Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy's Chorale Cantatas

UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI

Date: August 17, 2006

I, Esther S. Yoo, ______hereby submit this work as part of the requirements for the degree of: Doctor of Musical Arts in: Conducting, Choral Emphasis It is entitled: Old Wine in New Bottles: Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy’s Chorale Cantatas— J. S. Bach’s Models Become “Romanticized"

This work and its defense approved by:

John Leman Chair: ______Earl Rivers ______bruce d. mcclung ______

Old Wine in New Bottles: Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy’s Chorale Cantatas—J. S. Bach’s Models Become “Romanticized”

A document submitted to the

Division of Graduate Studies and Research of the University of Cincinnati

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS

in the Ensembles and Conducting Division of the College-Conservatory of Music

2006

Esther S. Yoo

B.A., University of Toronto, 1990

Art. Dip., Hochschule für Musik in München, 1994

M.M., University of Toronto, 2002

Committee Chair: John Leman, D.M.A.

ABSTRACT

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809–47) composed eight chorale cantatas between the years 1827–32. These compositions stem from the time of Mendelssohn’s study and interest in the works of J. S. Bach, including the period that he was heavily devoted to reviving the long dormant St. Matthew Passion at the Berliner Singakademie in 1829. As a result, the chorale cantatas are evidence of Mendelssohn’s fluent understanding of Baroque forms and styles, and his assimilation of Bach’s musical language into his own compositional style.

Chapter One of this document explores Mendelssohn’s compositional studies during the

1820s in Berlin and addresses the few articles and books concerning these relatively unexplored cantatas. As well, this chapter briefly introduces the eight chorale cantatas. The second chapter is a comparative study of Mendelssohn’s eight cantatas in relation to the Baroque style of compositions. Bach’s influence on Mendelssohn’s compositions is explored as well as those distinguishing characteristics that point to Mendelssohn the Romanticist. The final chapter is an analysis of Mendelssohn’s last chorale cantata, Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, with the understanding that although the composer’s compositional style is rooted in Baroque traditions, this is music of his own time.

ii COPYRIGHT PERMISSIONS

All musical examples taken from Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy’s Chorale Cantatas published by Carus-Verlag, Stuttgart. Used by Permission.

iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Earl Rivers, Dr. Stephen Coker, Dr.

John Leman, and Dr. bruce mcclung for their support and encouragement throughout my doctoral studies. A special thank you is expressed to Dr. John Leman for his guidance and support in advising this final project. Thank you to my family and friends who have always stood by me throughout my musical journey, especially my parents.

iv CONTENTS

LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES ……………………………………………………………….2

TABLES ...... 5

CHAPTER ONE

MENDELSSOHN AS A STUDENT OF J. S. BACH ……………...... 6

REVIEW OF AVAILABLE LITERATURE …………………………………………...12

OVERVIEW OF MENDELSSOHN’S CHORALE CANTATAS ……………………...14

CHAPTER TWO

MENDELSSOHN’S CHORALE CANTATAS: ROMANTICIZED VERSIONS OF BAROQUE MODELS ……………………………18

Treatment of Chorale ……………………………………………………………19

Form/Style ………………………………………………………………………22

Instrumentation/Orchestration …………………………………………………..25

Harmonic Language ……………………………………………………………..36

Melody/Lyricism ………………………………………………………………...50

CHAPTER THREE

ANALYSIS: ACH GOTT, VOM HIMMEL SIEH DAREIN ……………………………61

Movement One …………………………………………………………………..62

Movement Two ………………………………………………………………….77

Movement Three ………………………………………………………………...79

Movement Four ………………………………………………………………….81

CONCLUSION ………………………………………………………………………………….85

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY …………………………………………………………………88

1 MUSICAL EXAMPLES

Example

1. Mendelssohn, O Haupt voll Blut und Bunden, mvt. 2, mm. 36–40 …………………...22

2. Mendelssohn, Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten, mvt. 2, mm. 36–39 ……………..25

3. Mendelssohn, Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten, mvt. 4, mm. 1–4 ………………..26

4. Mendelssohn, Vom Himmel hoch, mvt, 4, mm. 1–7; mm. 24–31 …………………….27

5. Mendelssohn, Vom Himmel hoch, mvt. 4, mm. 94–104 ………………………………28

6. Mendelssohn, O Haupt voll Blut und Bunden, mvt. 1, mm. 1–4 ……………………...29

7. Mendelssohn, O Haupt voll Blut und Bunden, mvt. 3, mm. 1–4 ……………………...30

8. Mendelssohn, O Haupt voll Blut und Bunden, mvt. 3, mm. 5–10 ………………….....31

9. Mendelssohn, Wir glauben all an einen Gott, mvt. 1, mm. 1–6 …………………...... 32

10. Mendelssohn, Wir glauben all an einen Gott, mvt. 2, mm. 7–12 ………………...... 33

11. Mendelssohn, Wir glauben all an einen Gott, mvt. 3, mm. 90–93 …………………....34

12a. Mendelssohn, Vom Himmel hoch, mvt. 1, mm. 1–4 …………………………...... 35

12b. J. S. Bach, Canonic Variation on “Vom Himmel hoch” mm. 1–3……...... 35

13. Mendelssohn, Christe, du Lamm Gottes, mm. 98–102 …………………………...... 37

14. Mendelssohn, Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten, mvt. 2, mm. 70–73 …………...... 38

15. Mendelssohn, Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten, mvt. 2, mm. 82–85 …………...... 39

16. Mendelssohn, Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten, mvt. 2, mm. 95–101 ………...... 40

17. Mendelssohn, Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten, mvt. 2, mm. 90–97 …………...... 41

18. Mendelssohn, Wer nur den lieben gott läßt walten, mvt. 4, mm. 46–50 …………...... 42

19. Mendelssohn, Jesu, meine Freude, mm. 120–29 ………………………………...... 43

2 20. Mendelssohn, Jesu, meine Freude, mm. 143–47 ………………………………...... 44

21. Mendelssohn, Jesu, meine Freude, mm. 176–84 ………………………...... 45

22. Mendelssohn, O Haupt voll Blut und Bunden, mvt. 1, mm. 112–26 ………………...... 46

23. Mendelssohn, O Haupt voll Blut und Bunden, mvt. 3, mm. 49–58 ………………...... 47

24. Mendelssohn, Vom Himmel hoch, mvt. 2, mm. 1–3 ………………………………...... 48

25. Mendelssohn, Vom Himmel hoch, mvt. 5, mm. 16–20; mvt. 6, mm. 1–2 ……………...49

26. Mendelssohn, O Haupt voll Blut und Bunden, mvt. 2, mm. 1–26 ………………...... 51

27. Mendelssohn, O Haupt voll Blut und Bunden, mvt. 2, mm. 35–42 ……………...... 51

28. Mendelssohn, O Haupt voll Blut und Bunden, mvt. 2, mm. 51–75 ………………...... 52

29. Mendelssohn, Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten, mvt. 3, mm. 1–7 ……………...... 52

30. Mendelssohn, Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten, mvt. 3, mm. 110–17 ……...... 53

31. Mendelssohn, Wer nur den lieben gott läßt walten, mvt. 3, mm. 59–67 …………….....54

32. Mendelssohn, Christe, du Lamm Gottes, mm. 1–4 ……………………………...... 55

33. Mendelssohn, Christe, du Lamm Gottes, mm. 6–11 ……………………………...... 56

34. Mendelssohn, Christe, du Lamm Gottes, mm. 14–20 …………………………………..57

35. Mendelssohn, Wir glauben all an einen Gott, mvt. 1, mm. 35–41 …………………...... 57

36. Mendelssohn, Verleih uns Frieden, mm. 1–14 ……………………………………...... 59

37. Mendelssohn, Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, mvt. 1, mm. 1–4 ………………...... 64

38. Mendelssohn, Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, mvt. 1, mm. 5–7 …………………..64

39. Mendelssohn, Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, mvt. 1, mm. 23–28 …………...... 66

40. Mendelssohn, Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, mvt. 1, mm. 28–31 ………………..67

41. Mendelssohn, Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, mvt. 1, mm. 32–35; mm. 48–51 …..68

42. Mendelssohn, Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, mvt. 1, mm. 36–39 ……………...... 69

3 43. Mendelssohn, Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, mvt. 1, mm. 71–73 …………...... 70

