Page:Imperialdictiona03eadi Brandeis Vol3a.pdf/418

MEN in existence. The measureless beauty of the Hymn of Praise is for all time; but there was something singularly felicitous in the choice of the text, and in its treatment, for the occasion it was designed to celebrate. Mendelssohn came once more to England, to conduct his new work at the Birmingham festival in August; and he brought with him for publication the three organ preludes and fugues dedicated to Attwood, who was one of the first to appreciate, and the warmest to uphold, his artistic claims in this country. These fugues and the six sonatas for the organ, form a distinct class of the composer's works, and are indeed conspicuous among all that has been written for the instrument. After his return to Leipsic, Mendelssohn entirely rewrote the Hymn of Praise, and, among other important changes, interpolated the wonderful passage "Watchman, will the night soon pass?" In its altered form the Hymn of Praise was reproduced at the Gewandhaus in December, when it created so powerful a sensation that the king of Saxony, his interest stimulated by the general enthusiasm, commanded the repetition of the work, and went up to the composer at the close of the performance, to thank him, before the public, for the delight it had given him. In the spring of 1841 the Hymn of Praise was performed by our Philharmonic Society, but from the original parts; on learning which, Mendelssohn was so annoyed with Novello the music-seller for suffering such an injustice to be done to him, that he never allowed that firm to publish another of his works. It was at this period that the degree of Ph.D. was conferred on Mendelssohn by the Leipsic university; also that the king of Prussia awarded him the Order of Merit, a marked distinction; and lastly, that the king of Saxony appointed him his kapellmeister.

The present widely-spreading appreciation of Bach, owes its origin to Mendelssohn's enthusiasm for the master, and the zeal with which he sought to communicate this to others. He formed a project to erect a monument to the mighty old musician, in the town where he produced his masterpieces. Besides contributing largely to this from his own means, he gave several performances of Bach's music, the proceeds of which were added to the fund. The first of these took place in August, 1840, at St. Thomas' church in Leipsic, where the veteran contrapuntist had been organist, and was probably suggested by the recent éclat of the Gutenberg memorial. The statue was inaugurated, April 23, 1843. The king of Prussia offered Mendelssohn a lucrative appointment, in 1841, as general superintendent of sacred music throughout the kingdom, and director of the great instrumental concerts in Berlin; this he accepted, but with the condition that he should continue his directorship at Leipsic. The king desired to restore the ancient Greek drama to the stage, and with this view commissioned Tieck to prepare the Antigone of Sophocles for representation, and Mendelssohn to set the lyrical portions of the play to music. The composer's literary studies had well prepared him for the novel and interesting task, which he accomplished in the summer of 1841, in the space of eleven days, and the work was first performed at the palace at Potsdam, on the 15th of October. Some English classical scholars have violently depreciated this remarkable composition, regarding it from a totally false point of view; it overlives their undiscerning censure, and with its companion work, the "Œdipus in Colonus," written under the same circumstances in 1841, proves the poetical vigour of Mendelssohn's power of conception in a wholly untrodden field, and his capability of appropriating the resources of his art to a previously-untried subject. A serious illness attacked Mendelssohn towards the close of this year—a supposed consequence of his ceaseless mental labour. On his recovery, at the beginning of 1842, he wrote the Symphony in A Minor, a work he had been contemplating ever since his tour in Scotland, his experiences in which are idealized in this picturesque and passionate composition. His wife had often lovingly complained that he poured forth the stream of his genius upon the world, but wrote nothing especially for her. To answer this reproach he had a blank volume bound and lettered with her name, and therein he wrote the work under consideration, which may be regarded as the chief of his instrumental compositions. In due time, however, romance gave way to interest, the Symphony being dedicated to Queen Victoria, in acknowledgment of the personal attentions she showed the composer. It was first played at one of the Gewandhaus concerts in the spring; and Mendelssohn came to London to direct its performance for the Philharmonic in June.

