CONTENTS
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

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