Page:The history of Mendelssohn's oratorio 'Elijah'.djvu/88

 HISTORY OF MENDELSSOHN'S "ELIJAH.

��first part) I shall either send or brin,s^ myself, for they will require only few words, and it will be plenty of time to copy the vocal parts, and the instrumental ones I bring over with me. I hope to be in London on the i/th, and beg you will let us have a grand meeting on the iSth, to settle all the questions and the copies of the solo parts.

" Always yours very truly, " Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy.

��It may perhaps be as well to complete the history of " rest in the Lord" before proceeding farther, even at the risk of a little repetition. Mendelssohn does not seem to have liked the implied plagiarism of " Auld Robin Gray," although he says he had an " objection" to his song " O rest in the Lord " " of another kind." He repeated his request that it " must be left out " (see next letter). Bartholomew, however, wrote to him saying : " Why omit the song ' O rest,' when merely a note or two of the melody being changed would completely obliterate the identity, and I think not spoil the song as a whole? If you omit it, and especially upon such a reason as my hint may have afforded, I shall be very much pained."

This last sentence must have so touched

Mendelssohn's feelings that he somewhat relented

from his former decision. He wrote to Bartholomew :

" About the song ' O rest in the Loid,' we will

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