song at the
beginning of Part 2 ['Hear ye, Israel'] with the subsequent
chorus. I never thought of omitting the _Allegro_ of the
song, but wanted to find something (in words and music)
better appropriated to make the transition from the slow
movement to the _Allegro_. The Recit. which I now send is
taken from Isaiah xlix., 7. Here again the English words
went at first perfectly well, but afterwards they would not
do at all, and (which is the most essential) their meaning
differed greatly. The German means that the Lord speaks 'to
the soul that is despised and _to the nation_ that is
abhorred by others, and to His servant who is _oppressed by
tyrants_,' and all this made me adopt the words for this
Recit., and therefore I wish it to be expressed also in the
English version.
"And besides all this you will find here and there little
deviations from your words, where I have been forced into
them by my alterations; and therefore I beg you will look
over the _whole_, that nothing might be in it of which you
did not approve.
"I owe you still many thanks for several very, very kind
letters, and indeed would have written long ago had it not
been for a sea of tedious and complicated businesses with
which they overload me here. I could not avail myself of the
whole of the amplification which you proposed for the
Widow's part, although I adopted several of your quotations
in that passage; but I was not able to give it the extent
you proposed; for although I very often feel the urgent
necessity of altering the _details_ (of which you now see so
many instances), I can but very seldom bring myself to a
deviation from the whole original plan; and I even make
those alterations almost everywhere in order to keep more
faithfully to the object I had first in view. And on that
account I _could_ not make the whole of this passage more
prominent, although I always wish to do as you advise.
"Of course 'commandments' must be left in the soprano song,
instead of 'commands,' if you do not approve of the latter.
Do you like my way of getting rid of 'to slay, _to_ slay my
son?'[57]
"And many, many thanks for the trouble you have taken with
the 'Sons of Art.' I am afraid the thing is only fit for a
German musical men-festival, and that it is impossible to
give it any effect in another language and at other
occasions; but whatever _can_ be done with it has indeed
been done by you. And so I end as I began with thanks and
thanks.
"Very truly yours,
"FELIX MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY."
[Footnote 55: The words of the Quartet, as sung at Birmingham, were:--
"Regard Thy servant's prayer,
While angels bow before Thee,
And worlds around Thy throne
In strains of praise adore Thee.
O, help him in his need,
Thy gracious ear accord--
Jehovah Sabaoth,
Creator, God, and Lord!"
They were changed to the now familiar "Cast thy burden." The music was
also altered, but its quartet-chorale form and slender accompaniment
were retained.]
[Footnote 56: The original English words in No. 16 (Chorus) were:--
"Bow down, bow down! on your faces fall adoring!" They are now "Before
Him, upon your faces fall." The music of this number was also much
altered. The impressive phrase, "upon your faces fall," just before
the Chorale, was originally:--
[Music: adoring, adoring! The Lord is God, &c.]]
[Footnote 57: Mr. Bartholomew writes "yes" on the original letter.]
"LEIPZIG, _January_ 20, 1847.
"My dear Mr. Bartholomew,--A happy new year to you (although
it is rather old already), and many, many thanks for your
kind and precious letter! Indeed, nobody could have written
it but you, and nobody could have taken so much trouble with
my choruses to the 'Athalie' but you, and to nobody could I
feel so sincerely and heartily indebted but to you. Have
many, many thanks, my dear Sir, and be sure that you confer
all these obligations to one who knows how to value them,
and who will always remain thankful to you!...
"The second part of 'Elijah' will in very short time be in
Mr. Buxton's [Ewer & Co.] hands. And now, my dear Sir, let
me repeat to you my heartfelt thanks for all you did again
for me when they performed the 'Athalie' choruses,[58] and
for your interesting report of all the proceedings before
and during that performance, and for all the kindness and
friendship which you always show me.
"Always very truly and sincerely yours,
"FELIX MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY."
[Footnote 58: Performed, with the original French words and
Mendelssohn's music, before the Queen, and at the instigation of the
Prince Consort, at Windsor Castle, on New Year's Day, 1847. This was
the first performance of "Athalie" in England.]
"L[EIPZIG], _February 2nd_, 1847.
"P.S.--This letter has been detained till to-day, when I
send a great parcel to Mr. Buxton.
"Now I must add a few things about the second part of
'Elijah,' which I send to-day. In the Recit. No. 33, 'Hear
me speedily, O Lord,' I have altered the beginning of the
words thus:--
[Music:
Herr, es wird Nacht um mich!
I KINGS, xix., 9.
Sei du nicht ferne! Verbirg dein, &c.
PS. xxii., 12, 20.
]
"Pray alter the English words accordingly, and look that the
following alterations are made in the music of that same
Recitative: bar 16 (accompaniment) is to be thus:--
[Music]
Bar 22 (accompaniment) is to be thus:--
[Music]
Bar 24 the voice is to be thus:--
[Music: face must be veiled.]
and bar 27 (the last) is to be thus in the voice:--
[Music: for He draweth near.]
