Marietta daily leader. (Marietta, Ohio) 1895-1906, 1897-04-01
MENDELSSOHN'S ELIJAH IN 6lR-
MlNGHAM le46.

of extreme occupa zion dit this great
idea grow, until 1916, with its Glamour
for expression, wrested from the mind
and heart and pen of the great com
poser, the noblest of all his enobling
conceptions.
Elijah was composed for an English
ublic. Mendelssohn loved the English
because they appreciated in him, not
only the artist, but the man. Many
beautiful stories are told in his letters,
of happy hours spent in the COM
pany of Queen Victoria and her noble
Prince Concort.
In July 1916 the oratorio was sent 10
England, and on the 18th of August
Mendelssohn arrived in London, this
being his ninth visit to England.
1t would seem that very short time
was given for the preparation of so
great a work.
On the Esd Mendelssohn went 10
Birmingham, where he conducted two
full. rehearsalsi on the Gath and 25th,
and on Wednesday, the Goth of August,
the Town Hall of Birmingham was
filled with an oratorio-loving audience,
who shared in the glorious triumph OF
Elijah, as only an audience can VINO
loves the triumph of pure over false
art, as dearly as they do pure religion
in it's triumph over Baal worship. The
following is quoted flom Rockstros
Mendelssohn:
ut would be impossible to describe
the enthusiasm with which Elijah was
received at Birmingham. The per-
formance was admirable. Mendelssohn
himself spoke of it in terms of the high
est approval, and was especially de-
lighted with Herr Staudigl, whose
ren iering of the part of Elijah has
never yet been equalled. The princi-
pal soprano and contralto parts were
sung by Miss Birch and Miss M. b.
Hawes, and the choruses were sung
with wonderful precision for first
performance. Eleven pieces were re-
demanded. Artists and audience We'd
with each other in their endeavor to
increase the roar of applause which at
the close of the first and second parts,
were simply deafening; and when all
was over, those who had taken part in
the proceedings rushed madly forward
in the hope of exchanging word with
the hero of the day, who heartily
grasped every hand that came within
his reach, and thanked all present for
their Share in the performance with
which he was so deeply gratifed."
1t is not difficult to understand such
wild delight, such genuine enthusiasm,
such devotion to oratorio shown by an
English audience fifty years ago-not
difficult to understand-if at once you
| free yourself from the trammels of
modern superfciality that contents it.
self with the shallowest consideration
of the highest form of vocal compost
ton. Not difficult if by a rightly di-
rected Imagination you can conceive of
a people who sat at the feet of Handel
one hundred years before, and heard
his story of the Messiah, Samson"
and "Jephtha." Not difficult, if-par-
don this personal reminiscence-you
can sit at the feet of one of the men
who sang in the chorus at that first
production, as l have often, and hear
the story of Elijah; and how he, the
chorus member, shook hands with
Mendelssohn and received his hearty
thanks. Not difficult to understand,
if you know how to listen to oratorio.
There are many beautiful, and some
thrilling, stories connected with Men
delssohn and his visits to England.
There is one story told of this first pro-
duction of Elijah, that tells us that
before the performance, DR.. Gauntlet,
who presided at the great organ, dis
covered that he had no organ part, and
being too late to find or prepare one,
Mendelssohn gave DR.. Gauntlet his
own orchestral score, and conducted
the whole oratorio from memory; and
that DR.. Gauntlet introduced the or
gan in two places where Mendelssohn
had not intended to have it, and after
the performance Mendelssohn told DR..
Gauntlet that it was like cold water
running down his back when he play
ed the organ in the wrong place, but
he thought the effect was so good that
he would write an organ part for those
two particular numbers 1t is suppos-
ed that Mendelssohn took those two
numbers out and they were lost, and
that accounts for two missing num-
bers.
After the first performance Mendels-
sohn remodeled, or revised Elijah, and
no complete edition was issued to the
public until year later.
The Marietta Choral Society will
render the oratorio of Elijah on the
7th of April, and will eleven numbers
be redemanded? The Marietta public
has listened to two oratorios. Elijah
: will lie the third and best oratorio per-
formed by the Choral Society, and
4 Ich H. f..I1 -. 4111