Seems Like Only Yesterday

1809—two hundred years ago—was obviously a very special year. I seriously doubt that the moon was in the Seventh House or that Jupiter aligned with Mars since the world was not in peace, but in its usual state of war, turmoil and intrigue. England and France were at war, as were Sweden and Russia.

1809 did give birth, though, to an abundance of notable persons who made important contributions to human civilization. In the United States, Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky in 1809 as was Kit Carson. Edgar Allan Poe was born in Massachusetts in 1809 as was poet Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. Added to that list of Americans are Europeans Charles Darwin, Louis Braille, Alfred Tennyson, Nikolai Gogol…and Felix Mendelssohn.

Although all of these men contributed significantly to the world, I single out two for special acclaim: Darwin and Mendelssohn…Darwin because he caused great angst among creationists for almost that many years…and Mendelssohn because he was a musical genius whose work ended much too early at the age of 38. The mind boggles at what we might have heard.

We can look forward to a little more Mendelssohn in the next few weeks. The KSO Chamber Series will feature Mendelssohn’s Overture to The Fair Melusina and a reprise of his “Italian” Symphony, the Symphony No. 4. (My review of the “Italian” precedes this post.) Also on the concert will be Brahms’ Liebeslieder Waltzes. There is one performance: Sunday afternoon at 2:30pm, March 1, at the Bijou.

It recently struck me that while Mozart was certainly composing at age 17, his maturity came a few years later. At age 17, Mendelssohn had given the music world the Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream. For Mendelssohn fans, the KSO will offer the complete incidental music to A Midsummer Night’s Dream in February of next year.