The Hebrides (overture) The Hebrides (overture) Felix Mendelssohn's concert overture The Hebrides (; ) was composed in 1830, revised in 1832, and published the next year as his Op. 26. Some consider it an early tone poem. It was inspired by one of Mendelssohn's trips to the British Isles, specifically an 1829 excursion to the Scottish island of Staffa, with its basalt sea cave known as Fingal's Cave. It is not known whether Mendelssohn set foot on the island, the cave being best visible from the water, but the composer reported that he immediately jotted down the opening theme for his composition. He
Academic Festival Overture planned and highlighted in the piece, which, in spite of Scholz's request, calls for one of the largest ensembles for any of his compositions: piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets (both doubling in B and C clarinets), two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns (two in C and two in E), three C trumpets, three trombones, one tuba, timpani, bass drum, cymbals, triangle, and strings. The Overture consists of four continuous sections: The composer himself conducted the premiere of the overture, and received his honorary degree, at a special convocation held by the University on January 4, 1881. To the chagrin