A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Elijah

ELIJAH (Elias in German)—'an oratorio on words from the Old Testament' (op. 70)—was Mendelssohn's 2nd oratorio. The idea appears to have occurred to him when reading the passage 'and the Lord passed by' (1 Kings xix. 11). 'Would not that be splendid for an oratorio?' said he to Hiller. This, if the case, must have been before Nov. 2, 1838, when, from his letter to Schubring, he had evidently gone far into the subject. The score has no dates. On Aug. 5, 1846, the orchestral parts were rehearsed by Mendelssohn at Leipzig; Aug. 10 he had a vocal rehearsal at Moscheles' house, London; then two full ones [App. p.626 "band rehearsals"] at Hanover Square; Aug. 24 a full rehearsal at Birmingham; and on Wednesday the 26th it was first performed. Various alterations and additions were made afterwards, including the trio 'Lift thine eyes' and the last chorus. He was helped by Schubring in the selection of the words. The English words by Mr. Bartholomew were sent to him as he worked, and were the subject of a long correspondence.

The first performance in Germany was at Hamburg in October 1847, conducted by Krebs.