"Pray give your attention to all such passages of the words
which I wrote _in pencil_ in the arrangement. I think they
will all require a new translation, or a modification of the
old one. I always added the quotations. There are also some
different (and I am sure) better words in No. 21 where I
could not write them in pencil, but you will easily see and
I hope adopt and adapt them. It is in the slow movement, the
passage of Isaiah liii., 1, 'Aber wer glaubt uns'rer
Predigt?' ['Who hath believed our report?'], and in the
_Allegro_, instead of 'Wake up, Jerusalem,' etc., the direct
appeal to Elijah, 'Weiche nicht, denn ich bin dein Gott, ich
stärke dich!' ['Be not afraid, for I am thy God, I will
strengthen thee.'], Isaiah xli., 10, from which also the
following chorus ['Be not afraid'] is taken.[59]
"I hope the scene with the Queen and people [No. 23] will
now offer less difficulties to you, as the 'Er ist des Todes
schuldig' ['He is worthy to die'] occurs but once; and you
will also see that I took your hint about their seeking
Elijah, &c., &c.
"In the Terzetto, No. 28 ['Lift thine eyes'], without
accompaniment, there might perhaps be an occasion for
altering the words, although they are exactly the same as
they were in the Duet; but I do not think the beginning
would do well with the English words of the _Duet_.[60]
"And I write over the Chorus 'But, saith the Lord, I have
raised one,' the German word 'Schluss-Gesang'--_including
this_ Chorus, the following Quartett, and the last Chorus.
Could you find an English word which might be applied as
well? It must not be Finale, because that reminds me of an
Opera; and it must not be 'Final Chorus,' because it shall
mean two Choruses and a Quartett; but I should like to have
some word at the head of those three pieces, to show clearly
my idea of their connection, and also as a kind of
'Epilogue' contrasted with the 'Prologue,' or 'Introduction'
before the Overture.
"And excuse and pardon the trouble, and always and ever
believe me,
"Yours very truly and gratefully,
"FELIX MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY."
[Footnote 59: It may be interesting to give the original English words
(as sung at Birmingham) of this well-known air.
_Adagio._--"Hear ye, Israel; hear what the Lord speaketh: 'Ah! had'st
thou heeded my commandments!' He to His people calleth; yet they
regard not His voice, nor will they obey His call.
_Recit._--Yet to the righteous, saith the Lord, the Holy One of
Israel;
_Allegro._--I, I am he that comforteth, and ye are mine. Wake up,
arise, Jerusalem! Say, who art thou that despairest, and forgettest
the Lord thy Maker; who hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the
earth's foundations? Wake up, arise, Jerusalem!"]
[Footnote 60: "Lift thine eyes" was originally written as a duet for
soprano and contralto, and in this form it was sung at Birmingham by
the Misses Williams. Mendelssohn, according to the late Mr. Lazarus,
was very desirous that there should be no break between the trio,
"Lift thine eyes," and the succeeding chorus, "He, watching over
Israel." His special direction at the end of the trio, "_Attacca_,
_No._ 29," shows the importance he attached to the connecting of these
two numbers--the trio _and_ the chorus of angels.]
"LEIPZIG, 8th _February_, 1847.
"Dear Sir,--I receive your letter of the 2nd at the moment
when I send the Orchestra parts of the 1st Part of 'Elijah'
to Simrock, and the last chorus to Mr. Buxton, so I really
answer by return of post.
"_Recit._ 'Now Cherith's brook,' bar 9. I do not quite like
_your two_ slurs at the end; and as you do not like _my_
notation, what if we tried a third mode?
viz.:--[Music: neither shall the cruse of oil fail,]
"Now adopt which you like of the _three_. Bar 13, I prefer
_yours_.
"I do not speak of bar 26 and bar 38 of No. 8, because Mr.
Buxton will have informed you that I am going to send _a new
song_ for the Widow, and that therefore the whole No. 8 must
be postponed till then. I hope it will follow soon after
this letter, and then I will not teaze you any more about
this 'Elijah.' Bars 83, 95, 114, 123 as _you_ propose. Bar
151, as you like both ways, I should prefer _mine_; bar 155,
_yours_. Bar 157, I do not like the two B's and two C's on
the words 'render to the'; could it not be:--[Music: What
shall I render to the]
or, if you object to this, it must be at least--
[Music]
but I confess that I do _not like the quavers_, if they
_can_ be got rid of. The following bars, and bar 161, &c.,
as _you_ have them.
"No. 9, Chorus, bar 10, I cannot approve of the twice F
[sharp] in the Soprano, although I quite acknowledge the
truth of your observation. But I propose instead:--
[Music: Bar 10. Blessed { are the men
{ are they]
"If you dislike this, pray propose another mode; but the
soprano _cannot_ have the two F [sharps] while the tenor
also has them.
"Bar 14 as _you_ have it. Instead of your and my bar 13, I
propose:--
[Music: men who fear Him.]
