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Mendelssohn Felix Quizzes, Trivia and Puzzles
Mendelssohn Felix Quizzes, Trivia

Felix Mendelssohn Trivia

Felix Mendelssohn Trivia Quizzes

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2 Felix Mendelssohn quizzes and 20 Felix Mendelssohn trivia questions.
1.
  Great Composers: Mendelssohn    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Who was Mendelssohn? Take the quiz and find out more about this well-known, but perhaps underappreciated musician.
Average, 10 Qns, 57wordsmith, Nov 16 21
Average
57wordsmith
Nov 16 21
506 plays
2.
  Elijah/Elias/Eliyahu    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Felix Mendelssohn's oratorio "Elijah" has been one of the most popular works in its genre ever since it was composed. But there are some discrepencies between Mendelssohn's libretto and the original text. This quiz is about just some of those differences
Tough, 10 Qns, Arpeggionist, Nov 16 21
Tough
Arpeggionist
Nov 16 21
183 plays
Related Topics
  Classical Music [Music] (183 quizzes)


Felix Mendelssohn Trivia Questions
1. When was Mendelssohn born?

From Quiz Great Composers: Mendelssohn

Answer: 1809

He was named Felix, which means "happy one." And happy he was. He was the second child born into a wealthy family who adored the handsome little boy.

2. What is unusual about the very opening of Mendelssohn's oratorio?

From Quiz Elijah/Elias/Eliyahu

Answer: The overture follows a brief introduction by the bass solo.

It was slightly unusual at the time for big choral and operatic works to have the overture follow an introduction by the main soloist of the piece. My guess is that Mendelssohn wanted to emphasize the role of his star character by quoting the very first words we hear from Elijah in the Bible (in 1 Kings 17:1): "So long as the Lord, God of Israel, lives, there shall not be dew or rain in the land, but by my word."

3. With which sibling did Mendelssohn start his music lessons?

From Quiz Great Composers: Mendelssohn

Answer: Fanny

He was four years old when he began his music lessons with his beloved sister Fanny. He later performed music with his brother Paul, who played cello, and with his sister Rebecca, who sang. There was no sibling by the name of Oscar.

4. What is the only voice in the octet (No. 7) that does not sing in the entire rest of the piece?

From Quiz Elijah/Elias/Eliyahu

Answer: One of the basses

All the solo voices in the oratorio are accounted for except the second bass. Two sopranos and two altos sing the roles of angels, Jezebel, the boy and the widow whose child Elijah resurrects. The tenors are Ahab and the prophet Obadiah. Elijah is a bass. The octet, however, calls for two basses. The words are from the 91st Psalm: "For he shall command his angels over you, to safeguard you on all your paths. They shall carry you on their hands, lest your foot be struck by a stone."

5. Besides piano, what other instrument did Mendelssohn learn?

From Quiz Great Composers: Mendelssohn

Answer: violin

His compositions reflect the richness of his knowledge of these two instruments.

6. Considered a prodigy, Mendelssohn created roughly how many pieces by the age of 12?

From Quiz Great Composers: Mendelssohn

Answer: 50

Mendelssohn created a wealth and variety of musical pieces including opera. His "Octet in E Flat" is considered a masterpiece for strings.

7. Which country inspired Mendelssohn to create his famous "Hebrides Overture" (also known as "Fingal's Cave")?

From Quiz Great Composers: Mendelssohn

Answer: Scotland

After Mendelssohn was warmly received in England he further traveled to Scotland, where the lush countryside inspired him to create such works as the "Hebrides Overture". Fingal's Cave especially impressed him, and this is reflected in the piece so named.

8. At 17 Mendelssohn wrote the overture to Shakespeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream". However, he wrote what other famous piece for the same play?

From Quiz Great Composers: Mendelssohn

Answer: The Wedding March

"The Wedding March" is what we hear at most weddings, and Mendelssohn created it for Oberon's wedding in the play.

9. God does appear to Elijah, both in the Bible and in the oratorio. But in the Bible it is much less a grand appearence than that which Mendelssohn composes. In any case, where does God appear in both the Oratorio and in the Bible?

From Quiz Elijah/Elias/Eliyahu

Answer: After the silence

The Bible makes a point of understating God's appearence, starting from the end of 1 Kings 19:13: "And after the fire - the sound of a moment's silence. And when Elijah heard, he covered his face with his coat [Mendelssohn has Elijah cover his face BEFORE the whole episode], and he went out and stood at the opening of the cave; he heard a voice, and it said to him: 'What do you seek here, Elijah?'" In the music, God appears from the silence, and then a chorus of angels appears and sings: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God..." after which God tells Elijah to go back home and be a prophet.

10. In which year did Mendelssohn die?

From Quiz Great Composers: Mendelssohn

Answer: 1847

Mendelssohn had a short but happy life. He died in November of 1847 at the age of only 38. It's thought he never truly recovered from the shock of his beloved sister Fanny's death, who died in 1846. Her death came shortly after a successful, but draining tour of England from which Mendelssohn had just returned. Mendelssohn's funeral was attended by hundreds of musicians and students.

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