elijah

Mendelssohn's Elijah is composed in the style of the great oratorios by Bach or Handel, but his highly dramatic style, at times bordering on the operatic, sets it apart from the Baroque predecessors. He wrote to a friend: 'the dramatic element should predominate. The personages should act and speak as if they were living beings.' Elijah was first performed in front an audience of 2000 people in Birmingham in August 1846 and immediately was an unprecedented success. It was without doubt the crowning point in Mendelssohn's musical career. But it was also his last triumph, as his life was tragically cut short and he died the following year, only 38 years old.A translation into Mendelssohn's native German meant that Elijah continued to be popular with English and German speaking audiences alike ever since. Buckingham Choral Society will be supported by the highly acclaimed Orchestra of Stowe Opera and a cast of brilliant soloists from the Royal College of Music. The concert will be conducted by the Society's Musical Director, Julian Mann.