"Bars 18, 19, 20, &c., as _you_ have. Bar 15 also. And 44,
and 45, also.
"No. 19. Recit. For the end I prefer _by far_: 'The Lord our
God alone can do these things.' But in reading over these
words I wonder whether the word 'Gentiles' cannot be
objected to? Can one say of Baal that he is an idol of the
'Gentiles'? Indeed, Jeremiah seems to use the word in that
sense, but do we not use it exclusively in another sense? If
not, so much better. Pray answer to this, and excuse the
hasty lines.
"Always very truly yours,
"FELIX MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY."
"LEIPZIG, 8_th_ _February_, 1847.
"My dear Sir,--I send you with these lines the last Chorus
of 'Elijah.' Now I have only the song which is to come in at
the beginning of No. 8 [the Widow scene], and as soon as
that will be finished I will not teaze you any more about
alterations and all that, for you have now the whole work in
hand. But pray do not forget to postpone the engraving of
No. 8 until I send you that song. All the rest may be
forthwith engraved.
"While I wrote the alterations in the Chorus No. 40 {41} (in
my last letter) I forgot to write that there is also one in
the accompaniment of that passage. So please to correct bars
47, 48, and 49 (they are the last but two of the last page
but one of that Chorus) thus:--
[Music]
"As for the story of the opera,[61] my friend Klingemann
will tell you all about it, as I have written it at length
to him, and I am so overloaded with Leipzig music, and with
letters, and with all sorts of things, that you must excuse
me if I refer you to him, and cannot repeat again what I
wrote about that story.
"Always very truly yours,
"FELIX MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY.
"P.S.--I am now almost sure that I shall be able to leave
here on the 6th of April, and to conduct in London my
'Elijah' on the 16th, &c. I shall then leave on the 30th (as
you suggested) and go to Switzerland; and if Mr. Mitchell
_must_ have me and the 'Athalie' in July, I shall come back
in July; if not I will stay at Vevay the whole summer, and
compose away!"
[Footnote 61: The opera of "The Tempest," which Mr. Lumley, in his
opera prospectus of 1847, announced as having been "expressly composed
for Her Majesty's Theatre," by Mendelssohn.]
"LEIPZIG, 17 _February_, 1847.
"My dear Sir,--I write these lines merely to thank you for
yours dated February 9th, and to tell you that I agree with
all the different remarks you therein make about the wording
of the translation (_including_ 'commandments' instead of
'commands,' &c.). And I hope you will have received the MS.
of Part II. soon after you wrote, for I sent it off on the
2nd, with the exception of the Final Chorus, which I sent a
few days later. I daresay everything will now be safely in
your and Mr. Buxton's hands, and now I may begin to think of
something else, which indeed I have not been able to do all
the time since, with this Oratorio, nearly but not entirely
finished, weighing on my mind.
"Always very truly yours,
"FELIX MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY."
"LEIPZIG, _February_ 25, 1847.
"My dear Sir,--I prefer[62]--
[Music: Who hath believed our report] then: [Music: -vealed
to]
"It _must_ be--
[Music: _be not afraid_, be] and _not_: [Music: be not a-]
which will not do for the quickness of the movement.
"Bar 89 is impossible as you propose, because on the _a_
[sharp symbol] and _g_ [sharp symbol], &c., _there must be
no words_ pronounced; they _must_ be _slurred_ notes, as in
the German wording, and moreover they must be sung on a
_good_ syllable (no "u," or "o," or, &c.). So I should
propose:--
[Music: 89. I, the Lord, will strengthen thee![63]]
"And at any rate pray _let the notes be slurred_, because it
is essential to the whole of the song. The same also when
the passage is repeated, bar 140.
"Bar 148 must be so--[Music: 148. for I thy]
"All those passages I do _not_ mention here are quite
excellent in the way you propose. Add a note for the
serv_ed_ him and worshipp_ed_ him. You are quite welcome to
it.[64]
"You see that I really answer by return of post, for
yesterday evening your letter came, and this morning this
leaves. But I do not understand why there is such a _hurry_
about the _Pianoforte arrangement_ being finished, and why
you say there is hardly time to wait my reply. For you know
that it cannot be published a day before Simrock has also
done it, and that will take much time still. However, I make
haste answering, and shall also do so with your next. I do
not think that I shall be able to be in London before the
13th April. But I am sure that is early enough, for I am
sure everything which you take in hand is right.
"Always yours truly,
"FELIX MENDELSSOHN."
[Footnote 62: The music examples in this letter refer to the Soprano
air "Hear ye, Israel," No. 21.]
[Footnote 63: Bartholomew had written:
[Music: Be not afraid, for I will strengthen thee!]]
[Footnote 64: Bartholomew did not add the note after all. See No. 23,
"The Lord hath exalted thee," bar 15, to which this refers.]
"LEIPZIG, _March_ 3, 1847.