44. Mendelssohn, Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, mvt. 1, mm. 77–81 …………...... 70

45. Mendelssohn, Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, mvt. 1, mm. 80–90 …………...... 71

46. Mendelssohn, Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, mvt. 1, mm. 95–98 ………...... 73

47. Mendelssohn, Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, mvt. 1, mm. 106–108 ………...... 74

48. Mendelssohn, Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, mvt. 1, mm. 124–27 ……...... 74

49. Mendelssohn, Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, mvt. 1, mm. 127–32 ………...... 76

50. Mendelssohn, Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, mvt. 2 …………...... 78

51. Mendelssohn, Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, mvt. 3, mm. 14–21 ………...... 80

52. Mendelssohn, Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, mvt. 3, mm. 30–36 ………...... 80

53. Mendelssohn, Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, mvt. 3, mm. 38–40 ………...... 81

54. Mendelssohn, Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, mvt. 4, mm. 1–4 …………...... 82

55. Mendelssohn, Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, mvt. 4, mm. 5–8 ……...... 82

56. Mendelssohn, Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, mvt. 4, mm. 24–29 ………...... 83

4 TABLES

1. Overview of Mendelssohn’s Chorale Cantatas ...... 16

2. Text of the first movement, Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein ...... 62

5 CHAPTER 1

MENDELSSOHN AS A STUDENT OF J. S. BACH

Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1809–47) came of age in Berlin in the early decades of the nineteenth century and his musical language reflects this cultural and intellectual environment.

Mendelssohn’s artistic maturation coincides with a musical society that was entrenched in past traditions especially instituted by students of Johann Sebastian Bach. Berlin was considered home to many of J. S. Bach’s finest students in the eighteenth century, including Phillipp

Kirnberger, C. P. E. Bach, and W. F. Bach, and therefore the burden of sustaining Bach’s legacy both as teacher and as composer fell naturally to them. As Nicholas Temperley relates:

It was at Berlin, where C.P.E. Bach was employed until 1767, that the strongest group of Bach disciples was concentrated. They preserved and passed on most of the original manuscripts of Bach’s works that have survived. Agricola, Kirnberger, Nichelmann and Marpurg owned large collections of music and published influential treatises which discussed Bach’s compositions for various purposes.1

Berliners were keenly committed to cultivating and preserving both the theoretical and practical aspects of Bach’s music, and Mendelssohn inherited this tradition.

Mendelssohn’s principal composition teacher, Carl Friedrich Zelter (1758–1832),2 was no exception. During this period when Zelter was Mendelssohn’s teacher, 1819–26,

Mendelssohn’s training was rigorous and conservative. His composition lessons were fundamental to his development at this early stage. Zelter systematically led Mendelssohn through the technique of composing in many styles, including chorale, invertible counterpoint,

1 Nicolas Temperley and Peter Wollny, “Bach Revival,” Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy. (Accessed 1 April, 2006),

2 He had also been trained by Carl Friedrich Christian Fasch and Kirnberger, contemporaries of C. P. E. Bach, and was a considerable force in shaping the musical trends of Berlin in the nineteenth century.

6 canon and fugue, from roughly 1819–21.3 “Zelter served as a musical hyphen to connect Felix to eighteenth-century German musical culture, epitomized by J. S. Bach and expounded in the music theory of the Berliners Kirnberger and Marpurg. Figured bass, chorale, and counterpoint formed the triangular foundation of that tradition and thus of Zelter’s instructional method.”4

R. Larry Todd’s research book Mendelssohn’s Musical Education explores Mendelssohn’s compositional exercises that are preserved in the Margaret Deneke Mendelssohn Collection of the Bodleian Library in Oxford. Todd refers to these documents as “the record of a prodigy, to be sure, but also the record of a child laboriously applying himself to the traditional disciplines of music theory.”5 Todd’s book investigates Mendelssohn’s progressive study of composition from 1819–21—a training drawn from a variety of sources, including Fux’s Gradus ad

Parnassum (1725), Marpurg’s Abhandlung von der Fuge (1753), and Kirnberger’s Die Kunst des reinen Satzes in der Musik (1771–79), a treatise that Kirnberger considered to be a definitive summary of J. S. Bach’s teaching.

Reflective of this traditional compositional and theoretical training, culturally minded

Berliners placed a considerable importance on the performance of “old” music. This is evinced by the institution of the Singakademie in Berlin, which was founded by Fasch in 1791 for the sole purpose of performing music of the past. “According to its statutes, the Singakademie was an ‘art society for holy and serious music, particularly for music in learned style’ (1816) and had as its goal the ‘conservation and revival of thorough artistic connoisseurship through practical

3 R. Larry Todd, Mendelssohn’s Musical Education (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1992), preface.

4 R. Larry Todd, Mendelssohn: A Life in Music (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003), 44.

5 Todd, Mendelssohn’s Musical Education, ix.

7 exercises of church or sacred music and the most closely related serious vocal music, especially of songs in learned style’ (1821).”6 Fasch had mainly rehearsed and performed with this group the sacred music of the past, including works by Bach, most notably the motets. But with

Zelter’s succession to the leadership of the Singakademie in 1800, a broader wealth of Bach’s works, including the St. John Passion and the B-Minor Mass, were rehearsed.

Mendelssohn attended Zelter’s rehearsals two times a week (even before he was admitted into the choir as an alto in 1820 at the age of eleven) and profited immensely from participating in the Singakademie. “In the ten years that Felix participated in Zelter’s rehearsals

(1819–29) as a singer and accompanist, he became familiar not only with works of J. S. Bach and Handel, as well as old Italian church music, but also with the imitations of the a cappella style, such as those written by the founder of the Singakademie, Karl Fasch. Besides these, works in the Viennese Classic style, as well as contemporary sacred music….”7

Aside from the music being rehearsed and performed at the Singakademie, Mendelssohn also attended “Friday practices” at the home of Zelter. Mendelssohn’s close friend and fellow musician Eduard Devrient describes these Fridays in his memoirs: “Here we used to sing what

Zelter called ‘bristly pieces’ of Sebastian Bach. Thus Mendelssohn became acquainted with musical works, which Zelter kept hidden as a mysterious sacred treasure from the world. Here, too, Felix heard a few pieces from Bach’s ‘Passions-Musik’ for the first time, and it became his ardent longing to possess a copy of the great Passion according to the Gospel of St. Matthew.”8

6 Georg Feder, “On Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy’s Sacred Music,” in Mendelssohn Companion, ed. Seaton (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2001), 265.

7 Ibid., 265.

8 Eduard Devrient, My Recollections of Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy and His Letters to Me (New York: Vienna House, 1972), 14.

