“O Rest in the Lord” – is the Alto Soloist’s second aria from Mendelssohn’s Elijah. These are the words of an angel, who speaks to Elijah after he has run into the wilderness for a whole day. In this scene Elijah lies under a tree exhausted. He asks the Lord to take his life, because his suffering is too much to bare. Then he falls asleep. An angel appears twice – first to wake him and give him water and a loaf of bread. Elijah falls asleep again. The angel appears for a second time to wake him again. This time the angel gives Elijah enough food so that he can survive for forty days in the wilderness. This aria refers to the second appearance of the angel. The angel is encouraging Elijah here, so that not only will he have enough food for his forty days of travelling in the wilderness, but that he will also have the spiritual strength to persevere his sadness at that moment.

Here is an English translation of the opening phrases:

“O rest in the Lord, wait patiently for him
and he will give you your heart’s desires...”

Live performance from a concert at Pfingsten of the Alto’s second aria by Dorothea Fayne (Mezzo-Soprano) with Diana Wartenberg (Viola) and Uwe Streibel (Piano) – May 2007 in Franziskushof.