Elijah (or Elias, 1846) is one of Mendelssohn's most important works and one of the great European oratorios, alongside Händel's Messiah and Haydn's Die Schöpfung (The Creation). It was strongly influenced by the religious music of Bach, whom Mendelssohn greatly admired. It provides a dramatic account of the tale of the prophet Elijah, in which the chorus and orchestra play the leading roles.

Initial input for the text of the oratorio came from Carl Klingemann, Mendelssohn's friend in London, and Julius Schubring, but in the end it was the composer himself who defined the themes.  It was premiered in English at the Birmingham Festival in 1846, a year before Mendelssohn's death. The composer himself was on the podium and it was enthusiastically received (four arias and four choruses were encored).