ANN ARBOR—Faculty soloists from the University of Michigan’s School of Music will join U-M students of the University’s Chamber Choir, University Choir and University Symphony Orchestra in a performance of Felix Mendelssohn’s massive oratorio “Elijah” Feb. 19 at 8 p.m. in Hill Auditorium. Admission is free.

Free educational events supporting the concert include an informal preview Feb. 10, 3-4 p.m., at Ann Arbor’s Temple Beth Emeth, located at 2309 Packard St. Theodore Morrison, U-M professor of music and conductor of the oratorio, and his wife, Annie Rose, cantor at Beth Emeth, will discuss the oratorio and perform selections from the score.

Ralph Williams, U-M professor of English, will present a pre-performance discussion of “Elijah,” 6:30-7:30 p.m., in the U-M Alumni Association building, located at 200 Fletcher St. Williams, who teaches a popular class addressing the Bible as literature, will speak of the power and significance of the figure of Elijah, who was considered the first of the great prophets in Jewish and Christian scriptures. He will discuss Elijah’s many deeds, including his confrontation with the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel—one of the great dramatic moments in the oratorio as well as in scripture.

“This is an enormous commitment,” Morrison says of the production. “Because of the size of the work and the difficulty of the music, this composition is traditionally something that is only attempted on the college level by the largest and best music schools.”

The score for the work, says Morrison, is 2.5 inches thick, “and the performance takes about an hour per inch.” The U-M performance will include 165 singers, an orchestra, and four faculty soloists.

One of the most challenging aspects of the oratorio is the music sung by its title character. Morrison describes the baritone role of Elijah as “titanic,” adding that the difficulty of all the solo roles “is why it is crucial to have the faculty soloists.” The performance will feature U-M faculty members Daniel Washington as Elijah, soprano Carmen Pelton, mezzo soprano Freda Herseth, and Michigan State University Prof. Robert Bracey, a tenor and U-M alumnus.

Morrison says the interaction between the faculty and student performers is especially beneficial to the students. “Working with their teachers gives students the opportunity to see how these professionals work when they are in rehearsal and how they prepare their music.”

“Elijah” was Mendelssohn’s last major composition before his death at 38. The composer is known to have loved the oratorios of Handel and was a major force in reviving popular interest in Bach. “Elijah” shows influences of the former masters, but Mendelssohn may have surpassed his mentors in creating “Elijah,” acknowledged by many as the most dramatic oratorio ever written.