"My dear Sir,--I have just received your letter of the 24th,
and hasten to reply. I like all the passages of the
translation you send me with but two exceptions. In No. 30,
'that Thou would'st please destroy me' sounds so odd to
me--is it scriptural? If it is, I have no objection, but if
not, pray substitute something else. And then in the new No.
8 [the widow scene]--the words from Psalm vi. which you
hesitated to adopt are, of course, out of the question; but
I also object to the second part of the sentence which you
propose to add to the words of Psalm xxxviii. {6}, viz.: 'I
water my couch,' etc. [Psalm vi., 6.]--I do dislike this so
very much, and it is so poetical in the German version. So
if you could substitute something in which no 'watering of
the couch' occurred, but which gave the idea of the tears,
of the night, of all that in its purity. Pray try!
"But what is this? Does Staudigl not come? Mr. Buxton told
me last autumn he was _sure_ to be there. I heard it since
from all sides. And now he does not come? What is to become
of my 'Elijah' then? _I cannot_ write to Staudigl and
persuade him to come, but I really do not know how the
performance could match that of Birmingham without
him--indeed I do not know how it could go. Of course Lockey
would be _quite_ sufficient for _all_ the Tenor solos! But
Staudigl! That word of yours has given me a great deal to
think of.
"Always very sincerely and gratefully yours,
"FELIX MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY."
"_Leipzig_, _March_ 10, 1847.
"My dear Sir,--Many thanks for your letter of the 1st. I
really do not know what a synopsis of the oratorio should be
good for--on the other hand, I do not see the harm it could
do--and, therefore, leave it to you to decide this point as
you think best. I shall send you the metronomes in a few
days; the organ part I do not forget.
"But tell me, should the whole series of performances not be
better postponed till _autumn_? What with your uncertainty
about Staudigl, and with all this uproar in London about the
two opera parties, and with Jenny Lind coming or not coming,
and with the 'Tempest' or not the 'Tempest,' and with the
difficulty you and Mr. Buxton have to make the parts
ready--would not such a delay be beneficial to all of us,
especially to the old prophet himself? Not to me certainly,
who like to shake my English friends by the hand the sooner
the better--but to all others?
"And now many thanks for your friendly advice in the opera
affair. Some time before you wrote your letter to me, I had
already informed Mr. Lumley that I should not be able to
produce an opera of the 'Tempest' in the season 1847; and,
according to the advice my friend Klingemann gave me some
days before your letter came, I have since again written to
Mr. Lumley (about the same words as you suggest), have asked
Klingemann to take care of seeing the letter safely
delivered, and have sent to him a duplicate of it. So that
the whole of your advice, the same which my friend Kl. gave,
has been followed literally, and I should be very glad if
thus the affair would come to an end. Of this I think I may
be sure, that Mr. Lumley will not continue his
advertisements of my opera after he heard that I had taken
the resolution _not to write_ the 'Tempest' for the season
1847....
"And now forgive this dry letter, and believe me, yours very
truly,
"FELIX MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY."
Reading between the lines of the last-quoted letter, it is easy to see
that Mendelssohn was much annoyed at the public announcements, made by
Mr. Lumley in his opera prospectus of 1847, to the effect that "The
celebrated Dr. Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy will likewise visit
England, and produce an Opera expressly composed for Her Majesty's
Theatre, the Libretto, founded on 'The Tempest' of Shakespeare,
written by Scribe." These advertisements were, to say the least, very
premature, as Mendelssohn had not only disapproved of parts of the
libretto, but had not written a note of the music! The suggestion
contained in the above letter that he (Mendelssohn) should postpone
his visit till the autumn, must have caused some consternation amongst
his London friends, especially as all arrangements had been made for
the various performances of the revised oratorio, which were to be
given under his own personal direction. Bartholomew--ever resourceful
and indefatigable--at once wrote the following letter to the
composer:--
"2, WALCOT PLACE, HACKNEY, _March_ 19, 1847.
"My dear Sir,--Yours of the 10th came to hand last night,
and in reply to it I can tell you twenty reasons why _you
should come_, and not one why _you should not come_. Upon
the faith of your letter, which Buxton has been obliged to
quote from in order to prove his warranty to treat for your
coming with the Committee at Exeter Hall, he has made the
engagement for _you_ with _them_, and _they_ have made
_their_ engagements with _others_ for April 16th and 23rd;
and, I think, the 28th. The Manchester Hargreaves Society
have fixed their date for one of the intervening days and
advertised it.... _Everybody_ is now in town expecting you
and anxious to _hail_ your appearance. _Nobody_ will be in
town in the autumn. (Is that a reason why you should come
then?) If you don't come, 'Elijah' would go--for go it
must--but I mean it won't _go well_....
"You have no idea how they are inundated with enquiries at
Newgate Street [Ewer & Co.'s] as to when 'Elijah' will be
published.... God bless you, dear Sir!
"W. BARTHOLOMEW."