8 Mendelssohn had many opportunities to examine the music of Bach first-hand. First, Sara

Levy, great-aunt to Mendelssohn and avid supporter of Bach and Zelter, presented to Felix a copy of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion in 1823. Second, Mendelssohn also had access to the

Singakademie archives that Zelter had developed during his tenure with that organization:

In the Singakademie archives Zelter had ready access to a remarkably extensive selection of Bach’s music. A comprehensive catalogue of the collection was prepared in 1854, twenty-two years after Zelter’s death in 1832. The bulk of the materials had been acquired during Zelter’s directorship. The holdings comprised well over 100 cantatas, as well as masses, the Passion music, organ works, keyboard suites, the Brandenburg and other concerti, the orchestral suites, the Musical Offering, and the Art of Fugue. Doubtless such a library encouraged Mendelssohn to examine works that were otherwise more or less unavailable.9

Third, Mendelssohn had the opportunity to peruse music at the estate of W. F. Bach. In reference to Mendelssohn’s chorale cantatas, Todd remarks:

The cantatas (Christe, Du Lamm Gottes and Jesu, meine Freude) were the first in a series linked to Felix’s Bachian pursuits, including his study of the Passion and also his examination of W. F. Bach’s musical estate. To Felix devolved the task of sorting through and organizing the manuscripts, among them thirteen cantatas of J. S. Bach; in exchange, Felix received a priceless gift, the autograph of Cantata No. 133 (Ich freue mich in Dir).10

Fourth, as early as 1805, Mendelssohn’s father, Abraham, had acquired a collection of J. S.

Bach’s manuscripts auctioned in Hamburg. “In June 1811, Abraham sent forty-three of them to the Berlin Singakademie (including the Suite in D major, BWV 1068 and ten cantatas). Zelter acknowledged the gift and urged Abraham to ‘save’ other Bach choral masterpieces, for, excepting connoisseurs, ‘who else during our times would understand these things?’”11 Fifth, in

1830 A. B. Marx published six cantatas by Bach (known today as BWV 101–106), works with

9 Todd, Mendelssohn’s Musical Education, 11.

10 Todd, Mendelssohn: A Life in Music, 180.

11 Ibid., 31.

9 which Mendelssohn was well acquainted. During his time in Italy in 1830, Mendelssohn wrote to his brother-in-law urging him to send a copy of these cantatas so that he could present them as a gift to the priest Santini in Rome to whom he was much obliged. Finally, Mendelssohn increased his knowledge of Bach’s cantatas in 1830 after meeting Franz Hauser in Vienna, who generously permitted Mendelssohn to investigate Hauser’s own Bach collection.12

Mendelssohn’s study of J. S. Bach would not be complete without mentioning his expertise in playing the works of Bach. He was an accomplished keyboard player, and according to his letters, he played the music of Bach at every opportunity. As early as 1816, the public marveled at Felix and his sister Fanny’s virtuosic ability to perform works by Bach and Handel.

Mendelssohn’s letters also indicate that during his visit with the poet Goethe in 1821,

Mendelssohn “played for over two hours, partly Bach fugues.”13 There are a number of accounts that document Mendelssohn’s prowess in performing the keyboards works of Bach as well as the works of Mozart and Beethoven. Mendelssohn was an avid promoter of the music of J. S. Bach and those of the eighteenth-century masters, for throughout his lifetime, his concerts featured

Bach and various composers of the past.

Mendelssohn’s privileged education came to fruition when he established a small ensemble in the winter of 1827. It was at this time that Mendelssohn first rehearsed Bach’s St.

Matthew Passion.14 The culmination of his studies during the 1820s led to the historic performance at the Singakademie on 11 March 1829, with Mendelssohn conducting. It was a

12 Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, ed. Günter Graulich, (Stuttgart: Carus-Verlag, 1980), 5.

13 Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Letters, ed. G. Selden-Goth (New York: Pantheon Books, 1945), 22.

14 Devrient, 38.

10 performance that sparked the Bach movement perpetuating frequent performances of Bach’s works. “This [Mendelssohn’s performance] was the decisive turning-point in Bach’s reputation, for it swiftly transformed the revival from a cult of intellectuals into a popular movement.”15

Mendelssohn played a pivotal role in the reception of Bach’s music with this performance; it also marked Mendelssohn’s maturity as a composer, rich in the scholarship and practice of the music that belonged to J. S. Bach.

The influence of Bach on Mendelssohn is irrefutable, but certainly not limited to Bach.

Mendelssohn fully embraced the nineteenth-century Romantic movement, with its preoccupation of the past and its increased interest in historicism. Mendelssohn’s music is often distinguished by the variety of historical models on which he draws. For instance, he was also a proponent of the music of G. F. Handel and “hardly a year passed without a performance of one of Handel’s larger choral works conducted by Mendelssohn.”16 Mendelssohn also edited numerous works of

Handel, for example as early as 1828 Acis and Galatea and Dettingen Te Deum, and also copied

Dixit Dominus in 1829.

No Romantic composer had a stronger sense of tradition than Mendelssohn. His part in the revival of the St. Matthew Passion, his organ music, and his composition of several chorale cantatas in Baroque style all bear witness to his veneration for Bach.17 Mendelssohn’s musical development was one that was largely indebted to the music of the Baroque and revolved around

15 Nicolas Temperley and Peter Wollny, “Bach Revival.”

16 Hellmuth Christian Wolff, “Mendelssohn and Handel,” The Musical Quarterly 45 (1959): 177.

17 Glenn Stanley, “Bach’s Erbe: The Chorale in the German Oratorio of the Early Nineteenth Century,” 19th-Century Music 11 (1987): 127.

11 the musical tastes of nineteenth-century Berlin where J. S. Bach was a revered composer of the past.

REVIEW OF AVAILABLE LITERATURE

Mendelssohn’s eight chorale cantatas, composed between the years 1827–32 have been the subject of two dissertations and one that studies the early sacred choral works. Pietro

Zappalà’s 1991 dissertation titled Le Choralkantaten di Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (yet to be translated) is a detailed and critical study of the cantatas organized into four sections: investigation of chorale history, sources, genesis and analysis of each of the chorale cantatas including a case study of the cantata Wir glauben all an einen Gott. According to the review by

John Michael Cooper, “Zappalà’s intelligent discussions bear out the main premise of the volume: that these works should be evaluated not merely as brilliant imitations [of Bach’s models], but also for their own considerable musical merits.”18

The second dissertation is in German (not yet translated) by Ulrich Wüster titled Felix

Mendelssohn Bartholdy’s Choralkantaten – Gestalt und Idee: Versuch einer historisch- kritischen Interpretation (1993). This is well thought-out and presented in three large headings all pertaining to aesthetics. First, the horizontal or aesthetic process of Mendelssohn’s religiosity and creativity, tradition and innovation, and art and liturgy; second, the interpretation of the cantatas or the aesthetic qualities inherent in the works; and finally the perspective of the chorale cantatas considered from the angle of aesthetic effect, analogous to the areas posed in the first part of the dissertation.

18 John Michael Cooper, “Le ‘Choralkantaten’ di Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy,” Notes 49 (1993): 1006.

12 In the last dissertation, Ralf Wehner added to the valuable research of Mendelssohn’s works with his 1996 book titled Studien zum geistlichen Chorschaffen des jungen Felix

Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, which explores the earliest choral works of Mendelssohn.

