I. Allegro di molto
1. Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy wrote this symphony, but since you’re probably reading this on a phone screen, I’ll just call him Felix.
2. Felix also wrote the Wedding March, which is the festive music one typically hears at the end of a wedding, as the happy couple bolts for the exit.
3. Not to be confused with the Bridal Chorus, aka Here Comes the Bride, which was written by Richard Wagner. “Here Comes the Bride” were not the original lyrics, but they get the job done.
4. Officially, there are no lyrics to the Wedding March, which I think we should rectify right now.
5. I propose “PLEASE, LET the BRIDE and GROOM proCEED into THEIR limoSINE…” which seems appropriate.
6. A little less fluid in the original German though.
7. BITTE, LASsen sie die FRAUEN und HERren am den GROSSEN AUTOschnitzen geFARfegNUGen geSTRÖLLen.
II. Andante
1. Felix was considered a prodigy. He began performing and composing at a young age, and this, his first symphony, was written when he was only fifteen.
2. Now Mozart was eight when he wrote his first symphony. It’s not necessarily top-level Mozart, but certainly worthy of being posted on the refrigerator.
3. Beethoven and Haydn were both in their mid-twenties. And Brahms was in his forties! What a couch potato.
4. I can hear his mother now. “Brahms! Put down zat Schnitzel, get your feet off the Kaffee table, und schrieben sie mich eine Symphony! Schnell!”
III. Menuetto: Allegro molto
1. It may be useful to compare Felix with another, more modern artist who came into his own at the age of fifteen: Justin Bieber.
2. Both Justin and Felix were recognized early on as monumentally talented. Both could perform on multiple instruments, as well as compose.
3. Justin and Felix were both surprisingly devout Christians. Surprising for Felix because of his prominent Jewish ancestry, and for Justin because of his multiple incidents of assault, public intoxication, and drag racing in a rented Lamborghini.
5. Both men expressed their religious views eloquently. Felix: “…even the smallest task in music is so absorbing, and carries us so far away from town, country, earth, and all worldly things, that it is truly a blessed gift of God.”
6. Justin: “You don’t need to go to church to be a Christian. If you go to Taco Bell, that doesn’t make you a taco.”
IV. Allegro con fuoco
1. Our final movement features a fugue! This was a common (but old-fashioned, even in Felix’s day) way for composers to maximize their material.
2. A short and distinctive melody is introduced, and then passed around the orchestra, like a plate of turkey at thanksgiving dinner.
3. Sometimes it is presented in its original key and register, but sometimes it appears transformed, like a turkey omelet the day after thanksgiving dinner.
4. Fugues are all about honoring tradition and making efficient use of what you have. Which is great, unless you happen to be allergic to turkey.
5. We hope you have enjoyed this cornucopia of musical treats! Now go fall asleep on the sofa.