Whatever influence this letter from Bartholomew may have had upon its
recipient, and doubtless others wrote in the same strain, Mendelssohn
duly came to London--alas! for the last time--at the beginning of
April, 1847, the year in which he died.
* * * * *
The first performance of the revised version of "Elijah"--the form in
which we now know the oratorio--took place, under the auspices of the
Sacred Harmonic Society, at Exeter Hall, London, on Friday, April 16,
1847, conducted by the composer. Miss Birch, Miss Dolby (afterwards
Madame Sainton-Dolby), and Mr. Henry Phillips replaced Madame
Caradori-Allan, Miss Hawes, and Herr Staudigl, who had "created" their
respective parts at Birmingham. "Lockey would be _quite_ sufficient
for _all_ the tenor solos," wrote Mendelssohn, and so he proved to be.
Madame Sainton-Dolby records: "After I had sung 'O rest in the Lord,'
Mendelssohn turned to me with tears in his eyes and said, with his
bright frankness of manner, 'Thank you from my heart, Miss Dolby.' I
shall never forget that look of brightness." Mr. W.H. Cummings, then a
chorister of the Temple Church, sang alto in the chorus at the first
London performance. He and some other boys were asked to help, as the
alto part lay rather high for men's voices.[65] Master Cummings, as
he was then, sat in the front row of the altos, and his enthusiastic
singing attracted the notice of Mendelssohn, who asked the Temple
chorister his name, which he wrote on one of his (Mendelssohn's)
visiting cards, and gave to the youthful singer.
[Footnote 65: The alto part in oratorio choruses was always sung in
England by men's voices (counter-tenors). It was not till the
following year (1848) that some ladies were admitted into the alto
division of the chorus at the Sacred Harmonic Society. The change was
made when Costa began his reign as Conductor of the Society. Costa
introduced a similar innovation at the Birmingham Festival of 1849,
the first he conducted, and the first after the production of
"Elijah." The male altos, however, greatly predominated on that
occasion. The numbers were--ladies, 17; gentlemen, 59. At this
Festival Mario sang "Then shall the righteous," which he finished on
the upper A flat!]
The first London performance was not without some humour. _The Times_
said: "Mr. Perry, the leader, was constantly beating time with his
fiddle-stick in such a manner as to obstruct the views of the
Conductor and confuse the attention of the instrumentalists."[66] A
Frenchman, seated on the orchestra behind the chorus, was so excited
with the performance that, at the close, he effusively embraced
Mendelssohn and tried to kiss him!
[Footnote 66: Mr. George Perry ("leader" of the Sacred Harmonic
Society from its foundation in 1832) was also the composer of an
oratorio, entitled "Elijah, and the Priests of Baal," which was first
performed at the Concert Room, St. George's Bridge, Norwich, on March
12, 1819.]
[Illustration: _Fac-simile of Metronomic times for "Elijah" in
Mendelssohn's handwriting. The note, signed "W.B." is in the
handwriting of William Bartholomew. Slightly reduced from the
original, in the possession of F.G. Edwards._]
Three other performances were given in Exeter Hall, and under the same
auspices, on the 23rd, 28th, and 30th of the same month (April), and
were conducted by Mendelssohn. These four concerts attracted
crowded audiences, and brought into the exchequer of the Sacred
Harmonic Society a clear profit of £356.
The second performance (April 23) was honoured by the presence of the
Queen and the Prince Consort. What the Prince felt on that occasion
found graceful expression in the following tribute to Mendelssohn's
genius, which he wrote in the book of words he had used at the
concert:--
"To the Noble Artist who, surrounded by the Baal-worship of
debased art, has been able, by his genius and science, to
preserve faithfully, like another Elijah, the worship of
true art, and once more to accustom our ear, amid the whirl
of empty, frivolous sounds, to the pure tones of sympathetic
feeling and legitimate harmony: to the Great Master, who
makes us conscious of the unity of his conception, through
the whole maze of his creation, from the soft whispering to
the mighty raging of the elements.
"Inscribed in grateful remembrance by
"ALBERT.
"Buckingham Palace, April 24, 1847."
The original of this is now in the possession of Frau Wach, of
Leipzig, Mendelssohn's younger daughter. In the few hours which
elapsed between its receipt from the Palace and its presentation to
Mendelssohn, the Sacred Harmonic Society had a _fac-simile_ copy made,
which was carefully sealed up. When the news arrived of Mendelssohn's
premature death, the Prince Consort at once gave permission for this
copy to be lithographed and circulated.
The following extract from the 1847 Report of the Sacred Harmonic
Society records the presentation of the above "compliment" to
Mendelssohn:--
"Both Her Majesty and Prince Albert were graciously pleased
to express their gratification at the Performance, and the
attention paid to them; and the Prince a few days afterwards
condescendingly inscribed in a Book of the Words of the
Oratorio, an elegant compliment to Dr. Mendelssohn, in his
native tongue, which was handed to him on the morning of his
departure from England, by a deputation from your Committee,
and received by him with marked feelings of pleasure and
gratitude.