Three informative articles concerning these cantatas can also be found in journals: Brian

W. Pritchard’s 1976 article titled “Mendelssohn’s Chorale Cantatas: An Appraisal” in The

Musical Quarterly, R. Larry Todd’s 1983 article “A Passion Cantata by Mendelssohn” in the

American Choral Review and David Griggs-Janower’s 1992 article Mendelssohn’s Chorale

Cantatas: A Well Kept Secret” in the Choral Journal.

Janower’s article is an introduction of the cantatas and is intended mainly to inform conductors of the existence of these works. Todd’s article is an in-depth investigation of

Mendelssohn’s chorale setting of O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden, connecting and comparing this chorale to that of the chorales in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion and Carl Heinrich Graun’s Der Tod

Jesu (1755). Todd writes that because these works were in the Singakademie repertoire (also

Mendelssohn had just conducted St. Matthew Passion), these scores were easily accessible providing Mendelssohn with ample harmonizations of this chorale for study.19 Todd’s article ends by making further connections to late nineteenth-century works based on the same chorale, namely the cantata bearing the same title by Max Reger as well as Via Crucis by Liszt. Finally,

Pritchard’s article addresses the problems concerning the number of cantatas, includes information concerning the genesis of the cantatas, as well; Pritchard discusses the general musical structure and other insights into the chorale cantatas.

19 R. Larry Todd, “A Passion Cantata by Mendelssohn,” American Choral Review 25 (January 1983): 6.

13 OVERVIEW OF MENDELSSOHN’S CHORALE CANTATAS

The chorale in Bach’s time was the crucial expression of the Christian congregation, and

Mendelssohn perceived chorales as the distinguishing feature or essence of the music of

J. S. Bach. From the beginning of his student days with Zelter, Mendelssohn was immersed in the art of chorale writing through countless exercises, and similar to Bach, chorales appear throughout Mendelssohn’s body of compositions, vocal and instrumental, from early to late works. For example, his Symphony no. 2, “Lobgesang” (1840) and Symphony no. 5,

“Reformation” (1830), as well as his oratorios St. Paul (1836) and Elijah (1846) all incorporate the element of chorales. Mendelssohn began using protestant chorales as early as 1823 (the organ composition Wie gross ist des Allmächt’gen Güte and the chorale motet Jesus meine

Zuversicht), and from the years 1827–32 he composed a series of eight chorale cantatas, five of which are based on the chorales of Martin Luther*:

1. *Christe, Du Lamm Gottes (1827) 2. Jesu, meine Freude (1828) 3. Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten (1829) 4. O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden (1830) 5. *Verlieh uns Frieden (1831) 6. *Vom Himmel hoch (1831) 7. *Wir glauben all’ an einen Gott (1831) 8. *Ach Gott vom Himmel sieh’ darein (1832)

These chorale cantatas are atypical for the nineteenth century. While composers quoted chorales in compositions in the Romantic era, no other composer wrote chorale cantatas for chorus and orchestra bearing such striking similarities to Bach. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Max Reger (1873–1916) followed with four chorale cantatas of his own (Vom Himmel hoch; O wie selig ihr doch, ihr Frommen; O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden; and Meinem Jesum lass ich nicht, composed 1903–05). However, they are more in the style of chamber music with

14 differing combination of voices, often employing solo instruments rather than orchestra, and include congregational singing as well as the use of the organ.

Mendelssohn’s cantatas, with the exception of Verleih uns Frieden, were unpublished during his lifetime (Breitkopf und Härtel published Verleih uns Frieden in 1839) and as a result information pertaining to this corpus of little-known works has been incomplete and inaccurate.

Griggs-Janower mentions that Eric Werner listed only five cantatas in an article in 1961; Brian

W. Pritchard in his 1976 article dealt with only six of the cantatas, because the manuscript of the seventh (Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten) was not discovered until after his article was published; and in 1980 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians listed only four cantatas and incorrectly listed Jesu, meine Freude as a work for double chorus.20 However, with the discovery in 1962 of the autograph of the cantata Jesu meine Freude and the manuscript copy of Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten in 1976, we can be certain today of the existence of at least eight chorale cantatas.

Mendelssohn’s cantatas can be categorized into two groups: cantatas composed in Berlin

(1827–29) and those during his European travel years (1830–32). The Berlin compositions include Christe, du Lamm Gottes; Jesu, meine Freude; and Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten are slightly smaller in scale. The remaining cantatas are products of his European travel and are part of a “Lutheran project” that Mendelssohn started in Vienna after receiving the “Lutherisches

Liedbüchlein” from a friend, Franz Hauser. In a letter to Zelter in October of 1830,

Mendelssohn describes this undertaking:

Before I left Vienna, a friend of mine [Franz Hauser] made me a present of Luther’s Hymns, and on reading them over I was again struck by their power that I intend to compose music for several next winter. Since I have been here, I have nearly completed

20David Griggs-Janower, “Mendelssohn’s Chorale Cantatas: A Well-Kept Secret,” Choral Journal (Nov. 1992): 31.

15 the chorale “Aus tiefer Noth,” for four voices a cappella; and the Christmas hymn, “Vom Himmel hoch,” is already in my head. I wish also to set the following hymns to music: “Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein,” “Wir glauben all’ an einen Gott,” “Verleih uns Frieden,” “Mitten wir im Leben sind,” and finally “Ein’ feste Burg.” I am thinking of composing all the latter, however, for a choir and orchestra. Pray write to me about this project of mine, and say whether you approve of my retaining the ancient melodies in them, but not adhering to them too strictly: and, for instance, if I were to take the first verse of “Vom Himmel hoch” quite freely as a grand chorus....I finished two pieces of sacred music in Vienna – a chorale in three movements for chorus and orchestra (“O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden”) and an “Ave Maria” for a choir of eight voices.21

The cantatas are listed in the following table along with date, chorale tune/text, performing forces, movements, keys, sources, and length.

Table 1: Overview of Mendelssohn’s Chorale Cantatas

Chorale Date Chorale Performing Movements Keys Original Length Cantata tune / Text Forces source Christ, du 1827, Berlin Martin Strings, SATB 1 (3 sections) • FM No autograph of 5–6′ Lamm Dedicated to Luther’s • three cantata – his sister German statements • Fm editions based Gottes Fanny for translation of of chorale on score copies Christmas “Agnus Dei” tune • Dm to from the 19th • andante – FM century allegro moderato – tempo primo

Jesu, 1828, Berlin First stanza of Strings, SATB 1 (3 sections) • Em Autograph dated 7–9′ meine text by • first verse Berlin 22 Johann of text • BM January 1828, Freude Franck / found in 1962 Melody by • Em Johann Crueger (17th century)

Wer nur 1828–29, Based on Strings, S solo, 4 movements • Am Autograph lost 11–12′ den lieben Berlin chorale SATB • choral Copy found in tune/text by • choral • Am 1976 at the Gott läßt Georg • soprano estate walten Neumark solo • FM of (17th century) • choral Mendelssohn’s -stanzas 1, 4, • Am friend Franz 7 Hauser -additional text by Israel Clauder “Mein Gott, du weisst am

