Elijah (oratorio) thorough and speedy recognition of a great work of art'. Notwithstanding the work's triumph, Mendelssohn revised his oratorio wholesale before another group of performances in London in April 1847 - one (23 April) in the presence of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. The German version was first performed on the composer's birthday, 3 February 1848, in Leipzig, a few months after Mendelssohn's death, under the baton of the composer Niels Wilhelm Gade. Mendelssohn uses biblical episodes relating to Elijah, which in the original, :19 and , are narrated in rather laconic form, to produce intensely dramatic scenes, by adding several
Christus. Mysterium in a Prelude and Three Oratorios International Draeseke Society, he played them in the town church of Coburg. Christus is composed of four separate sections: Though the work is composed of three oratorios, it bears more resemblance to Wagner's "Ring Cycle" than to traditional oratorio. Draeseke intended for it to fit into the category of Wagner's "Musikdrama," and in fact he used leitmotif throughout the work. Because of its length, a performance of "Christus" spans three evenings. The work was only performed twice in its entirety and, unlike Wagner's "Ring Cycle", Draeseke preferred that his work be performed in a church. Draeseke wrote in program notes