"It cannot be described how deeply gratified Mendelssohn was
on the presentation to him of this affectionate token of
sympathy. His rapturous exclamations of delight, as over and
over again he read each word of the inscription, his
repeated expression of fears of his inability adequately to
acknowledge this touching mark of appreciation, were again
and again renewed."[67]
[Footnote 67: "The Sacred Harmonic Society: a Thirty-five Years'
Retrospect, by Robert K. Bowley, Treasurer. _Privately printed._
1867." Mr. Bowley was one of the deputation of two officers of the
Society who waited upon Mendelssohn to present him with the Prince
Consort's "affectionate token of sympathy." He was one of the oldest
members of the Sacred Harmonic Society, and subsequently became
Librarian, and then Treasurer. In 1858 he became General Manager of
the Crystal Palace, which office he retained till his death in 1870.
He also originated and carried out the Handel Festivals.]
Mendelssohn also conducted performances of the revised work at
Manchester (Hargreaves Choral Society) on April 20, and at
Birmingham, April 27--a total of six performances, conducted by the
composer, within a fortnight. At Birmingham, where "Elijah" was given
for Mr. Stimpson's "benefit," Mendelssohn not only refused to take any
fee, but also declined to accept his travelling expenses--thus he
generously showed his appreciation of Stimpson's invaluable services
at the initial performance in 1846.
"Elijah" was published in Germany by Simrock, Bonn; and in England by
Messrs. Ewer & Co., who for some years previously had been
Mendelssohn's sole publishers in this country. The then proprietor of
the firm of Ewer & Co. was Mr. Edward Buxton, whose real business was
that of a wool-broker, and who "had only taken to music publishing for
his attachment to the art." The relations between the composer and his
English publisher were of the most cordial nature. "Whatever you
write, Dr. Mendelssohn," said Mr. Buxton, "I will publish, and pay you
any terms you like to ask." Here was an ideal publisher, from a
composer's point of view. Mr. Buxton had no reason to regret his
words; and that Mendelssohn fully appreciated his publisher's generous
offer, is abundantly shown in the "terms" he mentioned for the English
copyrights of his compositions.[68]
[Footnote 68: It may be of interest to give the "terms" quoted by
Mendelssohn for the English copyrights of some of his works. The
information is derived from original letters from the composer to
Buxton. The D minor Trio, 10 guineas. Books 4 and 5 of the "Lieder
ohne Worte," 15 guineas each; Book 6, 24 guineas. "17 Variations
Sérieuses," 8 guineas. "Festgesang" (which includes the familiar tune
now associated with "Hark! the herald angels sing"), 4 guineas.
"Scotch Symphony" (pianoforte arrangement), £20. Sonata for pianoforte
and cello in D, 12 guineas. Six four-part Songs, Op. 59 (which
includes "O hills! O vales!" the "Hunting Song," &c.), 10 guineas.
"Scherzo, Notturno, and Wedding March" (from "Midsummer Night's
Dream"), pianoforte duet arrangement, 15 guineas; the whole work,
"consisting of 9 other pieces (except the Overture) would be the same
again as those 3." Violin Concerto and "Hear my prayer," "20 guineas
for both together." C minor Trio and Te Deum in A, £30.
In these letters from Mendelssohn to Buxton there are such apologetic
phrases, in regard to the prices named by the composer, as, "which I
hope will be convenient to you," and "I hope it will not be
inconvenient to you, which I beg you will tell me sincerely."
Mendelssohn also thanks Mr. Buxton for his "very good and kind
intentions" towards him. In sending the MS. of "The Garland" (words by
Thomas Moore), he says, "which you may publish _if_ you like, and pay
for it _whatever_ you like."]
Mendelssohn cannot be accused of being "hard" or "grasping" in
negotiating with his publisher. The following letter shows the spirit
in which he made his proposals for the publication of "Elijah" in
England. It is written (in English) to Buxton, and dated "April 22,
1846":--
"I must beg you to tell me the price which you could give
for the copyright of such a work. _I do not_ fix the price,
because I wish on such an occasion that neither you nor I
should be the loser; you must know the sale of such works,
and may thereby form an opinion. Indeed, _I_ should not be
able to name any sum for myself, and make conditions which
would appear unpleasant to you; but as on the other hand I
have been asked from England by different persons for the
copyright of such a work, I must think that it may also have
value for the publisher there, and you may easily form an
opinion of this: therefore I beg you will let me know your
answer as soon as you can."
Mendelssohn wrote to Moscheles for his advice on the subject of the
"terms" for the English copyright of "Elijah." Here is Moscheles's
reply:--
"I quite feel the responsibility of advising you in the
matter; for if fifty years hence it is said, 'Mendelssohn
received only so many pounds sterling for this grandest of
works, this inexhaustible mine of wealth to the editor
[publisher], and that at the suggestion of Moscheles,' my
ashes will be disturbed in their rest. Well, well, you will
nod your venerable head, and say, 'Never mind; Moscheles
meant well.'
