The Bible and Music

I already emailed Professor McGrath this response to the first event I attended on Mendelssohn’s Elijah, but I wanted to post it here in case anyone else was interested in what went on at the event.

On February 27th, Haley and I went to the “In-Choir-Ing Minds” event about Mendelssohn’s Elijah at Laurel Hall. When we arrived at Laurel Hall, I was astonished how beautiful the building was, both inside and out. After saying hello to Professor McGrath, we took our seats and waited for the event to start. Michael Sells spoke first and introduced the other speakers, the conductor, and the choir. Eric Stark, speaker and conductor, began by stating that Elijah was one of his favorite pieces because it was a very special and inspiring piece. Also, Elijah was a very interesting and complex character. Stark introduced some of the history of the choir and the piece. It was the 80th anniversary of this choir specifically, and they were performing Mendelssohn’s Elijah. Elijah was composed first in German and then translated to English and performed first in August, 1846. Next, James McGrath explained the biblical background of the story. First, McGrath explained that the story of Elijah was grouped with stories of the prophets, and that Elijah’s role as a prophet was to be an “ambassador of god” and to speak on god’s behalf. McGrath also touched on the various stories in the Bible leading up to the story of Elijah. So, before the choir even started, we had a very good sense of the story and what the music may be trying to portray.

The music started very abruptly and frantically, and the singers voices were amazingly powerful. As the singing went on for a little while, the intensity calmed down slightly, but at the end the music ended very abruptly and urgently, similar to the beginning. The speakers spoke and explained more about the story of Elijah and the music in between each period of singing. The music continued again, this time much more calmly. Each time the choir sang, it was different. I found the singer’s ability to be outstanding. The pieces they sang were very powerful, and definitely evoked emotion as they went along with the story of Elijah.

    Overall, I found the story of Elijah and the performance very impressive. I also thought it was really cool how so many of the other stories we have discussed this semester in class were mentioned and discussed in relation to the story of Elijah. While I admit that I do not consider myself particularly musically talented, I can definitely appreciate the complexity and creativity of the all different kinds of music. In regards to this piece specifically, it was intriguing to learn about the story of Elijah and hear the music sung by the choir that presented the story. At the end of the the event, the performance of Elijah on March 17th was mentioned. I plan on going to the performance of Elijah on March 17th and recommend that others in the class also attend the performance.