Moses Mendelssohn, the father of Felix, was a banker. He added Bartholdy to the family name.
When Mendelssohn’s parents called him Felix they chose the right name for him; for Felix means happy, and throughout his life few things occurred to cast on him shadows of dark clouds like those which occasioned the gloomy moods of Chopin, Beethoven, Schumann, and Liszt. While Chopin also had his happy moments, a vein of sadness twines through most of his pieces. It is significant that of these pieces the one most often heard is the funeral march from one of his sonatas; whereas of Mendelssohn’s pieces the one most in vogue is the jubilant wedding march from his music to “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Evidently there dwells in most souls a love of both the sad and the cheerful in art.
There was a time when Mendelssohn’s popularity was second to that of no other composer. His short piano pieces known as “Songs without Words” in particular enjoyed unbounded popularity, thanks to their tunefulness, which all could appreciate. The thing was overdone, and as in all such cases the inevitable reaction came, these pieces being looked on now as mere sentimental trifles. Paderewski, however, has shown that if played in the modern way they appeal as much as ever to music lovers. He has the audacity to use the tempo rubato, which Mendelssohn would have none of; but there is reason to think he would like it as used by Paderewski.
MENDELSSOHN’S SONGS AND CHORAL WORKS
MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY MONUMENT, LEIPSIC
While the songs of Mendelssohn enjoyed for a generation as wide popular favor as his “Songs without Words,” it is not likely that they will ever recover their lost ground,—ground which they lost because, though tuneful, most of them are superficial. There is no doubt a good deal of “small talk” in many of Mendelssohn’s works, and small talk has no enduring value. But while the songs of this master are now neglected, his choral works, “St. Paul” and “Elijah,” still awe and thrill modern audiences, because in them, as in the oratorios of Handel and Bach, religious fervor is expressed in terms of noble music.
FELIX MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY
From a portrait painted by Horace Vernet. This is considered an excellent likeness of the composer. The face reflects his sunny disposition.