"You do not say what other offers you had, besides that from
Buxton. I think you will find him straightforward in his
dealings, and ready to recognise that the market value of
your productions is constantly increasing. So I should say
you might ask £50 more than you did for the 'Hymn of
Praise.' [Moscheles had probably forgotten the amount, £25,
that Mendelssohn received for the English copyright of his
'Hymn of Praise.'] One point to take into consideration is
whether this work is richer than the other in solos, these
being a better source of income to the publisher than
choruses."[69]
[Footnote 69: "Letters of Mendelssohn to Moscheles," by Felix
Moscheles, p. 272.]
Mendelssohn received 250 guineas for the English copyright of
"Elijah." Shortly after the composer's death, Mr. Buxton voluntarily
sent to Frau Mendelssohn an additional sum of £100 for "Elijah," which
she gracefully acknowledged in the following extract:--
"I hesitated a moment whether I ought to accept the £100
which you sent me; but then I remembered the great pleasure
it had given my husband when Mr. Simrock sent him an
additional sum for his 'St. Paul,' on account of the success
the oratorio had had. Why should I not feel a similar
pleasure in hearing that his last work is being so fully
appreciated in England? I thank you therefore that you think
of us by sending this money as a proof of the success of
'Elijah.'
"Berlin (Spring, 1849)."
The work was published in June, 1847, as Op. 70. The lowest price of
the first English edition--"Pianoforte score, with portrait on steel
of the composer"--was thirty-six shillings! An octavo edition did not
appear till five years later (1852): price ten shillings. A tonic
sol-fa edition, published "by subscription" ("not less than 250
subscribers"), was issued in 1866.
The prosperity of "Elijah" was at once assured. The work bore upon it
the imprint of success. It immediately shot into the front rank of
popularity, a position which it has steadily maintained even unto this
day.
The story has now been told. Six months after the strains of "Elijah"
had died away in Exeter Hall, the genius-brain that had conceived
that noble work was for ever calmed in death.
(Mendelssohn died at Leipzig, November 4, 1847, in his thirty-ninth
year.)
A memorable performance of "Elijah" was given by Jenny Lind in Exeter
Hall, December 15, 1848, in aid of the Mendelssohn Scholarship Fund.
This performance, which Mr. Otto Goldschmidt happily terms the
"corner-stone of the Fund," was a triumphant success.
* * * * *
No more fitting conclusion to this "History" could be found than the
words of Jenny Lind, who, in writing to the composer's widow on her
irreparable loss, said: "His 'Elijah' is sublime! In my opinion he
never wrote anything finer; and assuredly could not have written
anything loftier in the future! With what solemnity we all stood there
(to perform it); and with what love do the people still speak of him!"
To this tribute of reverence from one great artist to the memory of
another, I venture to subscribe a fervent "AMEN."
INDEX.
Aix-la-Chapelle, 42
"As the hart pants", 9 _note_
"Athalie", 40, 48 _et seq._, 109 _et seq._, 116
"Auld Robin Gray", 67 _et seq._
Ayrton, Wm., 92
Baal choruses, 52, 83, 100
Bach, J.S., 21
Bache family, The, 88 _et seq._
Barrett, W.A., 93
Barry, Rev. J., 7 _et seq._
Bartholomew, W. (and letters to), 41, 48 _et seq._, 81, 97 _et seq._
Bassano, Miss, 82
Beethoven, 42 _note_
"Behold, God the Lord", 63, 104
Benecke, Mrs., 95
Benedict, 45, 82
Birch, Miss, 123
Birmingham Musical Festivals, 6, 19, 22, 28 _et seq._
_Birmingham Journal_, 80
"Blessed are the men", 57, 99, 105, 114
Bowley, R.K., 128 _note_
Bragg, Mr. John, 46
Braham, John, 45
Brewer, T., 100
Buxton, E. (see also Ewer & Co.), 51, 53, 67, 98, 102, 110, 129 _et
seq._
Caradori-Allan, Madame, 45, 82, 87, 123
"Cast thy burden", 83, 96, 99, 106
Chorley, H.F., 84
Cologne Festival, 42
Cooke, Grattan, 78
Cooke, Tom, 45
