Kevin Schneider

TH 251-01
8/12/17

Elijah
Oratorio without a narrator?

Of the two completed oratorios Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy wrote, Elias (Elijah in

english) has been more performed and widely known throughout the community. Perhaps

because the piece is from the end of his career, perhaps because of the controversy around

Paulus being interpreted as anti-Semitic due to the nature of the story. There is a clear

difference between Paulus and Elias in regards to libretto and compositional techniques. One of

them being a lack of anti-Semitic undertones, barely even mentioning the Jews in Elias. In the

libretto theres a distinct lack of narrator, and a larger use of recitative as a storytelling tool by

the characters, which was very against the norm of the time. Among these differences, we can

see similarities, especially compositionally. Through analysis of the melodies and chords, we

can see specific intervals used to add anguish or triumph and progress into melodies between

the two oratorios.

There is evidence that Mendelssohn felt pressure to shine a bad light on Jews in such a way

from many influences. Being someone involved in European society during the mid 19th

century, it was customary to have prejudices against people of Jewish faith and Israeli heritage.

Living in the land where Martin Luther had sparked the Protestant Revolution, there was also

immense pressure to follow in the Lutheran faith. This social pressure to convert to

Lutheranism definitely swayed decisions of members of Felixs family. In Jeffrey S. Sposatos

Book, The Price of Assimilation: Felix Mendelssohn and the Nineteenth-Centrury Anti-Semitic

Tradition, Sposato points out the change in depiction of Jews when Felixs father, Abraham,
died around Christmas in 1835. He states At the time, Felix was hard at work on Part II of

Paulus and was rushing to finis the score by Christmas. Upon recovering from the news of his

fathers death, there was little time to do anything but finish the work as originally planned if

he hoped to have it ready for the premiere that spring. But once that deadline had passed,

Mendelssohn took the opportunity to revise the score before publishing it, at which point he

softened the anti-Semitic bent of certain scenes. While this melioration would not be sufficient

to change Pauluss overall anti-Semitic character, it represented the first step toward the more

tolerant image of the Jews that he would present in his future oratorios. (Sposato, Pg. 92) The

fact that Felix could not write the piece the way he originally intended until after his fathers

death shows how strong his fathers anti-Semitism was. Being the first in his family to renounce

the Jewish faith, Abraham could have over compensated his distaste to his former religion to

make it seem more believable that he was a firm believer in the Lutheran faith. He even when

to the lengths of changing his last name, as well as his childrens last names to Bartholdy to hide

the fact that he was originally born Jewish.

The text of Elias almost completely avoids the old testament, minus the texts from Psalms.

Even though Karl Klingemann wrote the text to Paulus, and began to write the text to Elias, he

passed away before completion. Mendelssohn asked Julius Schubring to finish, but Schubring

abandoned Klingemanns writing to compile the Elias we are used to today. This change of

librettist could have been one of the reasons anti-Semitism is absent in Elias. Although there is

no written evidence of Klingemann having any anti-Semitic beliefs (Klingemann to

Mendelssohn) (Todd, 2005, pg 213), Karl could have potentially been a reason behind the anti-

Semitic nature to Paulus. Furthermore, there is a lack of evidence for Schubring removing the
part of the narrator and altering the oratorio into a first person experience, but there is also a

lack of evidence for Klingemann removing the part of the narrator. One can assume the change

in character came from Schubring, or maybe even Mendelssohn himself. In any respect, the

piece was revolutionary to the world of oratorio for putting the narrator to the wayside.

Ten years after the completion of Paulus, Elias shows growth in the composers writing as

well as use of thematic material and intervals to get across the point of the text. At the very

beginning of the work, another abnormality to the style of oratorio is seen. Rather than

opening with the overture, Mendelssohn starts with Elijah giving the audience context, setting

up the overall emotion of the work.

One brilliant tool we can see in the opening overture is the use of the descending tritone to

enhance the anguish of the text conveyed. The tritone has a history of being a demonic

interval, first labled as the Devils Interval in the middle ages and Renaissance. People were so

unnerved by it that the church banned the use of the interval in any worship, thus sparking the

invention of Bb and later F# and C#. The first pair of descending tritones is on the text there

shall not be dew nor rain. Part I of the work covers Elijah challenging the ideals of the

worshipers of Baal and the great drought ending due to Elijahs prayers. This use of the

descending tritone on the very text of the first recitative not only emphasizes the devastating

nature of this drought, but introduces the importance of the drought to the audience in a way

that a narrator couldnt. It is also interesting that the first two tritones end on F# and C#

respectively, seeing as they are the first two sharps to come into use to avoid tritones for the

church. It would have been even more interesting if the first tritone included a Bb and F#, but

the melody is still very haunting and wrought with affliction.

 Continuing on into the Overture, there is a continuation of the tritone in the opening

melody. Although it is not descending, it is still used to show turmoil in the piece. This melody

begins with the cellos in d minor in measure two, and proceeds into the violas in a minor, and

repeated an octave higher by the violins in d minor and a minor. With this almost fugue like-

introduction of the tritone melody, we can see other fugue like aspects of this melody

returning. Starting at measure 39 (8 measures after rehearsal mark B), we have a descending

4ths sequence of the melody emerging from a g minor passage, going through d minor, a minor,

and landing in e minor to continue the next section. The use of sequences is very popular in the

development section of sonata form, as well as in episodes in fugue. You can see aspects of

both fugue and sonata form in this overture, but not clearly defined as one or the other.

