Written 28th July 2025
Following the great success of our Verdi Requiem concert – the audience was bowled over; we had a standing ovation and thunderous applause from all present, just look at the comments on our Reviews page – we’re again pulling out all the stops at our next performance.
The Symphony Choir of Johannesburg
with
The Philharmonia Choir of Cape Town
are presenting
Felix Mendelssohn’s
Elijah
Soloists:
Andiswa Makana: Soprano, Minette du Toit Pearce: Mezzo,
Sunnyboy Dladla: Tenor, Conroy Scott: Bass
Sunday 5 October 2025 @ 3pm
Linder Auditorium, Parktown
The Phoenix Orchestra
Conducted by Richard Cock
Felix Mendelssohn (3 February 1809 – 4 November 1847) was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. An unbelievably clever child prodigy, the young Felix excelled not only as a musician but also as a painter, poet, athlete and linguist. At the age of six, Felix began taking piano lessons from his mother, and he made his public debut at the age of nine. Between the ages of 12 and 14 he wrote 12 string symphonies. His first published work, a piano quartet, was written by the time he was 13. At 15 he composed his first symphony and the year after Mendelssohn completed his String Octet in E-flat major, the first work that demonstrated his true genius.
Two of Mendelssohn’s best-known tunes are the “Wedding March” from his incidental music for A Midsummer Night’s Dream and the melody for the Christmas carol “Hark the Herald Angels Sing”.
Mendelssohn’s oratorio Elijah was given its premiere in Birmingham in 1846 to an audience of 2.000 people. It had taken him some ten years to prepare, including penning most of the libretto himself. It was very much the ‘Messiah’ of its day: hugely popular, cementing Mendelssohn’s position as one of the greatest composers of sacred music. Elijah is depicting the life of the Prophet Elijah as told in the books 1 Kings and 2 Kings of the Old Testament. The piece was composed in the spirit of Mendelssohn’s Baroque predecessors Bach and Handel, whose music he greatly admired. After its successful premier in Birmingham Town Hall in its English version, conducted by the composer, it was immediately acclaimed a classic of the genre. As The Times critic wrote: ‘Never was there a more complete triumph – never a more thorough and speedy recognition of a great work of art’. Notwithstanding the work’s triumph, Mendelssohn revised the oratorio wholesale before another group of performances in London in April 1847 – one (23 April) in the presence of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. The German version was first performed on the composer’s birthday, 3 February 1848, a few months after Mendelssohn’s death, under the baton of the Danish composer Niels Gade.
The Prophet Elijah’s life was full of drama – and Mendelssohn has captured that to perfection in his work – this is a concert you don’t want to miss.
Book now to avoid disappointment – use this link.
Kind regards,
The Symphony Choir of Johannesburg