Costa, 124 _note_
Cummings, Mr. W.H., 123
Dando, J.H.B., 45
Davison, J.W., 79 _note_, 80
Deakin, Mr. Andrew, 90 _note_
Devrient, E., 2, 41
Dolby, Madame Sainton, 34, 123
Düsseldorf, 1, 9
Ewer & Co. (see also Buxton), 98, 123, 129 _et seq._
Exeter Hall, 122 _et seq._, 132
"Festgesang", 129 _note_
"For the mountains", 69, 74, 79, 83
Four-part songs, 130 _note_
Frankfort, 1, 5, 33
Frege, Frau, 86
"Garland," The, 130 _note_
Gauntlett, Dr., 45, 82
Goodwin and Tabb, Messrs., 93
Grisi, 45
Grove, Sir George, 2 _note_, 42 _note_, 99
Guildhall Library, 69 _note_
Härtel, Dr., 35
Handel, and Handel Festivals, 25, 44, 89, 93, 128 _note_
"Hark! the herald angels sing", 129 _note_
Hauser, 40
Hawes, Miss M.B., 71 _note_, 82, 88, 123
"Hear my prayer", 48, 130 _note_
"Hear ye, Israel", 36, 99, 107, 111, 117
Hensel, Fanny, 41
"He, watching over Israel", 78, 83
Hiller, F., 27
Hobbs, J.W., 77, 82
Hopkins, Dr. E.J., 79
"Hymn of Praise", 28, 131
"If with all your hearts", 55, 84
"Irish echoes", 71
"It is enough", 100
Jeanrenaud, Mdlle. Cécile, 1
"Judas Maccabæus", 4
Klingemann, Carl (and letters to), 2 _et seq._, 5 _et seq._, 11, 19,
42, 62, 68, 74, 76, 97, 121
Lablache, 45
"Lauda Sion", 42, 48
Lazarus, H., 78, 112 _note_
Ledsam, J.F., 93
"Lieder ohne Worte", 129 _note_
Liège, 42
"Lift thine eyes", 82, 85, 99, 112
Lind, Jenny, 35, 37 _et seq._, 40, 84, 88, 120, 133
Liverpool Musical Festival, 2 _note_
Lockey, Mr. Charles, 77, 82, 83, 86 _note_, 93, 120, 123
Lower Rhine Musical Festivals, 1, 42
Lumley, Mr., 116 _note_, 121
Machin, 82
Manchester (Hargreaves Society), 122, 128
Mario, 45, 124 _note_
Martineau, Mr. Russell, 88, 90
Mellon, Alfred, 90
Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Paul, 85
"Messiah", 89
"Midsummer Night's Dream", 37, 80 _note_, 81, 129 _note_
Mitchell, Mr., 116 _note_
Moore, Joseph (and letters to), 29 _et seq._, 44, 49, 85, 91
Moscheles (and letters to), 19, 39, 40, 43, 45, 76, 81, 131
Mounsey, Miss, 71 _note_
Mounsey-Bartholomew, Mrs., 67, 69 _note_
Novello, Ewer & Co., Messrs., 78
Oberhofer, 42
"O come, every one", 72, 83, 90
"Oedipus at Colonos", 31, 49
"Og of Bashan!", 3, 4
"O rest in the Lord" 65 _et seq._, 72, 74, 76, 83, 90
Organ (and Organ Sonatas), 32, 44
Overture ("Elijah"), 61, 62, 72, 76
Perry, George, 124
Philharmonic Society, 43, 82
Phillips, Henry, 52, 82, 123
Pischek, 37, 42
Prince Consort, The, 110 _note_, 127
Psalm 42 (Mendelssohn's), 9 _note_
Queen, The, 93 _note_, 110 _note_, 127
"Rachel in Ramah", 31 _note_
Ramsgate, 95
Recit. in the style of Handel, 94
Rockstro, W.S., 77
Royal College of Music, 49 _note_
Sacred Harmonic Society, 100 _et seq._, 122 _et seq._
"St. Paul", 1 _et seq._, 6, 10, 14, 15, 26, 28, 44, 101 _note_, 132
"St. Peter", 3, 4
"Saul", 4, 25
Schelble, 1
Schubring, Pastor (and letters to), 10 _et seq._, 26
Schumann and Madame Schumann, 35
"Scotch Symphony", 37, 128 _note_
Scribe, 122
Simrock, 119, 127, 133
Smart, Sir George, 2 _note_
"Son and Stranger", 2 _note_
Sonata, Pianoforte and Cello, in D, 130 _note_
"Sons of Art", 43, 109
Staudigl, 42, 45, 52, 82 _et seq._, 119 _et seq._
Stimpson, J., 46, 82 _et seq._, 129
"Tempest," Opera of the, 116 _note_, 120 _et seq._
Terms for copyrights, 129 _et seq._
"Thanks be to God", 46, 83, 86
"Then shall the righteous", 86, 124 _note_
"There is nothing", 78
"Torches", 103
Trios (D minor and C minor), 127, 130 _notes_
"Variations Sérieuses", 129 _note_
Wach, Frau Geheimrath, 50 _note_, 127
"Walpurgis Night", 15 _note_, 20, 36, 48
Webb, Rev. John, 31, 92, 93 _note_
"Widow scene", 56, 89, 97, 99, 108, 114, 115, 119
Williams, the Misses, 82, 112 _note_
Willy, J.T., 45
"Zadok the priest", 93
_Fac-simile of a letter written by Mendelssohn to William Bartholomew,
the English translator of "Elijah," in whose handwriting are the
annotations on the letter. Re-produced, full size, from the original
in the possession of F.G. Edwards._
[Illustration]
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