There is an abundance of fully diminished seventh chords in second inversion (vii43)

replacing dominant chords. From a theoretical standpoint, this is a brilliant move on his part. A

fully diminished seven chord is simply a pair of two tritones stacked a minor third away from

each other. Using the only chord in tonal harmony that uses not only one tritone, but two

tritones that are dissonant to each other only further emphasizes the importance of the tritone

in respect to anguish, struggle, or turmoil.

This is not the first time Mendelssohn has used the troublesome tritone to accentuate

distress. In Paulus, Felix uses a stacking tritone-minor 3rd-tritone pattern in the 8th movement.

This overlaying the text Steiniget ihn, which in English translates to they stoned him to

death. This passage is used for both stonings described in Paulus, the martyrdom of St. Steven

and the martyrdom of St. Paul himself.

 While there are copious tritones and fully diminished sevenths utilized to display troubled

times, there is a reoccurring interval that we can see used to instil a sense of triumph,

celebration, and progress. This is the use of the ascending half step. We first see this in the

recitative from movement 3. This solo is a means of comforting and instilling optimism in the

people hearing the soloist. This is the first piece of outright positivity with no mention of the

looming drought or negativity in the work. This seems to be a wonderful time to introduce a

new motif. The opening text, Ye People, rend your hearts! A very triumphant and optimistic

line accompanied by a very triumphant and optimistic ascending scale, leading to the ascending

minor second. Moving on to the aria, we can see this ascending minor second appear at the

end of the phrase If with all your hearts ye truly seek me, ye shall ever surely find me with the

key interval appearing on find me. The ascending half step in this case shows an aspect of

comfort. The following chorus, movement 5, begins as the people doubting the tenor, using

descending half steps to show the exact opposite of optimism. As the piece continues, the text

does change to more praise to the Lord and more use of the ascending half step to show love

and triumph in the Lord.

The use of the ascending half step can be seen as an instrument of positivity at more than

just the end of a melodic line. Looking at the Recitative in movement 6, we can see the

ascending half step move throughout the accompaniment. Even in the first line below Go, lo,

and turn the eastward! Mendelssohn uses a vii6/V transitioning into a V43 in the dominant,

ending on the tonic of the dominant of the original key. This not only is a sly way to transition

into a new key, but also a way to emphasize the ascending half step of both the diminished and

dominant seventh chords. Not only does this harmonic pattern move the melody forward, it
also accompanies the text to help move Elijah toward the land where he can find water for his

people. In the next line, we can see the ascending half step in the bass propel the line forward

from the G# in the V43/V going to the A in the V. This compliments the security and optimism in

the line There shalt thou drink his waters, and the Lord thy God hath commanded the Ravens

to feed thee there. More examples of the comforting aspect of the ascending half step at the

end of a phrase can be found in the partnering double quartet of movement 7. Specifically in

measure 19 in the first soprano and second alto , measure 29 in the second soprano, measure

32 in the second tenor, mesure 43 in the first alto, measures 46-48 in the first soprano, and

measures 73 and 77 in the baritone.

Not only does Mendelssohn use the ascending half step to show progress in melody and

harmony, Felix uses the relationship of ascending half steps in keys between movements to

show many different positive aspects of the story. Between the recitative at the opening of the

work (d minor) and the recitative in movement 10 (Eb Major) is an ascending half step. He even

uses the same harmonic opening from the beginning recitative in Eb major before the

ascending major arpeggio, pairing with the ascending minor arpeggio of the first movement.

This is very fitting due to the nature of the text in movement 10. Elijah is announcing that hes

taking what the angel told him three years prior and praying so that his people have rain. Even

more fitting, hes using this declaration of prayer as a way to proclaim that he is triumphant in

his god, whom is superior to Baal and will actually answer him unlike the fake god that these

people worship. The end of Part I comes with Elijah proving the worshipers of Baal wrong and

god forgiving them for their worship of an idol and returning the rain to them.
 As popular as Paulus may have been while Mendelssohn was alive, Elias has shown to be

our communitys favorite and more popular in number of performances. Not only is it more

favored of the two completed oratorios, but it has also become one of Mendelssohns most

popular works giving us pieces such as For He Shall Give His Angels Charge Over Thee, How

Lovely Are The Messengers, and many other standard choral repertoire. With his use of an

innovative libretto and compositional techniques, one can see how the growth of the composer

throughout his short career may have lead to the popularity in todays choral and orchestral

community.
 Works Cited
Karl Klingemann (Hrsg.): Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy's correspondence with Legation Councilor
Karl Klingemann in London.GD Baedeker, Essen 1909

Sposato, Jeffrey S. The Price of Assimilation Felix Mendelssohn and the Nineteenth-Century Anti-
Semitic Tradition. Oxford University Press, 2006.

Todd, R. Larry. Mendelssohn: a Life in Music. Oxford University Press, 2005.

Todd, R. Larry. Mendelssohn's Musical Education: a Study and Edition of His Exercises in
Composition: Oxford, Bodleian MS Margaret Deneke Mendelssohn C.43.
Cambridge University Press, 1983.