Another scheme, as much for the advancement of music as the Bach statue was for its honour, occupied Mendelssohn in 1843; this was the establishment of the Conservatorium at Leipsic, which he both proposed and completed. He obtained the support of the king of Saxony, issued a prospectus in January, and opened the institution on the 3rd of April. He undertook the responsibility of its direction, and presided over the classes for composition and the pianoforte, throwing as much zeal into these occupations as would have absorbed the entire energy of any other man. In ackowledgment of the great service he thus rendered to Leipsic, the corporation presented him with the freedom of the city. In the spring of this year the First Walpurgis Night was produced in public at the Gewandhaus, it having been almost entirely recomposed since it was written at Rome. To afford his ever active mind some relaxation, Mendelssohn passed the summer in Switzerland; but he occupied his vacation with the composition of the dramatic music to A Midsummer Night's Dream, in which, as though nourished by the elixir of eternal youth, he carried out the ideas of his boyhood, amplifying the train of thought set forth in the overture, and fulfilling, as it were, that wonderful conception. If we are amazed that the earlier masterwork could have issued from so young a mind, what word will define the feelings with which we regard this later resumption of all the spirit of the original idea! It was undertaken at the behest of the king of Prussia, and was first played in the palace at Potsdam in October. About this time also was written the overture and the one chorus for "Ruy Bias," likewise at the king's desire, and for performance in the court theatre. This year, with all its successes, was greatly embittered to Mendelssohn by the death of his mother, which occurred, as did all his crosses, at Berlin; and it occasioned his spending the winter there. He now undertook the editorship of Israel in Egypt, for the Handel Society in London, stipulating that he should be allowed to write an organ-part, to supply on paper such completion of the accompaniment, as Handel was accustomed to extemporize at the performances over which he presided. The edition is remarkable for its rigid adherence to the composer's MS. in preference to the authority of the earliest printed copies; and for the eminent beauty of the organ-part, which should now be inseparable from the oratorio. He collated his authorities for the publication, during his stay in London, where he was engaged, in 1844, to conduct six of the Philharmonic concerts—this being the occasion of giving up the old custom of the society, which was to have a different conductor at each concert. The Midsummer Night's Dream music and the Walpurgis Night were first played here in the course of the season. While here, Mendelssohn wrote the overture to Athalie; and he completed his music to this tragedy of Racine, during an autumn residence at Soden, near Frankfort. The work, as admirable for its correct setting of the French verse as for its musical beauty, was another commission of the king of Prussia; and it was played at Charlottenburg in 1845. At the beginning of this year Mendelssohn resigned his appointment at Berlin, having determined to seclude himself from public life but, in permitting his retirement, the king compelled him to retain a salary, with the title of General Director of Music. He now wrote his violin concerto for his townsman, playmate, and collaborator in the Gewandhaus orchestra, F. David; he was fitted for the task by a practical knowledge of the instrument, his fluency on which enabled him to play the viola in Quartets—one of his favourite diversions. He had engaged to produce an oratorio for the next Birmingham festival, and he accordingly occupied himself now at Soden with the composition of "Elijah." After a year's absence from public, he suddenly resolved in the autumn to resume his directorship at Leipsic, his return to which was a source of infinite delight to that musical city. In the spring of 1846 he conducted the festival at Liege where he brought out his cantata, "Lauda Sion," which he wrote for the occasion. He conducted also a festival at Aix-la-Chapelle, and another at Cologne. These many distractions did not prevent the completion of his great oratorio, and he came to Birmingham to direct its first performance, which took place on the 26th of August. The immense success of this superb work in no way dulled its author's sensitiveness to its inequalities, and previously to its second performance he made many important alterations in it. In its perfected form it was reproduced by the Sacred Harmonic Society at Exeter hall in April, 1847. Before returning to England, for this occasion, Mendelssohn conducted "St. Paul" on Good Friday at Leipsic, which