Page:The history of Mendelssohn's oratorio 'Elijah'.djvu/40

 HISTORY OF MENDELSSOHN'S "ELIJAH."

who might use the words of Ruth, ' Where thou goest, I will go,' etc. But what is Elijah to say before and after this? and what could the chorus say? Can you furnish me with, first, a duct and also a chorus in this sense? Then, until verse 15, all is in order ; but there a passage is wanted for Elijah, something to this effect : * Lord, as Thou wilt, be it unto me ' (this is not in the Bible, I believe?) ; for I wish that after the manifestation of the Lord, he should announce his entire submission, and after all this despondency declare himself to be entirely resigned and eager to do his duty. I am in want, too, of some words for him to say at, or before, or even after, his ascension, and also some words for the chorus. The chorus sing the ascension historically with the words from 2 Kings ii., 11, but then there ought to be a couple of very solemn choruses. * God- is gone up with a shout ' (Psalm xlvii., 5) will not do, for it is not the Lord but Elijah who went up ; how- ever, something of that sort. At the close, I should wish to hear Elijah's voice once more.

" (May Elisha sing soprano? or is this inadmissible, as in the same chapter he is described as a ' bald head '? Seriously speaking, must he appear at the ascension as a prophet, or can he do so still as a youth?)

" Lastly, the passages which you have sent for the close of the whole (especially the trio between Peter, John, and James) are too historical and too far removed from the grouping of the (Old Testament) story ; I could, however, manage to get over this difficulty by composing a chorus, instead of a trio to ( 24 )

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