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
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