This is a past event
The Choral Society and Aberdeen Choral come together in the joint performance of Mendelssohn's Elijah
The first performance, conducted by Mendelssohn himself, took place on the 26th August 1846 before an audience of two thousand who had packed into Birmingham Town Hall for the eagerly-awaited event. It was an unprecedented success. No less than four choruses and four arias were encored, and the applause evidently bordered on the hysterical. Mendelssohn recounted the experience in a letter to his brother. ‘No work of mine went so admirably the first time of execution, or was received with such enthusiasm by both the musicians and the audience,’ he wrote. The Times’ music correspondent was even more effusive. ‘The last note of Elijah was drowned in a long-continued unanimous volley of plaudits, vociferous, and deafening,’ he reported. ‘Mendelssohn…… descended from his position on the conductor’s rostrum; but he was compelled to appear again, amidst renewed cheers and huzzas. Never was there a more complete triumph; never a more thorough and speedy recognition of a great work of art.’ It was without doubt the crowning glory of Mendelssohn’s spectacularly successful career, but tragically it was to prove his last major triumph.
- Venue
- Music Hall
- Contact
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for more information, contact
Euan Crabb
Administrator of Music
01224 272570
For tickets, contact the Music Hall Booking Office