21 Mendelssohn, Letters, 90.

16 allerbesten” for the opening movement O Haupt 1830, Vienna Chorale tune 2 fl, 2 ob, 2 cl, 2 3 movements • Cm Autograph dated 12–15′ voll Blut /text by Paul bn, 2 hn, 2 vl, • v. 1; choral Vienna, Gerhardt (17th 2 va, 2 vc, cb, • anon. text; • EbM 30 Sept. 1830 und century) B solo, SATB bass solo Wunden -additional • v. 6; choral • Cm anonymous text for aria Vom 1831, Rome All 8 stanzas 2 fl, 2 ob, 2 cl, 2 6 movements • CM Autograph dated 16′ Himmel of text by bn, 2 hn, 2 tpt, • choral Rome, Jan. 28, Martin Luther timpani, • baritone • AM 1831 hoch strings, solo -originally in 5 S, B soli, • choral • Am movements – SSATB • solo aria not known as to • baritone • GM which arioso movement was • choral • Em later added

• CM Verleih 1831, Rome Antiphon by 2 fl, 2 cl, 2 bn, 3 statements of • EbM Published in 5′ uns Luther 2 vl, va, 2 vc, text and melody 1839 cb, SATB Frieden Wir 1831, Rome Martin 2 ob, 2 cl, 2 bn, 3 choral • Dm Existing 8′ glauben Luther’s 2 hn, 2 tpt, 3 movements manuscript copy hymn tmb, timpani, • verse 1 all an paraphrasing 2 vl, va, vc, cb, • verse 2 einem “Credo” SATB • verse 3 Gott Ach Gott, 1832, Paris All six 2 ob, 2 cl, 4 movements • Am Autograph dated 14′ vom stanzas of 2 bn, 2 hn, • choral Paris, 5 April, Luther’s 2 tpt, timpani, • baritone • EM 1832 and Himmel paraphrase of 2 vl, va, vc, cb, recit. dedicated to sieh Psalm 12 B solo, SATB • baritone • C#m Johann darein -additional solo Nepomuk verses from • choral • EM Schelble Psalm 103 for recitative

****published by Carus-Verlag (full score and vocal score)

CHAPTER TWO

MENDELSSOHN’S CHORALE CANTATAS—ROMANTICIZED VERSIONS OF BAROQUE MODELS

Mendelssohn’s chorale cantatas stem from the historically preoccupied mind of the composer with his avid interest in the music of the past and of Bach in particular. It is no coincidence that their inception began at the outset of Mendelssohn’s rehearsals of Bach’s St.

Matthew Passion in preparation for the now legendary performance.22 This chapter will attempt to demonstrate that Mendelssohn’s chorale cantatas exhibit many musical ideals of the nineteenth century while embracing lessons of the past. Mendelssohn’s cantatas pay homage to the Baroque era by remaining faithful to the techniques, structures, and forms of this era.

Mendelssohn was able to assimilate the musical language of Bach and the Baroque era into his own compositional style. How do these works typify the Romantic era as opposed to the

Baroque era, and what are the distinguishing characteristics that point to Mendelssohn as the composer of these works are questions to keep in mind.

Mendelssohn was a solid craftsman, well versed in the traditions of the past and was not content merely to duplicate this music. The following discussion will address the similarities as well as the differences between Mendelssohn and Bach or the Baroque technique in general, in treatment of chorale, forms, orchestration, harmony, and melody/lyricism.

22 Pritchard, 8.

18 TREATMENT OF CHORALE

Mendelssohn’s treatment of chorale melody is, for the most part, quite similar to Bach’s technique of chorale settings typical to the Baroque. According to Charles Sanford Terry, chorale movements were treated by Bach in seven different ways23:

1. chorale fantasia—full chorus treating the melody with full instrumental resources, usually in the first movement 2. simple chorale—a four-part voice harmonization of the melody suited to congregational singing 3. embellished or decorated chorale—some of the instruments have independent parts 4. extended chorale—melody in simple four-part setting for voices, but its lines of text are separated by short instrumental interludes 5. unison chorale 6. aria chorale—solo treats the hymn melody (also for more voices) 7. dialogue chorale—conversational between two voices; one with chorale melody, the other with a recitative (could be any combination—chorus/solo, even one solo voice singing both roles)

Mendelssohn treated his chorale movements using four of the techniques mentioned above.

1. chorale fantasia 2. simple chorale 4. extended chorale 5. unison chorale

Each of these will be discussed with comparative examples. The chorale in the fantasias is often treated in cantus firmus style, or each phrase of the chorale melody is sung contrapuntally in all voices. The cantus firmus setting allows the chorale to be sung in long durations by a selected voice. This technique can be seen as a thread running through many of the works of Bach, such as the cantatas Christ lag in Todesbanden, BWV 4; Wie schön leuchet der Morgenstern, BWV 1; and Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 140; to name a few.

These are works that present the cantus firmus in the soprano while the voices underneath are

23 Charles Sanford Terry, Bach: Cantatas and Oratorios (London, UK: Oxford University Press, 1925), 9–10.

19 unified by contrapuntal activity. Mendelssohn follows this technique in his cantatas Christe, du

Lamm Gottes; Jesu, meine Freude; and O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden by placing the chorale in the soprano part as a cantus firmus while other voice parts provide polyphonic decoration.

Mendelssohn adapted this technique for use in Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten when he chose to assign the cantus firmus to the bass part/instruments. In fact, in this chorale cantata there is no true bass line as would be expected in a Baroque work, instrumental or vocal; the bassline is itself the chorale tune. Unlike Baroque ideals, this music can and must stand on its own without the traditional supporting bass line. According to Thomas Christian Schmidt, Bach himself wrote the cantus firmus in the bass in only two of his works, Ach Gott, wie manch es

Herzeleid, BWV 3 and Ach Herr, mich armen Sünder, BWV 135.24 Mendelssohn’s cantatas that do not incorporate a cantus firmus setting of a chorale tune are Vom Himmel hoch, Wir glauben all an einen Gott and Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein. In these works, the chorale melody, or fragments of the tune, are treated with contrapuntal activity by the chorus and instruments.

Mendelssohn also sets the chorale melody as a four-voice homophonic hymn with instruments colla parte in two movements, in Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten and Vom

Himmel hoch. This chorale treatment recalls Bach, who so often ended a chorale tune harmonized in this fashion. However, Mendelssohn places four-part chorale harmonizations in the middle of the work in Vom Himmel hoch and opens the cantata Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten with this setting.

As heard in many of Bach’s works, such as the cantatas that comprise his Christmas

Oratorio, short instrumental commentary is inserted between phrases of four-part chorales. In such chorale settings, the instruments are often tacit or sparsely orchestrated, while the chorale is

24 Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten, ed. Thomas Christian Schmidt (Stuttgart: Carus-Verlag, 1996), forward.

20 being sung by the choir, often with accompaniment from only the basso continuo group.

Mendelssohn, too, used this technique in O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden; Christe, du Lamm

Gottes; and Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein. But Mendelssohn’s instrumental commentary differs from Bach’s. His instruments are actively involved while the chorale is being sung and keep melodic interest both during the singing of the chorale and in the commentary.

Having the chorale sung in unison by the full chorus is another technique used by both

Mendelssohn and Bach. In Bach’s Reformation cantata Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott, BWV 80, unison chorale is heard from the chorus. More often however, Bach chose to give the unison chorale to one voice part or an instrumental solo part. For instance the chorale is sung by the tenor in his aria in Christ lag in Todesbandan, BWV 4, or the violin solo takes the chorale melody in the movement containing the soprano/alto duet in Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten, BWV 93. Mendelssohn, in contrast, seems to have a preference for unison chorale singing from the chorus. This is heard in four of the cantatas, Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten; Vom Himmel hoch; Wir glauben all an einen Gott; and Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein.

