Mendelssohn's 'Auf Einer Gondel' and 'Elijah'

The Freemantle Collection

Guide to the Freemantle Collection in the Leeds University Special Collections and the significant materials that can be found within.

Charles Dibdin

Charles Dibdin's comic operas. Part of an exhibition at Leeds Special Collections about the collecting activities of W. T. Freemantle.

Charles Dibdin's 'Table Entertainments'

Charles Dibdin's one-man shows. Part of an exhibition at Leeds Special Collections about the collecting activities of W. T. Freemantle.

Dr. Benjamin Cooke's Protest

Dr. Benjamin Cooke protests at losing his post. Part of an exhibition at Leeds Special Collections about the collecting activities of W. T. Freemantle.

E. J. Loder's 'Manfred'

E. J. Loder's musical setting of Manfred. Part of an exhibition at Leeds Special Collections about the collecting activities of W. T. Freemantle.

W. T. Freemantle the composer

W. T. Freemantle as a composer. Part of an exhibition at Leeds Special Collections about the collecting activities of W. T. Freemantle.

Mendelssohn's 'Christe du Lamm Gottes'

Autograph score of Mendelssohn's 'Christe du Lamm Gottes'. Part of an exhibition at Leeds Special Collections about the collecting activities of W. T. Freemantle.

Mendelssohn's 'Allegro Brillante'

Mendelssohn's early compositional sketch 'Allegro Brillante'. Part of an exhibition at Leeds Special Collections about the collecting activities of W. T. Freemantle.

Mendelssohn's 'Auf Einer Gondel' and 'Elijah'

Mendelssohn's 'Elijah' and 'Auf Einer Gondel'. Part of an exhibition at Leeds Special Collections about the collecting activities of W. T. Freemantle.

Symington the 'thief'!

John Alexander Symington and the Library of Congress. Part of an exhibition at Leeds Special Collections about the collecting activities of W. T. Freemantle.

There are also many more important and interesting Mendelssohn works within the Special Collection. Among them are six scores of Mendelssohn Lieders without words, called ‘Auf Einer Gondel’, written in 1831. They form part of Mendelssohn’s ‘Songs without words’, which were written between 1829-1845. They were published separately, but came to be collectively called so when later published. The first volume was in 1932, by Novello, London, called ‘Original melodies for the Pianoforte.’

Special Collections also has a copy of Mendelssohn’s original draft of ‘Elijah'. It is copied in Freemantle’s hand, with all the notes and annotations by Mendelssohn included. There is also a volume entitled 'Elijah: a comparison of the original and revised scores' containing an analysis of the differences between the scores by Joseph Bennett.