Mendelssohn ‘Elijah’
Concert details
Our eightieth anniversary concert will be Mendelssohn’s Elijah – the first oratorio ever performed by the Festival Choir, back in 1946, and we have scheduled it for the equivalent weekend in 2026. Quite coincidentally (although it might have been in George Vesey’s mind when he chose Elijah for that very first concert) the work was premiered in 1846, so 2026 will be its bicentenary.
The work depicts events in the life of the Prophet Elijah as told in the books 1 Kings and 2 Kings of the Old Testament. Elijah is modelled on the oratorios of Handel and Bach, but in its lyricism and use of orchestral and choral colour the style clearly reflects Mendelssohn’s own skill as an early Romantic composer.