In Mendelssohn’s cantatas there are a total of five arias in which the chorale tune is not employed. Only in O Haupt voll Blut und Bunden does Mendelssohn insert the first phrase of the chorale tune in an otherwise freely composed melody. This is heard on the text “Der

Schmerzen litt und Plagen” (Example 1). This is a technique heard often in Bach, especially in the recitatives where he juxtaposes free material with occasional instances of chorale melody.

Example 1: O Haupt voll Blut und Bunden, quoted chorale phrase in mvt. 2, mm. 36–40.

FORM/STYLE

Multi-movement Baroque cantatas were sacred vocal works, which might have included concerted chorus numbers, recitatives, da capo arias, and chorales with instrumental accompaniment. Mendelssohn composed multi-movement cantatas, as well as cantatas containing a single movement. His larger multi-movement cantatas are Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten, O Haupt voll Blut und Bunden, Vom Himmel hoch, Wir glauben all an einen Gott, and Ach Gott vom Himmel sieh darein. Mendelssohn’s single movement works include Christe, du Lamm Gottes; Jesu, meine Freude; and Verleih uns Frieden. While most of Bach’s cantatas are multi-movement works, the single movement works Lobet den Herren alle Heiden, BWV

230, and Jesu Christ, mein Lebens Licht, BWV 118, formerly recognized as motets, are now categorized as cantatas because of the independent instrumental parts.

Throughout the individual movements of the eight cantatas, Mendelssohn displays a variety of forms or styles borrowed and adapted from the Baroque. Both arias and choral movements exhibit Baroque influences, and at the same time Mendelssohn makes subtle changes, taking opportunities to implement his own ideas.

22 Baroque arias were often ternary or da capo arias. Mendelssohn’s arias are distinguished from their Baroque counterparts as they are altered versions of past forms. Mendelssohn’s aria in Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten is a lilting 3/8, which uses a ritornello to open and end the soprano aria and is in an extended five-part form: A B A B A.

A B A B A No. of measures: 16 + 31 + 12 28 20 24 12    strings strings tutti tutti tutti strings +voices keys: FM FM -- CM CM V/VI  Dm FM FM ------

Form of Soprano Aria in Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten

In another example, the baritone aria in Vom Himmel hoch is a quasi three-part form, but the “A′ or coda” is really only a reiteration of the opening motive.

A B A′ or Coda stanza 3 half of stanza 4 first line of stanza 3

The choral movements in Mendelssohn’s cantatas are mostly contrapuntal movements often in AAB form. However, Vom Himmel hoch and Wir glauben all an einen Gott are different in regard to form. The opening movement of Vom Himmel hoch bears striking resemblance to an extended opening chorus from the Baroque era with a recurring ritornello.

Further study shows that the movement’s formal conception is Classical and has the makings of a sonata form.

Exposition Development Recapitulation Coda CM am progression of keys CM / DM /G pedal  I FM / DM/ GM / CM / AM / em

Form of first movement, Vom Himmel hoch

23 The exposition opens with an instrumental introduction, followed by the first and second theme.

The development introduces a fugue, the recapitulation rearticulates the first theme and the fugue, and an extended coda brings energy through homophonic declamation of the chorale. The key scheme, the sheer energy generated by the pedal point just before the coda, and the ceaseless

V-I activity of the timpani all point this movement toward the Classical era by its formal scheme.

Mendelssohn’s Wir glauben all an einen Gott is unlike a Baroque cantata. It consists of three SATB chorale movements, but this cantata is really one long movement in the musical form of ABC, which reflects the Holy Trinity. The three stanzas describing the Trinity, Father

(movement one), Son (movement two) and Holy Spirit (movement three), are linked together through delayed or unresolved cadences that extend to the opening of the following movement: movements one and two both end with a plagal cadence. In both movements one and two,

Mendelssohn treats the final cadence not as the tonic, but as the dominant by preparing a sixteen measure pedal that moves from V – I – V in D minor. When the downbeat of movements two and three are heard, it becomes clear that the last chord of the previous movement was indeed the dominant.

Wir glauben all an einen Gott Wir glauben auch an Jesum Christ Wir glauben an den Heiligen Geist

Dm AM Dm AM Dm

IV--- I V --- I IV --- I V --- I

Dm: V ------I V ------I

Form of Wir glauben all an einen Gott

24 INSTRUMENTATION / ORCHESTRATION

The role of the orchestra in Mendelssohn’s cantatas is similar to the cantatas of the

Baroque. The instruments highlight important thematic material, provide color, text-paint, and often acts as the provider of pulse. The cantatas Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten, Haupt voll

Blut und Wunden, Vom Himmel hoch, and Wir glauben all an einen Gott provide examples of these techniques, which Mendelssohn personalized.

Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten is unified by a motivic cell, played solely by the strings, especially connecting the choral movements, two and four. This motivic idea is the eighth note and quarter note rhythm heard only in the strings in the middle section of movement two (Example 2). With an active rhythm that is so different from the rest of the otherwise cantabile movement, Mendelssohn changes the affect of the music and in this case presents a sort of hocket.

Example 2: Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten, mvt. 2, mm. 35–39 (violins I/II, viola, SATB).

This motive is heard again in the fourth (last) movement in the opening measures. This time the music takes on an urgency due to the homophony, the addition of the sixteen notes rhythm and the inclusion of the bass to outline the harmony. Also with the avoidance of the hocket idea of the second movement, it is more vertically driven (Example 3).

Example 3: Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten, mvt. 4, mm. 1–4.

In his pre-Leipzig cantatas, Bach often employed the use of double violas. Bach also often used instruments in pairs to provide thematic material and provide a distinct color, possibly for purposes text-painting. Mendelssohn also utilizes paired instruments in Vom Himmel hoch, demonstrating his sensitivity to the role and color of the instruments. In his soprano aria, movement four, Mendelssohn uses pairs of flutes, clarinets, violas, and ’cellos. Here, each pair take turns providing pulse, melody, and harmony, often in thirds or sixths (Example 4).

Example 4a: Vom Himmel hoch, mvt. 4, mm. 1–7.

Example 4b: Vom Himmel hoch, mvt. 4, mm. 24–31.

Especially enchanting is the combination of two flutes and two clarinets (not yet invented in the

Baroque), which provide one of the themes of this movement. Here the canon flourish at the unison could possibly be painting the text of the opening line of this movement, “ Sei

27 willekomm, du edler Gast” (Be welcome, O noble guest). This woodwind flourish also ends the movement supported by an eleven-measure pedal in the bass (Example 5).

Example 5: Vom Himmel hoch, mvt. 4, mm. 91–104 (2 flutes, 2 clarinets, 2 violas, soprano, 2 ’cellos).

The combination of instruments in the opening movement of O Haupt voll Blut und

Wunden illustrates the burden of the passion text. The double violas open the movement with a heavy sighing motive, and the ’cellos play a solemn, lament-like melody in accordance with the gloomy atmosphere (Example 6).

Example 6: O Haupt voll Blut und Bunden, mvt. 1, mm. 1–4.

The dark timbre of these instruments is in contrast to the eventual addition of violin I, flutes, oboes, and clarinets, which double the cantus firmus of the sopranos creating a distinct color and spaciousness that is familiar to the music of the Romantic era.

The third movement of this cantata displays another feature of Mendelssohn’s use of instruments. Here, as the choir sings the chorale in four-part harmony, the oboes double the soprano and alto and the strings pulse the chorale colla parte, with subdivided rhythms

(Example 7).

