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1829 - Rain and Mists

Composer of the Week Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Episode 2 of 5

Donald Macleod explores the artistic results of Mendelssohn's visit to Scotland, including the Hebrides Overture and a sketch of the Falls at Dunkeld.

Donald Macleod explores the artistic results of Mendelssohn's visit to Scotland, including the Hebrides Overture and a sketch of the Falls at Dunkeld.
Few of us can readily lay claim to the descriptions polymath and polyglot. Felix Mendelssohn could. A child prodigy, likened by his contemporaries to Mozart, he was an accomplished composer, performer, conductor and musicologist. Beyond music, Mendelssohn was extremely knowledgeable about poetry, classical studies, theology, languages, painting and drawing. Indeed, he enjoyed art so much he continued to produce sketches, drawings and paintings as a pastime almost to the very end of his life. While he died aged only 38 in 1847, in addition to manuscripts, a considerable collection of his artwork has been preserved.

The biggest collection of Mendelssohn's biographical archive resides in the University of Oxford's Bodleian Libraries. This week, with Mendelssohn expert Peter Ward Jones as his guide, Donald Macleod opens up Mendelssohn's sketchbooks to find out what captured the composer's imagination alongside music.

Mendelssohn's 1829 tour of Scotland is recorded in a series of memorable sketches. The weather was particularly bad, so much so that he developed a different pencil technique in his attempts to capture the cloudy skies and swirling mists. But his visit to Fingal's cave is preserved only in music. The crossing was so rough, and he was so sea-sick, he was unable to produce a sketch.

You can see sketches and drawings featured in this week's programme on the Radio 3 website.

String Quartet in E flat major Op 12 (Canzonetta: Allegro)
Emerson Quartet

Hebrides Overture
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Edward Gardner, conductor

Scottish Songs
Hannah Morrison, soprano
James Rutherford, baritone
Eugene Asti, piano

Fantasy for piano in F sharp minor
Howard Shelley, piano

Reformation Symphony (1st movement)
London Symphony Orchestra
John Eliot Gardiner, conductor.

1 hour

Last on

Tue 3 Oct 2017 12:00
成人快手 Radio 3

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Music Played

  • Felix Mendelssohn

    The Hebrides - overture (opening)

    Orchestra: City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Edward Gardner.
    • CHANDOS : CHSA 5132.
    • CHANDOS.
    • 1.

  • Felix Mendelssohn

    Quartet no. 1 in E flat major Op.12 - Canzonetta

    Ensemble: Emerson String Quartet.
    • DG: 433775370.
    • DG.
    • 7.

  • Felix Mendelssohn

    String Quartet No. 1 In E Flat Major Op.12 - Canzonetta

    Ensemble: Emerson String Quartet.

  • Felix Mendelssohn

    The Hebrides (Fingal's Cave) - Overture Op.26

    Orchestra: City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Edward Gardner.
    • CHANDOS : CHSA 5132.
    • CHANDOS.
    • 1.

  • Felix Mendelssohn

    The Hebrides overture Op.26

    Orchestra: City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Edward Gardner.
    • CHANDOS : CHSA 5132.
    • CHANDOS.
    • 1.

  • Felix Mendelssohn

    6 Scottish songs

    Performer: Eugene Asti. Singer: Hannah Morrison. Singer: James Rutherford.
    • HYPERION : CDA-67753.
    • HYPERION.
    • 15.

  • Felix Mendelssohn

    Scottisches lieder- We've a bonnie wee flower

    Performer: Eugene Asti. Singer: Hannah Morris. Singer: James Rutherford.
    • HYPERION : CDA-67753.
    • HYPERION.
    • 15.

  • Felix Mendelssohn

    Scottisches lieder- The Flowers of the Forest

    Performer: Eugene Asti. Singer: Hannah Morris. Singer: James Rutherford.
    • HYPERION : CDA-67753.
    • HYPERION.
    • 15.

  • Felix Mendelssohn

    Scottisches lieder - The Yellow-hair'd laddie

    Performer: Eugene Asti. Singer: Hannah Morris. Singer: James Rutherford.
    • HYPERION : CDA-67753.
    • HYPERION.
    • 15.

  • Felix Mendelssohn

    Fantasia (Sonate ecossaise) in F sharp minor Op.28

    Performer: Howard Shelley.
    • Hyperion: CDA68059.
    • Hyperion.
    • 6.

  • Felix Mendelssohn

    Fantasia in F sharp minor Op.28 for piano

    Performer: Howard Shelley.
    • Hyperion: CDA68059.
    • Hyperion.
    • 6.

  • Felix Mendelssohn

    Symphony no. 5 in D major Op.107 (Reformation)

    Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Sir John Eliot Gardiner.
    • LSO LIVE : LSO-0775.
    • LSO LIVE.
    • 4.

  • Felix Mendelssohn

    Symphony No. 5 In D Major Op.107 (Reformation)

    Performer: London Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Claudio Abbado.
    • DEUTSCHE GRAMMOP : 415-353 2.
    • DEUTSCHE GRAMMOP.
    • 5.

Broadcasts

  • Tue 23 Aug 2016 18:30
    成人快手 Radio 3
  • Tue 3 Oct 2017 12:00
    成人快手 Radio 3

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