Lift Thine Eyes (from the oratorio »Elijah«) | Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy | Arrangement: Kurt Gäble

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Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy's "Elijah" is an oratorio for the biblical prophet. In a letter from 1837, there is a first mention that Mendelssohn planned to set the prophet’s story to music. At the same time he developed his own notion about Elijah’s character and figure, which he described in a letter from 1838: "I think of Elijah as a righteous prophet, just as we need today, strong, eager, also angry and serious, in contrast to the rabble and almost to the whole world - yet still carried on angel’s wings." The project then was untouched for several years. It might have never been finished if Joseph Moore, the manager of the Birmingham Music Festival, had not asked Mendelssohn in June 1845 to write a new oratorio. The premiere of "Elijah" took place in Birmingham on August 26, 1846. "Elijah" op. 70 by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy consists of two parts with a total of 42 selections. In the second part, No. 28 is a trio for female voices entitled "Lift Thine Eyes", which became famous as "Angel’s Trio". Kurt Gaeble created a carefully orchestrated version for concert band that can be performed instrumentally or in combination with mixed chorus or women’s chorus. As Gaeble studied the oratorio "Elijah" and the Angel’s Trio and wondered how to create a reasonable and sonorous arrangement for concert band, he realized that the song’s abrupt entrance in the original work required a worthy prelude. So, he composed a 24-bar instrumental introduction, which wonderfully fits into Mendelssohn-Bartholdy’s style. It develops from nowhere to subtle, sublime sounds and then reveals the Angel’s Trio "Lift Thine Eyes".
The concert band edition includes 12 choral parts for mixed chorus (SATB) and 9 choral parts for women's chorus (SSA).
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