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572294 bk Mendelssohn 24/9/10 10:30 Page 12 Also available: MENDELSSOHN Symphony No. 2 ‘Lobgesang’ Ruth Ziesak • Mojca Erdmann • Christian Elsner MDR Radio Choir and MDR Symphony Orchestra 8.572228-29 8.572294 12 Jun Märkl 572294 bk Mendelssohn 24/9/10 10:30 Page 2 Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) @ Drum sing ich mit meinem Liede Therefore I sing with my song Symphony No. 2 in B flat major, Op. 52, ‘Lobgesang’ (Hymn of Praise) ewig dein Lob, du treuer Gott! ever your praise, true God! Und danke dir für alles Gute, And thank you for all the goodness Born in Hamburg in 1809, eldest son of the banker musical celebration of the quartercentenary of das du an mir getan. that you have wrought for me. Abraham Mendelssohn and grandson of the great Gutenberg’s invention of printing with movable type. Und wandl’ ich in Nacht And I wander in the night Jewish thinker Moses Mendelssohn, Felix Mendelssohn, For the same occasion he wrote his Festgesang, the und tiefem Dunkel, and deep darkness, who took the additional name Bartholdy on his baptism source of the English Christmas hymn Hark, the herald und die Feinde umher stellen mir nach: and the enemy is about me: as a Christian, Heine’s ticket of admission to European angels sing, originally a song in praise of Gutenberg. so rufe ich an den Namen des Herrn, so I call on the name of the Lord culture, was brought up in Berlin, where his family Mendelssohn had in fact already completed three und er errettet mich nach seine Güte. and he saves me, through his goodness. settled in 1812. Here he enjoyed the wide cultural symphonies but discounted the fifth, the Reformation Drum sing ich mit meinem Liede... Therefore I sing with my song... opportunities that his family offered, through their own Symphony, which he saw as a failure, and the Italian interests and connections. Symphony, which he intended to revise. The Scottish Mendelssohn’s early gifts, manifested in a number of Symphony was eventually completed in 1842. # Ihr Völker! bringet her dem Herrn You nations, bring the Lord directions, included marked musical precocity, both as a Lobgesang enjoyed immediate popularity at its first Ehre und Macht! honour and might! player and as a composer, at a remarkably early age. performance in Leipzig in June 1840, followed by a Ihr Könige! bringet her dem Herrn You kings, bring the Lord These exceptional abilities received every encouragement performance in Birmingham and, by command of the Ehre und Macht! honour and might! from his family and their friends, although Abraham King of Saxony, a further performance in Leipzig in Der Himmel bringe her dem Herrn Let Heaven bring the Lord Mendelssohn entertained early doubts about the November, for which Mendelssohn made some Ehre und Macht! honour and might! desirability of his son taking the profession of musician. revisions, notably in the addition of three further vocal Die Erde bringe her dem Herrn Let the earth bring the Lord These reservations were in part put to rest by the advice movements, the tenor recitative of the third movement, Ehre und Macht! honour and might! of Cherubini in Paris and by the increasing signs of the the sixth movement tenor solo and the ninth movement boy’s musical abilities and interests. duet for soprano and tenor. It seems that the opening Alles danke dem Herrn! Let everything give thanks to the Lord, Mendelssohn’s early manhood brought the Sinfonia may originally have been conceived as part of Danket dem Herrn give thanks to the Lord opportunity to travel, as far south as Naples and as far an instrumental symphony and there was the suggestion und rühmt seinen Namen and extol his name north as The Hebrides, with Italy and Scotland both that in adding vocal elements to the rest of the work und preiset seine Herrlichkeit! and praise his glory! providing the inspiration for later symphonies. His Mendelssohn was imitating Beethoven. That, at least, career involved him in the Lower Rhine Festival in was the hostile judgement of Wagner, who, as the self- Alles, was Odem hat, Let everything that has breath Düsseldorf and a period as city director of music, appointed heir to Beethoven, saw in the work a feeble lobe den Herrn, Halleluja! praise the Lord, halleluia! followed, in 1835, by appointment as conductor of the copy, a mere symphony with choruses: Why should not Gewandhaus Orchestra in Leipzig. Here he was able to the Lord God be resoundingly praised at the end, after continue the work he had started in Berlin six years He has helped to conduct the three preliminary earlier, when he had conducted in Berlin a revival of instrumental movements to the most superficial of Bach’s St Matthew Passion. Leipzig was to provide