Mendelssohn's Elijah | Durham Choral Society and Orchestra

Felix Mendelssohn, who had already composed a great deal of choral music, wrote his first oratorio, St Paul, in 1836. This was a great success, and he was thus encouraged to seek a subject for an even greater and more dramatic choral work. By a happy chance he was sent a libretto based on the story of the prophet Elijah by a clergyman from Devon, the Rev. James Barry, Vicar of Bratton Clovelly. Mendelssohn recognized the story's potential, but it was not until 1845 that he was stimulated into setting to work in earnest on the new oratorio by being invited to write a new work for the 1846 Birmingham Musical Festival. Consequently the first performance of Elijah took place in Birmingham Town Hall on 26 August 1846, with Mendelssohn conducting.

Elijah was an immediate and tremendous success. Its great dramatic qualities, allied to its magnificent musical craftsmanship, appealed strongly to audiences and performers, and it has remained one of the most popular oratorios to the present time.