لغة الهدف: انجليزي
While Elijah spoke only about the Lord's Word in the hammer aria no. 17 he comments only on himself in the desert aria no. 26 "I desire to live no longer: now let me die, for my days are but in vain". The formal structure also reveals the contrarity of both arias. The first aria had a prolonged coda, a broad final affirmation which could be construed as an expression of great security. The desert aria, however, curtails the recapitulation by more than half as if the incertitude of Elijah and his dwindling will to live are to be articulated more impressively. Contrarian overall impression and contrary prevailing melodic course complete the image of opposition of both arias.
Both arias follow a uniform modulation scheme: the middle part is in major tonic parallel. Furthermore they are also connected by motivic relationships: [example 29].
The key of the desert aria, F sharp minor, introduces the question why Mendelssohn chose this key, which, in the chorus of Baal's priests, is interpreted as greatest contrast to the key of light, C major, the furthest renunciation of God, for the meadow of his prophet. Did the composer want to similarly characterise the desperation of Elijah as distance from God, as loss of all trust in God or does F sharp minor merely point out futile efforts in whichever matter? It could be possible to perceive F sharp minor as a parallel to A major. But this way a relationship to the other pieces can only be constructed by an indirect route as A major does not occur in the oratorio. A major proves to be a variant to A minor, the key of the hammer aria, and as subdominant to E major, the key of the visitation of God (No 34). Removed from the "keys of God", C major and E major, F sharp minor must be seen as a characteristic of the desert aria intentionally employed by Mendelssohn.
The relationships between the introductory motif of the aria, the arioso no. 18 and the duet with chorus no. 2 have already been noted.
* Stratton, Mendelssohn, London 1901, p. 196, compares the theme with the one of the aria "It is finished" from Bach's Passion of St. John. Mendelssohn might have got his inspiration from it