a possible conclusions, he wrote. Wagner, of course, had degree of satisfaction that he could not find in Berlin, his own jealous reasons. where he returned at the invitation of King Friedrich The symphony-cantata, as Mendelssohn described Wilhelm IV in 1841. In Leipzig once more, in 1843, he it, uses texts from the Luther Bible and on the score he established a new Conservatory, spending his final years quoted the words of Luther, Sondern ich wöllt alle there, until his death at the age of 38 on 4th November künste, sonderlich die Musica, gern sehen im dienst des 1847, six months after the death of his gifted and der sie geben und geschaffen hat (I would happily see beloved sister Fanny. all the arts, especially Music, in the service of Him who Mendelssohn wrote his second symphony, has given and created them). The work opens with a ‘Lobgesang’ (Hymn of Praise), in 1840 as part of the celebratory introduction, starting with a trombone motif 8.572294 211 8.572294 572294 bk Mendelssohn 24/9/10 10:30 Page 10 stehe auf von den Toten, arise from the dead, that is to return, derived, it has been suggested, from accompaniment. This is followed by the well-known E ich will dich erleuchten. I will give you light. plainchant. The introduction leads to a sonata-allegro flat major duet for two sopranos with chorus, Ich movement, with a leaping first subject, followed by a harrete des Herrn (I waited for the Lord). The so-called Wir riefen in der Finsternis: We cried out in the darkness: secondary theme introduced by woodwind and divided watchman scene, in a dramatic C minor, Stricke des Hüter, ist die Nacht bald hin? Watchman, will the night soon pass? violas, a theme that hints at Beethoven. The unifying Todes hatten uns umfangen (The bonds of death had Der Hüter aber sprach: But the watchman said: Wenn der Morgen schon kommt, Though the morning comes, motif, already heard in the exposition, has a part to play held us) provides a moving episode of some intensity, so wird es doch Nacht sein; yet so will come night: in the central development, together with other elements with the watchman’s question „Ist die Nachte bald wenn ihr schon fraget, if you ask, so again of the earlier thematic material. A diminuendo brings hin?“ (Will the night soon pass?) finally answered so werdet ihr doch wiederkommen, will you return the return of the second subject, followed by the positively by a solo soprano, words that link the und wieder fragen: and ask again: recapitulation. A clarinet, with a reminiscence of the movement to the following D major chorus, Die Nacht Hüter, ist die Nacht bald hin? Watchman, will the night soon pass? opening motif, links the first movement to the second, a ist vergangen (The night is gone), a contrapuntal lilting G minor replacement of a scherzo, its opening triumph, celebrating also the enlightenment that Die Nacht ist vergangen. The night is departed. melody doubled at the octave by the first violin and the Gutenberg might be seen to have brought. Suggestions cello, followed by oboe and bassoon. There is a G major of Bach are pursued in the G major chorale Nun danket chorale-like central section, before the return of the alle Gott (Now thank we all our God), its second verse 0 Die Nacht ist vergangen, The night is departed. original key in a final section that is a greatly modified more elaborately accompanied. The original key of B der Tag aber herbei gekommen. the day is come. recapitulation. The D major Adagio religioso, with its flat major returns for the duet for tenor and soprano, So lasst uns ablegen die Werke So let us cast off the works suggestions of the opening motif, forms an appropriate Drum sing ich mit meinem Liede (Therefore I sing with der Finsternis und anlegen of darkness and take on link to the vocal movements that follow. my song). The basses introduce the final chorus with Ihr die Waffen des Lichts, the armour of light, The motif returns in triumph to introduce the chorus Völker! bringet her dem Herrn (You nations, bring to und ergreifen die Waffen des Lichts. and take up the armour of light. Alles, was Odem hat (Let everything that has breath), the Lord), returning from G minor to an inevitably Die Nacht ist vergangen, The night is gone, leading to the soprano solo Lobe den Herrn, meine Seele contrapuntal conclusion to the words Danket dem Herrn der Tag ist gekommen. day is come. (Praise the Lord, O my soul). The French horns provide und rühmt seinen Namen und preiset seine Herrlichkeit a link to the tenor recitative Saget es (Proclaim it) and (Give thanks to the Lord and extol his name and praise the G minor aria Er zählet unsere Tränen (He counts our his glory), providing a splendid ending, capped by the ! Nun danket alle Gott Now thank we all our God, tears).