Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) was a child prodigy – by the age of 12 he had written several operas and string symphonies, as well as a large amount of chamber and piano music. Two works which he wrote when he was 16 and 17 years old (the Octet and Overture to a Midsummer Night’s Dream) are still performed regularly today! But not only was he a talented musician, he was also a gifted poet, painter, athlete and linguist!
Here’s one of his watercolour paintings, which is a lovely view of Lucerne in Switzerland:
And in music, he didn’t just compose; he performed as a pianist and conducted as well. In fact, he was one of the first conductors to use a baton (the special stick that all conductors now use) – until then, they’d just used their arms. He was also a researcher and rediscovered works by older composers who had been forgotten, such as Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach is now considered one of the most important and gifted composers to have ever lived, but he had been almost completely forgotten before Mendelssohn rediscovered and performed Bach’s St Matthew’s Passion in 1829.
Mendelssohn travelled around Europe as well, conducting his own music and that of other composers, and he was inspired by some of the places he visited. He wrote a Scottish Symphony, an Italian Symphony and The Hebrides Overture.
He first visited Britain in 1829 and became a great lover of the country and its people, visiting 10 times in total. Some of his music was premiered here, including his piece Elijah for choir and orchestra, which had its first performance in Birmingham Town Hall. When he died, at the age of 38, Queen Victoria wrote: “We were horrified, astounded and distressed to read in the papers of the death of Mendelssohn, the greatest musical genius since Mozart and the most amiable man.”
The Hebrides Overture (op. 26) – Background
Mendelssohn wrote The Hebrides Overture after a visit to Scotland in 1829. While he was there, he jotted down some music in a letter to his sister Fanny, writing, “In order to make your understand how extraordinarily the Hebrides affected me, I send you the following, which came into my head there.” This tune became the main theme of the Hebrides Overture.
He also sent his sister this sketch showing the paddle steamer he travelled on to get to Fingal’s Cave:
Though he started the Hebrides Overture on this trip, it took him several years to complete the piece, not finishing it until 1832. It was originally called The Lonely Isle, but Mendelssohn changed the title to The Hebrides (its official title), though he wrote ‘Fingal’s Cave‘ on the music for the orchestral players. The name Fingal’s Cave has stuck for nearly 200 years, even though that’s not its official title! Perhaps that’s because it’s so apt: look at a picture of Fingal’s Cave, and imagine how isolated and lonely it must feel, and how the storms must rage around it in the winter.
The music captures this feeling exactly – it is probably one of the most evocative musical representations of the sea ever written.
The Hebrides Overture
One of the things to listen for in this piece is the sound of wave shapes. They are everywhere – the music repeatedly builds up and then dies away again. Some of the wave shapes are small, some of them are bigger, and sometimes there is a massive storm! When you listen, try and follow the ebb and flow of these shapes throughout the piece – let yourself be carried along by them.
The music starts with a very distinctive short melody, which is repeated several times, gradually getting higher. This section is then repeated, but this time with the lower strings playing very fast notes as an accompaniment. These fast notes give a sense of flowing water and really help build the wave shapes you can hear.
The music feels lonely and turbulent for some time, until a beautiful, long, calm melody, played by celli and bassoon, is heard. The calm doesn’t last long – the opening theme returns and we hit some stormy weather.
After this, the music becomes calmer, but it sounds like we’ve been separated by the storm! You’ll hear different groups of instruments calling to each other – perhaps people have been stranded in different parts of Fingal’s Cave.
From here, listen out for:
- Some beautiful tranquil music – the sun’s come out, but not for long! Soon the storm starts brewing again…
- Some fast music where the strings and wind instruments very quickly copy each other. It sounds very busy, and some people have suggested it might be Mendelssohn imitating the chugging of the paddle steamer he was travelling on
- Further stormy weather
- The opening theme returning
- A beautiful clarinet solo
- A really big storm at the end, which very suddenly disappears
If you’ve enjoyed listening to Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture, you might like to listen to some of his other works: