Music

The Hebrides

Felix Mendelssohn1833

B minor, MWV P 7. Composed 1829-30. First performed 14 May 1832, London. Dedicated to Frederick William IV of Prussia. Inspired by Fingal's Cave.

11:231 picture

On the way they visited Fingal's Cave, and Felix, writing 'auf einer Hebride' — 'on one of the Hebrides' — Aug. 7, gives twenty bars of music, 'to show how extraordinarily the place affected me.' These 20 bars, an actual inspiration, are virtually identical with the opening of the wonderful Overture which bears the name of 'Hebrides' or 'Fingal's Cave.'
George Grove, quoting Mendelssohn's letter of 7 August 1829. In George Grove, A Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Vol. II, article "Mendelssohn", 1880, p. 264. Source
I cannot however bring out "The Hebrides" here, because, as I wrote to you at the time, I do not consider it finished; the middle movement forte in D major is very stupid, and the whole modulations savour more of counterpoint, than of train oil and seagulls and salt fish — and it ought to be exactly the reverse.
Felix Mendelssohn, letter from Paris, 21 January 1832. In Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Letters of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy from Italy and Switzerland, 1862, translated by Lady Grace Wallace, p. 332. Source
The "Hebrides" is completed at last, and a strange production it is.
Felix Mendelssohn, letter from Rome, December 1830. In Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Letters of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy from Italy and Switzerland, 1862, translated by Lady Grace Wallace, p. 92. Source

Recording

On the wall

Staffa, Fingal's Cave, Joseph Mallord William Turner

Same subject, with the whole piece

Staffa, Fingal's Cave

Joseph Mallord William Turnerexhibited 1832

Wikidata records Fingal's Cave as what inspired the overture. Turner's painting of the cave on Staffa was exhibited in 1832.

Yale Center for British Art

Sourcesread 2026-10-09

Description
concert overture composed by Felix MendelssohnWikidata
Heading
Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Felix, 1809-1847. HebridenLibrary of Congress
Key
B minorWikidata
Catalogue
MWV P 7 (Mendelssohn Works)Wikidata
Composed
1829-30 (08-07 to 12-16); revised 1832 (June 6 to 20), 1833 (11-29)IMSLP
First performed
1832-05-14IMSLP
First performed in
LondonIMSLP
Dedicated to
Frederick William IV of PrussiaWikidataFranz Hauser (German first edition)IMSLPPhilharmonic Society (English first edition)IMSLPFriedrich Wilhelm IV (first full score)IMSLP
For
orchestraIMSLP
Inspired by
Fingal's CaveWikidata

Recordings

Credit
Felix Mendelssohn. This work comes from the non profit U.S. organization Musopen where it is available at the following link: https://musopen.org/music/306-the-hebrides-fingals-cave-op-26/ The Musopen website requires all uploaders to "represent and warrant that content uploaded to the site is in the public domain" (see FAQ #4 ). Musopen's own works ( "Musopen Materials" and "Musopen Service", not user content or public domain content ), are fully copyrighted and may not be used freely as stated in their Terms and Conditions of Use . https://archive.org/details/MusopenCollectionAsFlac. Public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsPDM-1.0Source
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