SATB. Mendelssohn F.
SKU: BR.SON-433
ISBN 9790004802892. 10 x 12.5 inches.
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy's violin concerto op. 64 had - like many of his other works - a lengthy genesis: it is in the summer of 1838 that surviving documents first mention the promise made to his friend Ferdinand David, concert master of the Leipzig Gewandhaus, to write, besides a sonata, a grand solo concerto for him. Ultimately, work on this opus continued - with some longer interruptions - until September 1844. Even then, it owed its preliminary completion in no small measure to the constant urging of the prospective solo violinist. But after the ,,official handing-over of the parts to David and a first joint rehearsal of the concert in Leipzig Mendelssohn continued working on the score. There subsequently began an intensive correspondence with David between Leipzig and Frankfurt am Main, where Mendelssohn resided with his family, in particular concerning issues of the principal part and the reworking of the solo cadence. In March 1845 the then current version of the work was premiered in a subscribers' concert in Leipzig.This volume deals with Mendelssohn's first complete manuscript of the score with the corrections contained therein, including all surviving drafts and sketches; also included is the epistolary evidence of the correspondence with Ferdinand David prior to the premiere. The further developments up to the printing of the main version of op. 64 by Breitkopf & Hartel are dealt with in Series II, Vol. 7 of the edition.
SKU: BR.SON-442
ISBN 9790004803509. 10 x 12.5 inches.
This volume contains three reworkings and orchestrations of religious works by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy which were originally set for smaller ensembles (solo voices, four-part chorus and organ). They were composed at different times and for different occasions, two of them as commissions. The anthem ,,Why, o Lord, delay forever MWV A 19 was originally the sacred vocal piece MWV B 33, published in England in 1841 with the additional title ,,[…] The Thirteenth Psalm, and in Germany in the same year as ,,Lass, o Herr, mich Hilfe finden with the title ,,Drei geistliche Lieder which was composed at the suggestion of the English literature and music lover Charles B. Broadley who also provided the paraphrase of the psalm text. After Mendelssohn had refused an initial request by Broadley to furnish the anthem post festum with an organ prelude, the composer did not want to turn down a second request to orchestrate the work and he even expanded the existing material with a lengthy closing fugue involving additional trumpets and timpani. The ,,Ave Maria MWV B 19 was written in connection with Mendelssohn's appointment as municipal music director, a position which at the same time included the responsibility for the musical organization of church services. The instrumentation of the work with an accompaniment of two clarinets and two bassoons as well as low strings was due to the fact that the organ in Dusseldorf's principal church St. Lambertus was out of order for an extended period of time, and Mendelssohn considered this solution explicitly only as a surrogate for the organ should there be none. A further psalm paraphrase in English, this time by William Bartholomew, of the hymn ,,Hear my prayer MWV B 49 was set to music in early 1844; the orchestration of the organ part commissioned by the distinguished Dublin musician Joseph Robinson was not completed until 1847 so that the premiere finally only took place after Mendelssohn's death. In the further course of the century ,,Hear my prayer would, particularly in the version with organ accompaniment, come to enjoy great popularity in Great Britain and Ireland.
SKU: BR.SON-452
ISBN 9790004803622. 10 x 12.5 inches.
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy lived in the heyday of men's choruses. Early on, the composer had encountered the genre by way of his teacher Carl Friedrich Zelter and his Berlin Liedertafel, founded in 1809, had then gathered his own experience from the Leipzig Liedertafel societies, and was in contact with a number of male choral societies throughout his lifetime. Nevertheless, his relation to male choral singing was characterised not only by his inclination, but also by critical distance. The festive compositions for male chorus and orchestra forming the content of this volume are all commissioned works, two of which, the so-called Gutenberg-Kantate and the Festgesang an die Kunstler on a text by Friedrich Schiller, also appeared in print during Mendelssohn's lifetime.
SKU: BR.SON-415
ISBN 9790004802601. 10 x 12.5 inches.
Mendelssohn's Athalia, i.e. the incidental music to Racine's tragedy Athalie, occupies a special place among the composer's incidental works for stage plays. The composer began by setting the original French text (Vol. V/9A) before expanding his concept step by step for the German version. He revised this version several times - and especially the closing chorus - for the first performance in 1845. The work was not published during the composer's lifetime, which means that, in consideration of Mendelssohn's notorious self-criticism, there is no definitive final version. Armin Koch has taken up the editorial challenge and, with his great knowledgeability, cleared up all questions concerning the authentic form of the work.
SKU: BR.SON-426
ISBN 9790004803073. 10 x 12.5 inches.
Elijah - Early Versions document a decade that ranges from the first conceptional ideas of 1837, hence directly after the completion of St. Paul, to the world premiere of Elijah on 26 August 1846. Mendelssohn had already worked out the plan for a libretto with his friend Carl Klingemann in 1837. Shortly thereafter, Klingemann sent a text which the composer then passed on to his friend, the theologian Julius Schubring. Then began a breathtaking logistical marathon in which Mendelssohn, during the final phase, raced to prepare the world premiere in Birmingham from Leipzig, while simultaneously taking the elaboration of the libretto increasingly into his own hands; indeed, he was, as usual, still changing, deleting, and even adding entirely new numbers at the rehearsals - with the result that the performance was ultimately only an essay, a pre-world premiere of the great work which he was later to subject to several more revisions.Awarded the German Music Edition Prize 2023.
SKU: HL.274444
UPC: 888680739973. 5.0x5.0x0.15 inches. Matthew 2:2, Numbers 24:17, Psalm 72:8.
From Felix Mendelssohn's oratorio, Christus, this masterwork adaptation tastefully presents a classical work for church and academic choirs. This chorus is from one of Mendelssohn's final works which was never completed. The rolling triplet accompaniment pushes the composition forward with wave-like arches, supporting the choir in all of its sonorous glory. A smooth contrapuntal style contrasts with dramatic accents and powerful crescendos, displaying the confident scripture-based text with appropriate excitement! John Leavitt has provided a new piano accompaniment as well as a new sparkling orchestration that supports the work while staying faithful to the Mendelssohn original. Score and Parts (fl 1-2, ob, cl 1-2, bn, perc, timp, hp, vn 1-2, va, vc, db) available as a digital download.
