The Hebrides Overture By Felix Mendelssohn
The Lonely Island
Inspiration can be found in the strangest of places, amongst the strangest of things. In 1829, Felix Mendelssohn was inspired by a great cavern, rich with Scottish mythology. While sailing through the Hebrides Islands off the coast of Scotland, he saw the famed Fingal's Cave and was so moved by its beauty that he jotted down a full orchestration that became the beginning of one of his most famous works, The Hebrides Overture. Originally titled, The Lonely Island, this masterpiece has become a staple in today's orchestral repertoire.
Felix Mendelssohn was born on February 3rd, 1809, in Hamburg, Germany. His father was Abraham Mendelssohn, who was a wealthy banker. Abraham was the son of Jewish rabbi and philosopher …show more content…
As was the custom with most rich young men, Mendelssohn toured through Europe, seeing all the sights and visiting all the places. He was so inspired by the beauty and awe of the cave, that he sketched the first 20 bars of what would become the Hebrides Overture and sent them off in a letter to his sister, Fanny Mendelssohn. This overture depicts the crashing of waves and the swelling and stirring of the ocean as he saw it. Mendelssohn finished the piece on December 16, 1830 and was revised on June 20, 1832. When he finished the piece in 1830, he titled it The Lonely Island. After the revision and the process of publishing and writing, there was some confusion about the name of the piece. It seems that Mendelssohn abandoned the original title and replaced it with two different ones. On his score, he called the piece Fingal's Cave, but on the parts, he titled it The …show more content…
When listening to the piece, one notices the swirling and swelling of the waves as they come in with the tide. It begins with a melody that is brooding, and at the same time magnificent. The strings and woodwinds take the opening theme with the melody ending up in the violins. Sudden rises in the music allude to the sudden large waves. Also, descending passages after the musical swell suggest the falling of the waves on the rock walls of Fingal's Cave. At nearly a third of the way through, the cellos play an incredible melody that when listened to, one can picture coming around the corner of the island of Staffa and seeing for the first time the cave. Towards the middle, the brass plays the melody, hinting at slightly harsher conditions. This soon fades into woodwind and string variations. The end gradually builds up into an intense section, with scales in the strings and fanfare type playing in the brass. When listening, one can almost see the waves crashing on the walls. The end is possibly the best example of his tone painting of waves; everything comes to a climax, fades off, and we are left with three hits from the
Inspiration can be found in the strangest of places, amongst the strangest of things. In 1829, Felix Mendelssohn was inspired by a great cavern, rich with Scottish mythology. While sailing through the Hebrides Islands off the coast of Scotland, he saw the famed Fingal's Cave and was so moved by its beauty that he jotted down a full orchestration that became the beginning of one of his most famous works, The Hebrides Overture. Originally titled, The Lonely Island, this masterpiece has become a staple in today's orchestral repertoire.
Felix Mendelssohn was born on February 3rd, 1809, in Hamburg, Germany. His father was Abraham Mendelssohn, who was a wealthy banker. Abraham was the son of Jewish rabbi and philosopher …show more content…
As was the custom with most rich young men, Mendelssohn toured through Europe, seeing all the sights and visiting all the places. He was so inspired by the beauty and awe of the cave, that he sketched the first 20 bars of what would become the Hebrides Overture and sent them off in a letter to his sister, Fanny Mendelssohn. This overture depicts the crashing of waves and the swelling and stirring of the ocean as he saw it. Mendelssohn finished the piece on December 16, 1830 and was revised on June 20, 1832. When he finished the piece in 1830, he titled it The Lonely Island. After the revision and the process of publishing and writing, there was some confusion about the name of the piece. It seems that Mendelssohn abandoned the original title and replaced it with two different ones. On his score, he called the piece Fingal's Cave, but on the parts, he titled it The …show more content…
When listening to the piece, one notices the swirling and swelling of the waves as they come in with the tide. It begins with a melody that is brooding, and at the same time magnificent. The strings and woodwinds take the opening theme with the melody ending up in the violins. Sudden rises in the music allude to the sudden large waves. Also, descending passages after the musical swell suggest the falling of the waves on the rock walls of Fingal's Cave. At nearly a third of the way through, the cellos play an incredible melody that when listened to, one can picture coming around the corner of the island of Staffa and seeing for the first time the cave. Towards the middle, the brass plays the melody, hinting at slightly harsher conditions. This soon fades into woodwind and string variations. The end gradually builds up into an intense section, with scales in the strings and fanfare type playing in the brass. When listening, one can almost see the waves crashing on the walls. The end is possibly the best example of his tone painting of waves; everything comes to a climax, fades off, and we are left with three hits from the