Elijah (oratorio)

Elijah (German: Elias), Op. 70, MWV A 25, is an oratorio written by Felix Mendelssohn. It premiered in 1846 at the Birmingham Festival. It depicts events in the life of the Biblical prophet Elijah, taken from the books 1 Kings and 2 Kings of the Old Testament.

Music and its style

This piece was composed in the spirit of Mendelssohn's Baroque predecessors Bach and Handel, whose music he loved. In 1829 Mendelssohn had organized the first performance of Bach's St Matthew Passion since the composer's death and was instrumental in bringing this and other Bach works to widespread popularity. By contrast, Handel's oratorios never went out of fashion in England. Mendelssohn prepared a scholarly edition of some of Handel's oratorios for publication in London. Elijah is modelled on the oratorios of these two Baroque masters; however, in its lyricism and use of orchestral and choral colour the style clearly reflects Mendelssohn's own genius as an early Romantic composer.

The work is scored for four vocal soloists (bass-baritone, tenor, alto, soprano), full symphony orchestra including trombones, ophicleide, organ, and a large chorus singing usually in four, but occasionally eight or three (women only) parts. The title role is for bass-baritone and was sung at the premiere by the Austrian bass Joseph Staudigl.

Elijah

Elijah (Hebrew: אֱלִיָּהוּ, Eliyahu, meaning "My God is Yahu") or Elias (/ᵻˈlaɪ.əs/; Greek: Ηλίας Elías; Syriac: ܐܸܠܝܼܵܐ Elyāe;Arabic: إلياس or إليا, Ilyās or Ilyā) was a prophet and a wonder-worker in the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of Ahab (9th century BC), according to the biblical Books of Kings. According to the Books of Kings, Elijah defended the worship of Yahweh over that of the Canaanite idol Baal. God also performed many miracles through him, which included raising the dead, bringing fire down from the sky, and taking him up to heaven "by a whirlwind". In the Book of Malachi, Elijah's return is prophesied "before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord", making him a harbinger of the Messiah and the eschaton in various faiths that revere the Hebrew Bible. References to Elijah appear in the New Testament, the Talmud, the Mishnah, and the Qur'an.

In Judaism, Elijah's name is invoked at the weekly Havdalah ritual that marks the end of Shabbat, and Elijah is invoked in other Jewish customs, among them the Passover seder and the Brit milah (ritual circumcision). He appears in numerous stories and references in the Haggadah and rabbinic literature, including the Babylonian Talmud.

Elijah (disambiguation)

Elijah was a prophet in Israel in the 9th century BCE, mentioned in several holy books. Elias is the Greek equivalent.

Elijah may also refer to:

People

Musical works

Miscellaneous

Elias

Elias /ᵻˈlaɪ.əs/ is the Latin transliteration of the Greek name Ἠλίας, which in turn is the Hellenized form of the Hebrew: אליהו, Eliyahu, meaning "Yahweh is my God". Another form of Eliyahu in English is Elijah /ᵻˈlaɪdʒə/.

The name belonged most notably to Elijah, the Hebrew prophet. The Quran refers to this prophet in Arabic as Ilias (إلياس), the prophet who was born in Baalbek, east of Lebanon. The King James Version of the Bible also uses "Elias" in the New Testament as the English translation of the Greek name for this prophet.

Variants