'Mendelssohn, Goethe, and the Walpurgis Night' addresses tolerance and acceptance in the face of cultural, political, and religious strife. Its point of departure is the Walpurgis Night. The Night, also known as Beltane or May Eve, was supposedly an annual witches' Sabbath that centered around the Brocken, the highest peak of the Harz Mountains. After exploring how a notoriously pagan celebration came to be named after the Christian missionary St. Walpurgis (ca. 710-79), John Michael Cooper discusses the Night's treatments in several closely interwoven works by Goethe and Mendelssohn. His book situates those works in their immediate personal and professional contexts, as well as among treatments by a wide array of other artists, philosophers, and political thinkers, including Voltaire, Lessing, Shelley, Heine, Delacroix, and Berlioz. In an age of decisive political and religious conflict, Walpurgis Night became a heathen muse: a source of spiritual inspiration that was neither specifically Christian, nor Jewish, nor Muslim. And Mendelssohn's and Goethe's engagements with it offer new insights into its role in European cultural history, as well as into issues of political, religious, and social identity - and the relations between cultural groups - in today's world. John Michael Cooper is professor of music at Southwestern University and author of 'Mendelssohn's "Italian" Symphony' (Oxford University Press).

Stimulating and informative . . . generously illustrated by excerpts from the score. . . . The book has much to offer, in particular, to English-speaking readers without a command of German and unfamiliar with the Walpurgis Night origins and legends, who will appreciative the historical frame and the generous translation of key texts. Scholars of German literature will profit from the rigorous musicological analysis.'

Meredith Lee Source: German Quarterly

An outstanding piece of scholarship. . . . Entirely successful. . . . Argues convincingly for a Mendelssohn engaged with culture, informed about his thinking, and--most important--willing and eager to take artistic risks in order to not only state his opinions but also build bridges. . . . The use of illustrations in early publications is especially illuminating.'

Siegwart Reichwald Source: Music Library Association Notes

Dozens of excellently selected illustrations. . . . Thoughtful and warmly written. . . . [Its] themes are interwoven in an imaginative, careful way, made to come alive for readers familiar or not with the book's topics. . . . A rich vein indeed.'

Peter Williams Source: Musical Times