In the programme of the symphonic concert "Schubert and Mendelssohn", which will take place on Friday, October 13, includes the overture "Hebrides" by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (also known as the Concerto Overture "Fingal's Cave"). The work is an expression of Mendelssohn's admiration for the grandeur of Fingal's Cave on the Isle of Staffa, part of the Hebrides Islands, western Scotland.
The graphic we share with you today is an original creation of the composer himself, the fruit of his impressions of the impressive beauty of nature and the majestic Fingal's Cave.
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy visits the Hebrides during a major European tour which continues in Scotland. Under the influence of his strong impressions, Mendelssohn sent a postcard to his sister Fanny, in which he recorded the opening phrase of his future work: 'That you may understand how strongly the Hebrides impressed me, I send you this melody which appeared in my head while I was in the cave itself'.
Completed on 16 December 1830, the overture was originally entitled The Lonely Island. Soon afterwards Mendelssohn made corrections, changing the name to Hebrides, but alongside this the title Fingal's Cave was used, which can be seen written on some of the scores. The work was premiered on 14 May 1832 in London, along with his other famous overture, A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Although labeled as an overture, Hebrides is a self-contained, fully complete piece of music. The overture uses the language of music to paint a series of scenes with different moods, making it one of the first examples of a symphonic poem. It has two main themes - the first is the opening, lyrical theme, which Mendelssohn invented during his stay in the cave, and which expresses his strong impression of the beauty of the cave and the feeling of solitude and seclusion; and the second theme, which in turn portrays the unceasing movement of the waves of the sea.
