“There is but one god – Bach – and Mendelssohn is his prophet.” With this remark Hector Berlioz was astute as ever: it was Felix Mendelssohn who spearheaded the revival of interest in the music of Bach in the 19th century. It’s odd to think that a work like the St Matthew Passion had never been heard outside of Leipzig until 1829, when Mendelssohn conducted a performance in Berlin.
As well as championing Bach, Mendelssohn was a prolific composer in his own right, a child prodigy who died young (in 1847, aged 38). Unlike the infant Mozart, who was exhibited around Europe by his father, Mendelssohn’s musical talents were nurtured at home, where his early works were performed by a private orchestra for the wealthy elite of Berlin.
Mendelssohn travelled widely around Europe, gaining inspiration for some of his most famous scores. He was also a noted watercolourist, painting on his tours. Mendelssohn made ten visits to Britain, where he was revered as the favourite composer of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. His music is often characterised by a youthful freshness, although later in his career he became greatly concerned with religion, writing devout oratorios which clearly show the influence of his idol, Bach.
1A Midsummer Night’s Dream
This is a miracle of a work… or rather works, because the overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream and the set of incidental music have two different opus numbers, separated by an incredible 16 years. The overture, which Mendelssohn composed in his teens, is a remarkable distillation of Shakespeare’s play, conjuring up gossamer fairy magic and the clod-hopping “rude mechanicals”, including the braying of Bottom, transformed into a donkey. Mendelssohn then slipped back into the enchanted wood, commissioned by Frederick William IV of Prussia, to write a series of numbers to accompany the play, including such popular numbers as the Wedding March, used to greet thousands of newlyweds.
2Symphony no. 4 in A major, “Italian”
Mendelssohn composed five symphonies (not to be confused with his 13 “string symphonies” that he wrote in his early teens), of which the fourth – dubbed “the Italian” – is the best known. His imagination was fired by the colour and the light on his visit to Italy, as part of his grand European tour 1829-31. “The Italian symphony is making great progress,” he wrote to his sister, Fanny. “It will be the jolliest piece I have ever done.” The finale captures the spirit of Rome with a traditional Italian dance, the Saltarello.
3Violin Concerto in E minor
Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto is one of his most evergreen works, full of sweetness and exuberance. But for all its lightness, it took the composer several years to write, in regular correspondence with Ferdinand David, concertmaster of the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. Unusually, Mendelssohn links the first two movements (through a sustained bassoon note), while the finale is another effervescent dance.
4Symphony no. 3 in A minor, “Scottish”
Mendelssohn found the inspiration for his Third Symphony while visiting the ruins of Holyrood Chapel in Edinburgh. “Everything is ruined, decayed, and the clear heavens pour in,” he wrote to his family. “I think I have found there the beginning of my Scottish Symphony.” There’s certainly a gloomy atmosphere in the introduction, but plenty of joy later on, including references to Scottish dances in the “Scotch snap” rhythms in the second movement. The finale has a touch of the Highland warrior about it too.