Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1809–1847)
Drei Concert-Overturen, No. 2 Die Fingals Höhle
Leipzig: Breitkopf & Hartel, ca. 1835
The path from Mendelssohn’s original inspiration on 7 August 1829 to the appearance of this published score in 1835 was a troubled and complex one. Mendelssohn seems to have finished a first version of the score, Ouvertüre zur einsamen Insel (Overture to the Solitary Island), by 11 December 1830, but he quickly produced a revised second version, now called Die Hebriden (“The Hebrides”), on 16 December 1830. A third version, with yet another title, The Isles of Fingal,appeared on 6 June 1832, and was arranged for piano duet. The final version, however, once again called The Hebrides was performed in London on 14 May 1832 (1833), and published — but now under the title Fingals Höhle (Fingal’s Cave) in 1835 as one of three “Concert Overtures.” The concert overture was a novel form, a freestanding piece often played at the opening of an evening’s music. It allowed, like an opera overture, for dramatic writing and a multiplicity of thematic material, without submitting to the rigors of symphonic form. Fingal’s Cave has remained a favorite with audiences since its first performance.
LENT BY THE IRVING S. GILMORE MUSIC LIBRARY, YALE UNIVERSITY
Rare M1004 M537 OP.26 B8