Elijah (oratorio) Elijah (oratorio) Elijah (), Op. 70, MWV A 25, is an oratorio written by Felix Mendelssohn. It premiered in 1846 at the Birmingham Festival. It depicts events in the life of the Biblical prophet Elijah, taken from the books 1 Kings and 2 Kings of the Old Testament. This piece was composed in the spirit of Mendelssohn's Baroque predecessors Bach and Handel, whose music he loved. In 1829 Mendelssohn had organized the first performance of Bach's "St Matthew Passion" since the composer's death and was instrumental in bringing this and other Bach works to widespread popularity. By contrast, Handel's oratorios
Paul Drayton (composer) Paul Drayton (composer) Paul Drayton (born 28 December 1944) is a British composer, conductor, pianist, and teacher. He was educated at High Wycombe Royal Grammar School from 1956 to 1962. He studied music at Brasenose College, Oxford, and was subsequently Director of Music at New College School, Oxford. He later taught and was composer-in-residence at Stowe School near Buckingham. Many of his compositions are vocal. His piece entitled "Masterpiece" was sung by the King's Singers in their 2005 DVD release "From Byrd to the Beatles". He is the author of a listeners' guide to music entitled "Unheard Melodies or Trampolining