Happy Birthday Felix Mendelssohn!

[Manifestor_of_Light]

Felix Mendelssohn is 200 years old today.

His music will live forever.

Fingal's Cave Overture:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3MiETaBSnc


Midsummer Night's Dream Overture, Part I (He was 16 when he wrote this)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IidttSEKVTA&feature=related


Octet (He was 16 when he wrote this)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLe0T6Hsg2k&feature=related

On edit:Changed age 19 to age 16, when he wrote the String Octet and the Incidental Music to Midsummer Night's Dream.

[amitten]

1. Love his music. n/t

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. My dear Manifestor_Of_Light!

His music is among the most lyrical and beautiful that I have ever heard!

And to have written it when he was a teenager...

Just incredible.

Thank you for remembering his birthday!

:hug:

[Manifestor_of_Light]

3. You're welcome, Peggy!

Good stuff!!

I love classical music and some opera. I don't get analytical about it.
I just say "Hey, this is good stuff! You should listen to it!".


:D

[ChoralScholar]

4. We sang Happy Birthday to Felix at our rehearsal on Tuesday night.

He wrote some great stuff. Much of his vocal work was Handelian in nature, with the chromatic sensibilities of a more contemporary composer.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

5. Cool!!

I remember doing a famous chorus from Elijah. I believe it was the "He watching over Israel, slumbers not nor sleeps/shouldst thou walking in grief languish/He will comfort thee".

The director warned us NOT to say "Slumbersnot". :rofl:

[ChoralScholar]

8. That's a great chorus

from a great oratorio. I've been trying to keep my kids from saying 'see snot' (cease not) on a madrigal we're working on.

Also in this madrigal, they 'warble gaily' - so that's an added bonus.

[elleng]

6. My favorite violin concerto!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLKXD_Ar5CM

edit (Also love tchkaiv, beeth, + bruch!)

[GoddessOfGuinness]

7. Here's an interesting portrait of him, by Karl Joseph Begas

In 1821:

When I first saw it, I thought it must surely have been Fannie, and not Felix.

[MikeH]

9. My own belated Happy Birthday to Felix Mendelssohn

I also like the work of Felix Mendelssohn.

I like his symphonies. I particularly like his Italian and his Reformations symphonies (numbers 4 and 5). I like the hymn "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" featured in the last movement of his Reformation symphony. I remember first singing the hymn in Sunday School at the Lutheran church I went to when I was a kid. Even though I used to be a Christian and no longer am, I still think the hymn "A Mighty Fortress" is a great piece of music, and I like it as part of Mendelssohn's Reformation Symphony.

I like the haunting Fingal's Cave Overture, also known as the Hebrides Overture, referring to the place where, at least according to my grandfather, the men are newly married.

I particularly like the third movement of his Octet, which I have heard described as having a gossamer, featherstitching quality.

I think Mendelssohn can be credited with the revival of the music of J. S. Bach in Europe with his conducting a performance of Bach's St. Matthew Passion in Berlin in 1829.

Another of Mendelssohn's works which I like, and which I first remember hearing at a San Diego Symphony concert in early 1994, is the Ruy Blas Overture.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJatyAMAPlU

[Manifestor_of_Light]

12. He was from Leipzig which made it easy to learn about Bach.

Bach was in Leipzig too.

The story about Moses Mendelssohn, a hunchback, proposing marriage to his wife is very touching. Moses Mendelssohn was a famous rabbi and Felix's grandfather. They all converted to Christianity eventually for survival reasons.

The story about Moses Mendelssohn is in a book I have. "Felix Mendelssohn His Life and Times".

[Pierre.Suave]

10. Sweet

I needed a reason to eat cake, this is it!!!

thanks!!

:P

[underpants]

11. I have "the Scottish Symphony" on my cell phone music file

great to run to