Example 7: O Haupt voll Blut und Bunden, mvt. 3, mm. 1–4.

Further, during each of the interludes (i.e., end of a poetic line), the horns come to the fore with accented octave leaps (Example 8).

Example 8: O Haupt voll Blut und Bunden, mvt. 3, mm. 5–10 (oboes, clarinets, horns, violins, strings, SATB).

These four layers create a sonorous atmosphere that is undeniably Romantic. The beauty lies in the simplicity, the pulsing strings propel the music, the colla parte instrumental scoring highlights the chorale, while the horn part adds an element of strength. This horn part acts as a coloring feature that heightens the character of the text – the firm resolve of the believer, “Ich will hier bei dir stehen” (I will stand here with you).

The cantata Wir glauben all an einen Gott makes three statements of the chorale: fugal in the first two movements and unison in the final movement. The orchestra plays three variations of rhythmic pulse creating a built-in crescendo. The first variation is a walking quarter note bass line with strings generally doubling the choral fugue (Example 9).

Example 9: Wir glauben all an einen Gott, mvt. 1, mm. 1–6 – Variation 1.

In the second variation the rhythm is halved, changing from half notes to quarter notes and played by the strings with wind instruments (ob, cl, bn) doubling the voices (Example 10).

Example 10: Wir glauben all an einen Gott, mvt. 2, mm. 7–12 – Variation 2 (oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns, strings, SATB).

The rhythm accelerates further with the appearance of triplets in the third variation, still played by the strings. Here, the chorale is heard in unison doubled by the winds and trombones

(Example 11).

Example 11: Wir glauben all an einen Gott, mvt. 3, mm. 90–93 – Variation 3 (oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns, timpani, strings, SATB).

With the addition of instruments and accelerating rhythm in each of the three variations, momentum increases in each successive movement. The orchestral activity and color of the movements is most impressive. Especially striking is the announcement of the chorale doubled by the oboes, clarinets, and trombones in the last variation and the virtuoso and arresting manner of the strings in unison (variation two) and triplets (variation three).

For festive sections in Bach’s compositions, his orchestrations also included three trumpets and timpani. Mendelssohn’s Vom Himmel hoch recalls this scoring, as it is also a

34 festive work incorporating two trumpets and timpani, and a five-voice chorus – SSATB instead of the typical SATB voicing found in Bach’s cantatas. It is very possible that Mendelssohn knew Bach’s Canonic Variations on “Vom Himmel hoch,” as the opening of Mendelssohn’s cantata (Example 12a) is reminiscent of Bach’s treatment in the organ work (Example 12b).

Example 12a: Mendelssohn: Vom Himmel hoch, opening measures.

Example 12b: J. S. Bach: Canonic Variations on “Vom Himmel hoch,” opening measures.

35 Mendelssohn’s opening is reflective of the text “vom Himmel hoch” (from heaven on high). The cantata opens with only flutes playing the root and third of C major, joined by unison violins in descending scaler sixteenth notes. The “heavens” therefore are painted by tonal level: the highest instruments are heard first, through to the lowest, with the basses entering last. The absence of the bass until measure seven stresses the high-pitched activity of winds and brass who quote the chorale while the strings descend from two octaves above middle C.

HARMONIC LANGUAGE

Harmony most distinguishes the music of the Baroque from the music of the Romantic era. While using older techniques of pedal tones, parallel chordal movement and plagal cadences, Mendelssohn’s harmonic language is filled with nuances that text-paint and suggest a specific mood accorded by the text. Mendelssohn also generates harmonic uncertainty and unexpected key relationships.

Mendelssohn uses pedal tones as an expressive device. Through their use, he is able to effectively depict text. In Christe, du Lamm Gottes, Mendelssohn creates a mood of supplication. With only one quatrain of text in this one-movement cantata, Mendelssohn highlights the text “der du trägst die Sünde der Welt.” This appears at the end of the middle section. These ten measures in F minor are carefully crafted using a natural VI pedal (D), brief descent to flat-VI (D-flat) and moves to a V pedal (C). Above this descending pedal is a long descending chromatic melody played by the violins that could be interpreted as the utterance of the line of text “der du trägst die Sünde der Welt” (you carry the sins of the world). The voices

36 add an extra layer by telescoping the two lines of text “Christe du Lamm Gottes” and “der du trägst die Sünde der Welt” (Example 13).

Example 13: Christe, du Lamm Gottes, mm. 96–102 (strings, SATB).

37 These measures display a drawn-out phrase with harmonies built over the pedal and stand out from the rest of the cantata, which uses either chorale fantasia or extended chorale technique.

This kind of subtlety is essential in distinguishing Mendelssohn the Romanticist from the music of the Baroque.

In Wer nur den liebern Gott läßt walten, Mendelssohn gave special attention to the final two lines of the chorale stanza: “Wer Gott, dem Allerhöchsten, traut, der hat auf keinen Sand gebaut” (whoever trusts in the highest God, does not build on sand). On the word “traut” (trust) at the end of the fifth line of text, he utilizes an eight-measure pedal point. This phrase is extended through the use of harmonic suspensions, which facilitate continuous modulation.

More importantly, this pedal point illustrates a significant word in this stanza, the word “traut.”

(Example 14).

Example 14: Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten, mvt. 2, mm. 70–73 (strings, SATB).

38 This “traut” or “trust” pedal then becomes pertinent to what comes next. Instead of bringing back the last chorale phrase in the basses as expected, Mendelssohn strips away the foundation of the texture and thereby portrays the opposite of trust, that of “building on sand” (Example 15).

Example 15: Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten, mvt. 2, mm. 82–85 (strings, SATB).

The concept of foundation could also be heard here not only as pertaining to text-painting, but as being essential and fundamental to part-writing and harmonic support. The absence of any sort of bass line finally changes when the ’cello starts to double the tenor fifteen measures from the end, and is eventually joined by the contrabass for the last five measures of the movement. It is also at this point that Mendelssohn brings back the final chorale phrase (Example 16).

Example 16: Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten, mvt. 2, mm. 95–101 (strings, SATB).

The chorale is now in the soprano, and for the first time it is a homophonic and syllabic chorale setting with colla parte instrumental accompaniment. He ends this movement in the manner of a chorale hymn.

In this same phrase/text setting, Mendelssohn musically depicts the word “allerhöchsten”

(highest) starting with the voices through parallel movement carrying the ascending scale sequence to the instruments, allowing them to peak at the highest note in the movement

(Example 17).

Example 17: Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten, mvt. 2, mm. 90–97 (strings, SATB).

The final movement of Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten is rhythmic and energetic.

However, Mendelssohn ends the cantata unexpectedly. With the last four measures of the work, similar to movement two, Mendelssohn switches from unison chorale with independent accompaniment to SATB colla parte with a plagal cadence. Further, he slows the chorale with a suspension and resolution in the tenor voice (Example 18), extending the cadence by two measures.

Example 18: Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten, mvt. 4, mm. 46–50 (strings, SATB).

The one-movement cantata Jesu, meine Freude exemplifies Mendelssohn’s harmonic language. Harmonic ambiguity is heard in the middle section of the cantata (measures 102–45).

