Elijah (oratorio) Austrian bass Joseph Staudigl. Mendelssohn had discussed an oratorio based on Elijah in the late 1830s with his friend Karl Klingemann, who had provided him with the libretto for his comic operetta "Die Heimkehr aus der Fremde", which resulted in a partial text that Klingemann was unable to finish. Mendelssohn then turned to , the librettist for his earlier oratorio "St. Paul", who quickly abandoned Klingemann's work and produced his own text that combined the story of Elijah as told in the Book of Kings with psalms. In 1845, the Birmingham Festival commissioned an oratorio from Mendelssohn, who worked with
Rob Gardner (composer) television composition program. Among the oratorios by Gardner are "He is Jesus Christ", "Joseph Smith the Prophet", "Saints and Pioneers" and "Lamb of God". He composed and conducted the production of the YouTube video "Manger of Bethlehem". He also has composed the musicals, "Blackbeard" and "The Price of Freedom" (with Mckane Davis). Gardner is also a co-founder and president of the nonprofit organization Spire Music. He also helped found the group Cinematic Pop. Rob Gardner (composer) Rob Gardner (born 1978) is an American Latter-day Saint composer of primarily oratorios. One of his most widely performed works is his oratorio "Lamb