Mendelssohn on His Creative Process

Mendelssohn on his Creative Process

It is a glorious feeling to waken in the morning

and to know that you are going to write the score of a grand allegro

with all sorts of instruments...and take a long walk in the afternoon.[1]

We suspect that most composers are like Beethoven, for whom a fragment of perhaps a melody would occur to him and which would then require a lengthy process of manipulation before finding its final form. Mendelssohn, on the other hand, was one of those very rare persons like Mozart who seemed to walk around with large portions of music in his head. In 1830 he mentions to his sister that a piano concerto “begins to float in my head”[2] and the following year he makes a very curious comment to his family.

Since I left Vienna I have half composed Goethe’s “First Walpurgis Night,” and have not courage to write it down.[3]

The music he carried around in his head included large forms. He mentioned once that “I have a symphony in my head which will soon be launched”[4] and on another occasion large portions of an opera.

I confess to you that for the last six months I have had a incredible longing to write an opera. I cannot think of instrumental music now, because I have nothing but voices and choruses buzzing around me, and I shall have no peace till I have worked it out.[5]

While this music would never be put on paper, on another occasion he apparently heard in his head an entire chorus for St. Paul “which I shall very soon write down” and did.[6]

It was probably more common for him to hear music in his head in a general way but not fully worked out the way Mozart apparently did. Mendelssohn wrote to his former teacher, Moscheles, in 1839,

I want to write a new concerto, but so far it is swimming about in my head in a shapeless condition.[7]

And there appear to have been limits to the length of time music remained n his head if it were not set on paper.

At this moment a whole mass of music is buzzing in my head, I trust that it will not, please God, pass away quickly.[8]

When Mendelssohn spoke of the music he carried around in his head it was also a synonym for the inspiration he valued most, writing what was in his heart.

I feel that in every new piece I succeed better in learning to write exactly what is in my heart, and, after all, that is the only correct rule I know.[9]

The importance of this was clear to him already when he was a young man.

Every day I am more sincerely anxious to write exactly as I feel, and to have even less regard than ever for outside opinions; and when I have composed a piece just as it sprang from my heart, then I have done my duty; whether hereafter it brings fame, honor, decorations, or snuffboxes, etc., is a matter of indifference to me.[10]

Late in life he expressed this conviction in a more extensive discussion in a letter to a young composer. It seems clear that “writing what is in the heart” was the essence of Truth in music for Mendelssohn.

The question is then solely what is felt and experienced within a man’s own breast, and uttered from the depths of his heart, be it grave or gay, bitter or sweet, -- character and life are displayed here; and in order to prevent existence being dissipated and wasted when brilliant and happy, or depressed and destroyed when the reverse, there is but one safeguard, -- to work, and to go on working. So, for your sake, I have only one wish, that you may bring to light what exists within you, in your nature and feelings, which none save yourself can know or possess. In your works, go deeper into your inmost being, and let them bear a distinct stamp; let criticism and intellect rule as much as you please in all outward questions and forms, but in all inner and original thought, the heart alone, and genuine feelings.[11]

The following year he mentions again how important it was to him to write what is in his heart.

Ever since I began to compose, I have remained true to my starting principle: not to write a page because no matter what public, or what pretty girl wanted it to be thus or thus; but to write solely as I myself thought best, and as it gave me pleasure.[12]

Thus we can see that Mendelssohn was always confident that writing from the heart was the correct course, but as a young man he was not always confident that he could judge if the result was good or not. He confides to his family,

I can unfortunately form no judgment of my new compositions; I cannot tell whether they are good or bad; and this arises from the circumstance that all the people to whom I have played anything for the last 12 months, forthwith glibly declared it to be wonderfully beautiful, and that will never do. I really wish that some one would let me have a little rational blame once more, or what would be still more agreeable, a little rational praise, and then I should find it less indispensable to act the censor towards myself, and to be so distrustful of my own powers.[13]

Six years later he is full of confidence in his ability to judge his own works, as we see in a letter to his mother.

I may well say that I now see, beyond doubt, that all the attention is only bestowed on me because in the course of my work I do not in the least concern myself as to what people wish and praise and pay for, but solely as to what I consider good, so I shall now less than ever allow myself to be turned aside from my own path.[14]

Mendelssohn would have said that the source of this music in his head was God, but he also credited some other things which helped his creative thoughts along. Like Beethoven, he found inspiration in nature. In an early letter from England he writes,

I had to be off into the country, found no carriage, and was obliged to walk in the cool of the evening; a number of musical ideas came to me, and I sang them out loud, for I was walking along a meadow path and met no one; the whole sky was grey with a purple streak on the horizon, and the thick cloud of smoke lay behind me. As soon as I find some peace and quiet, whether here or in Scotland, I shall write various things....[15]

And similarly from Switzerland he writes the famous Goethe,

I shall never forget the time that I have just spent roaming about the mountains on foot, all alone, without knowing a soul, and thinking of nothing but the new and wonderful things that burst upon me every moment.[16]

We can imagine there were many things which inspired Mendelssohn’s creative activity. He mentioned once that just the “gay life” in Munich inspired him with many new ideas.[17] And in Italy he was inspired by looking at famous paintings.

