This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1904 Excerpt: ... Bach school, and its complete exclusion of the fugal element, strictly so called--all these, it may be said, combined to make of Elijah an oratorio which was absolutely without a prototype in the long line of works which preceded it. The question may, of course, arise, whether in Elijah the dramatic element has not ...
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This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1904 Excerpt: ... Bach school, and its complete exclusion of the fugal element, strictly so called--all these, it may be said, combined to make of Elijah an oratorio which was absolutely without a prototype in the long line of works which preceded it. The question may, of course, arise, whether in Elijah the dramatic element has not been carried to the very extreme limit permissible in the treatment of sacred subjects; and the belief may be expressed that St. Paul is more in accordance with the sublime feeling and elevation of the grand old masters of oratorio. On that point we shall not presume to pronounce an opinion. It is sufficient here to note the difference which really exists in the style of the two works, without entering into the debatable question as to which is the better style, or as to whether the difference is to be accounted for by the lapse of time which occurred between their composition, or by the different conception which Mendelssohn may have formed of the characters of the Apostle and the Prophet. These points will find some illustration in the history of Elijah itself, and particularly in the extracts which will he made from the correspondence on the subject. It is in one of the composer's letters of the year 1838 that the first specific reference to the composition of Elijah is made. The idea of the work seems to have occurred to him when reading the passage, "And the Lord passed by" (1 Kings xix. 11), on which he remarked to Hiller, " Would not that be splendid for an oratorio?" Having gained so much from the help of Schubring in the choice of tbe words for St. Paul, Mendelssohn naturally turned to him for assistance in regard to Elijah. The two men at once proceeded with the selection of the materials, and from the correspondenc...
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