Imagining Fingal’s Cave
Petra Vergunst explores whether Mendelssohn actually visited the remote cave which is said to have inspired one of his most famous orchestral works
The remote Isle of Staffa, west of Mull, is often said to have inspired Felix Mendelssohn to compose his famous Hebrides Overture. The opening bars of the overture; a downward ripple of the bassoon which sets off the rest of the orchestra, conjures up images of the inner chamber of the black basalt-pillared Fingal’s Cave on Staffa. But despite the romance of the suggestion that this remote spot inspired a beautiful piece of music, the reality is that it is highly unlikely that Mendelssohn ever set foot on the island.
Mendelssohn wrote The Hebrides Overture in 1832, when he was 23-years-old. Born into a middle class German background, before visiting Scotland, Felix had already travelled to France and Switzerland with his family. As was the cu stom for middle and upper class men of the time, Felix’s father had planned a European journey for the twenty-year old which was to last three years, starting in London. Felix thus arrived in the capital on 21 April, 1829, where he was welcomed by family friend Carl Klingemann who introduced him to British life. The next stage of the European journey was to take Felix and Carl to Scotland.
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