Often, after doing so, I feel musically inspired, and since I came here I have been busily engaged in composition.[18]

Since Mendelssohn possessed very uneven health, just being in a period when he felt well was enough to stimulate his composition. During one of these periods he wrote his parents from Rome,

I am healthier and happier than I have been for a long time, and take such delight in my work, and feel such an urge for it, that I expect to accomplish much more than I anticipated; indeed, I have already done a good deal. If it pleases Providence to grant me a continuation of this happy mood, I look forward to the most delightful and productive winter.[19]

We see this same problem in a letter three years later when he writes of the difficulty of composing under periods of ill health.

Do not expect too much of the compositions I shall bring with me. You will be sure to find frequent traces of moodiness, which I can shake off only slowly and by dint of an effort. I often feel as if I had never composed at all, and had to learn everything over again. Now, however, I have got into better trim and my last things will sound better.[20]

Sometimes his correspondence record “bad days” which render him somewhat depressed.

I do feel sometimes as if I should never succeed; and today I am quite dissatisfied with my work....[21]

And there were days when inspiration just did not come and he tells us that at such moments he turned again to Nature.

The moment my work ceases to progress, I always hope to find some resource in the open air, so I go out but think of anything and everything except my work, and do nothing but wander about.[22]

Mendelssohn particularly found it impossible to find inspiration under circumstances where he was asked to compose on demand. Even in the case of the famous Muzio Clementi, who sent him,

a few English verses and begged me to set them to music. This will be hard for me because I “must”....[23]

Similarly, when the English publisher, Novello, demanded church music of Mendelssohn in 1832, his correspondence speaks of his boredom, that the music does not flow naturally and that he just spends hours writing counterpoint and canons. This kind of composition, he writes his friend Klingemann, “does not count.”[24]

Aside from Mendelssohn’s difficulty in finding inspiration to fulfill commissions, he found it quite impossible to compose as part of any competition.

It strongly revived my feeling as to the utter impossibility of my ever composing anything with a view to competing for a prize. I should never be able even to make a beginning.[25]

Before leaving the topic of Mendelssohn’s inspiration we should mention some the specific circumstances where he found difficulty. One is with regard to setting text to music, for the usual text-painting, etc., he found insincere. He has left a very valuable letter which discusses his viewpoint.

Now for my critical spectacles, and a reply about your Becker “Rheinlied.” I like it very much; it is well written, and sounds joyous and exhilarating, but (for a but must of course be uttered by every critic) the whole poem is quite unsuitable for composition, and essentially unmusical. I am well aware that in saying this I rashly throw down the gauntlet to both of you, and many of my colleagues in Germany; but such is my opinion, and the worst part of it is, that I am confirmed in it by most of the compositions that I know. (For Heaven’s sake, let this remain a secret between us, otherwise, as journalists publish every trifle nowadays, I may possibly be some day conveyed across the frontiers as a Frenchman.) But, jesting apart, I can only imagine music when I can realize the mood from which it emanates; mere artistically correct tones to suit the rhythm of the poetry, becoming forte when the words are vehement, and piano when they are meek, sounding very pretty, but expressing nothing, -- I never yet could comprehend; and still such is the only music I can discover for this poem. Neither forcible, nor effective, nor poetical, but only supplementary, collateral music. The latter, however, I do not choose to write. In such cases, the fable of the two vases often recurs to me, who set off together on a voyage, but in rolling to and fro one smashed his companion, the one being made of clay and the other of iron.[26]

Mendelssohn seems to us to be concerned here with the distinction between superficial and genuine feeling. Two months later he writes another thoughtful letter which addresses this idea.

I perceive a certain spirit, especially in your overture, which I myself know only too well, for in my opinion it caused my “Reformation Symphony” to fail, but which can be surely and infallibly banished by assiduous work of different kinds. Just as the French, by conjuring tricks and overwrought sentiment, endeavor to make their style harrowing and exciting, so I believe it is possible, through a natural repugnance to this style, to fall into the other extreme, and so greatly to dread all that is piquant or sensuous, that at last the musical idea does not remain sufficiently bold or interesting; that instead of a tumor there is a wasting away....

.....

The important point is to make a melody, or anything of the kind which is in itself musical, really interesting....[27]

A letter to Moscheles in 1834 discusses the difficulty Mendelssohn was experiencing in writing music for the piano. He complains of difficulty in thinking of new forms for piano music and especially in trying to write a quiet piece for piano. He says he sits down and forces himself to begin improvising very quietly, but it is of no use and he soon falls back into the brilliant style.[28] Several years later he was still having difficulty writing piano music and even being afraid to write down on paper the notes when the ideas came to him for “something really suitable for the piano.”[29]

Regarding his actual work in composition Mendelssohn points to having “a long morning to myself in my own quiet room” as being a key for “prosperous work.”[30] In another place he adds that to compose “a certain mood is indispensable,” but he does not elaborate. This being in a “certain mood” made it very difficult for Mendelssohn to understand how someone could turn creativity into a regular discipline. He mentioned this when recalling a conversation he had with Goethe after having rediscovered Schiller’s “Wilhelm Tell.”

In the course of a long conversation about Schiller, he said that Schiller had been able to supply two great tragedies every year, besides other poems. This business-like term, “supply,” struck me as the more remarkable on reading this fresh, vigorous work....[31]

Whatever his requirements necessary to good composition, it is also clear that he could, again like Mozart, produce music sometimes at great speed. In a letter to his family he describes a recital by a fine singer, Madame Botgorscheck, who had requested that Mendelssohn, too, should appear on the program. Having occurred to the composer that he had nothing suitable to play,