Lutheran Liturgy as an Architectonic Prototype: The Case of Mendelssohn’s Oratorio Elijah

Abstract

The article discusses Felix Mendelssohn’s oratorio Elijah. Reasons for the composer’s turn to Old Testament themes and choice of the prophet Elijah as the main character of the work are examined. It is shown that Mendelssohn was attracted by the theatricality and dramatic richness of the plot, which resonated with his personal disappointment experienced while serving as director of the Berliner Singakademie, as well as reflecting his search for harmony and reconciliation between his own religious convictions (Lutheranism) and Jewish heritage. The range of Mendelssohn’s theological interests revealed in a study of his correspondence testifies to his deep knowledge of contemporary theological schools of Friedrich Schleiermacher and Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg. Semantic parallels are traced between the structure of the Lutheran liturgy and Mendelssohn’s oratorio, highlighting important semantic sections (prelude, Kyrie, Gloria, psalm, reading from Scripture, Creed, sermon, preparation for communion, Sanctus, blessing and postlude). It is shown that the Christological nature of the oratorio is used by Mendelssohn reveal one of the key tenets of Lutheran faith — the grace of God. It is suggested that the unfinished oratorio Christ represented for Mendelssohn a natural continuation of the Old Testament story that he retold in Elijah.

Keywords: Felix Mendelssohn, oratorio, Elijah, Lutheran liturgy, Christology