The central work: Mendelssohn's Elijah, Op. 70

In the closing concert, we will perform Mendelssohn's Romantic oratorio Elijah with soloists, orchestra and choir.

Felix Mendelssohn completed his magnificent oratorio Elijah in 1846 for the music festival in Birmingham. The work tells the dramatic life story of the Old Testament prophet Elijah. From the devastating drought and the confrontation with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, to his lonely flight into the desert and his final ascension in a chariot of fire, Mendelssohn captured this biblical story in astonishingly theatrical and emotionally charged music.

In the structure of the oratorio, Mendelssohn combined the Baroque contrapuntal tradition of Bach and Handel with the compelling, lyrical expression of nineteenth-century Romanticism. The choir has an impressive dual role: one moment it represents the angry crowd or the pleading prophets of Baal, and the next it provides omniscient commentary, as in a classical Greek tragedy.