This section carries the key signature of E major (the cantata is in E minor) but opens and ends in

B major while touching on many keys. Only when the chorale is quoted does the E-major tonality become apparent; however, this is very brief. The keys modulated to in this section include:

BM  AM  EM  GM  CM  Em  BM

It is not the keys themselves that distinguish this as Romantic music, but what transpires during the modulation. Mendelssohn prolongs the arrival of the keys by extending the phrase, avoiding the expected keys. For instance in the example below, the ear expects to cadence in A major in measure 123, but Mendelssohn instead leads to B major. This tonal ambiguity continues, eventually leading to G major, all the while having led the listener through a long phrase consisting of many turns that create uncertainty as to the final destination (Example 19).

120

125 Example 19: Jesu, meine Freude, mm. 120–29 (piano reduction).

Mendelssohn employs parallel motion in the strings to create a wandering quality. The middle section of this work shows a complete change in mood from the first section by showing less rhythmic activity, changing time signature (from 3/4 to 4/4), and most importantly, the consistent parallel motion of the strings in thirds and sixths. As a result, the writing here is somewhat expansive and unrestrained, directly reflecting the comforting text “Gottes Lamm, mein

Bräutigam, auβer dir soll mir auf Erden” (lamb of God, my bridegroom, besides you on earth).

Especially at the ends of textual phrases, Mendelssohn composes moving parallel melodies in the instruments. This technique softens the cadence as the strings come to the fore with an inverted pedal in the soprano voice, creating a continuity that is very lyrical (Example 20).

Example 20: Jesu, meine Freude, mm. 143–47 (strings, SATB).

In the final eleven measures of Jesu, meine Freude, Mendelssohn displays another creative technique to represent the text “Jesu, meine Freude.” With a nine-measure inverted pedal point in the soprano voice, which could be seen as representing “anchoring or resting” on

“Jesu,” Mendelssohn uses descending and ascending arpeggios in parallel motion (Example 21).

Example 21: Jesu, meine Freude, mm. 176–84 (strings, SATB).

Example 24 could very well be labeled Mendelssohn’s “Freude” motive, a lyrical motto composed of harmonies sweetened by alternating inversions of chords. The careful representation here of the text “Jesu, meine Freude” seems to be placed strategically; in fact, it resembles Bach’s motet under the same title and key (BWV 227) in that Mendelssohn ends his cantata with the words “Jesu, meine Freude.” That is, while Mendelssohn only uses the first stanza of the Johann Crüger text and therefore should end with the text “nichts sonst werden”

(nothing shall be dearer), he does not. Just like Bach, Mendelssohn adds an extra line of text, namely the title or the last line of the final stanza giving the composition a sense of “coming full circle” with the return of the phrase “Jesu meine Freude.” Mendelssohn almost certainly knew the motets of Bach as they were a part of the repertoire of the Singakademie in Berlin, and one could easily surmise that Mendelssohn was influenced by Bach in ending the cantata with this text. Curiously enough, this ending also demonstrates another harmonic characteristic of

45 Mendelssohn: utilizing the “fa – mi – re – mi” voicing leading to the tonic, a cadential technique heard at crucial cadences in almost every cantata to “slow down” or delay a cadence. Finally, this example again reveals Mendelssohn’s preference for the use of the plagal cadence.

His affection for the plagal cadence is evident throughout these cantatas. What makes these cadences most interesting is not the cadence itself, but the element of expressivity found in the entrances into or exiting out of these cadences. These are instrumental commentaries that complete the mood of the text. For instance, in O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden, Mendelssohn closes his opening movement with a plagal cadence that lasts an entire eight measures. This movement begins in C minor but ends in G major. Because the final statement of the chorale sung by the voices ends in E-flat major, Mendelssohn changes key by using the third of the E-flat triad as a pivot to C minor, and then modulates from C minor to G major. Mendelssohn juxtaposes inversions of C minor to finally cadence with a final note consisting of a third and fifth without the root. This is played pianissimo by double violas and double cellos creating a wistful and contemplative ending (Example 22).

Example 22: O Haupt voll Blut und Bunden, mvt. 1, mm. 112–26 (piano reduction).

Also in this same cantata, the last movement comes to an end with the addition of the text

“Amen.” Mendelssohn leads into the “Amen” after coming out of a V-I cadence, and ends this work with a forte plagal cadence. The preparation for this “Amen” becomes an accented and emphasized tonic of three instrumental measures before adding the flat 7th degree of C minor which leads by step to IV and then to I (Example 23).

Example 23: O Haupt voll Blut und Bunden, mvt. 3, mm. 49–58.

The mood of this cadence is different than the first movement and is an affirmation of the text

“und noch dein eigen sein” (and ever be your own).

In Vom Himmel hoch, Mendelssohn again ends movement three with a chorale, a colla parte movement with the plagal cadence. This is differentiated from the Baroque mainly because of the harmonic movement just preceding the IV-I cadence. Here, Mendelssohn begins by adding a half cadence, dimVII4/3-V at the penultimate phrase. He then proceeds to the final cadence by way of an alto phrase that is chromatic and more rhythmic. It also lengthens the cadence by one measure and plays on the seventh and flat-seventh degree of the scale.

Unexpected key relationships are also found in Vom Himmel hoch. For instance, the harmonic relationship between the first and second movement comes as a surprise. The first movement ends in C major and the second movement begins in A major. Interesting here is the way A major is approached. Mendelssohn opens the second movement with winds and brass playing a unison note on “e.” It is a fanfare introduction in forte octaves that lead to a tonicization of A major in measure three. At the onset of this movement, because of the unison

“e,” one could easily assume it is going to be in C major. But Mendelssohn uses the “e” to pivot to a perfect cadence in A major (Example 24).

Example 24: Vom Himmel hoch, mvt. 2, mm. 1–3.

The transition from the fifth to sixth movement is also atypical of the Baroque era. Mendelssohn creates tension from the strings pulsing on a B-major seventh chord that crescendos into a tutti

C-major fortissimo chord opening the final movement  V7 of III - I (CM) (Example 25).

Example 25: Vom Himmel hoch, transition from mvt. 5 (mm. 16–20) to mvt. 6 (mm. 1–2).

This is a bold move and reminiscent of the harmonic surprises of the Classical era.

49 MELODY - LYRICISM

Melody in the Baroque period was made up of small cells threaded together to form a melodic line. Mendelssohn also created melodies with relatively short motives combining voices and instruments. But in the Baroque, pulse was the most important element, and the melodic line possessed a strong beat followed by a weak beat, often with shorter notes followed by longer ones. Mendelssohn’s melodies possess a rising intensity, usually to the highest or longest note.

The melody is not conjoined to a basso continuo, nor is it governed by the strong and weak pulse influenced by Baroque dances. Instead, similar to his piano pieces Lieder ohne Worte, the melodies could be best described as being song-like. Mendelssohn’s unique gift is found in his lyricism.

Like the dialogue between voice and obligato instrument(s) often employed in the arias of Bach, Mendelssohn’s instruments double melody or reiterate a motive sung by the soloist thereby connecting voice to instruments, resulting in the same forward propulsion found in

Bach’s music. Furthermore, in Mendelssohn’s arias the beauty of the long phrases are brought out by Romantic coloring through dynamics and instrumentation. The baritone aria in O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden is examplary of Mendelssohn’s lyricism. Even before the soloist enters, the opening instrumental phrase consisting of twenty-one measures continuously arches to new heights, each cell rising to higher notes and finally falling from the mid-mark of the whole phrase (Example 26).

Example 26: O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden, mvt. 2, mm.1–26.

The solo that ensues is made up of antecedent and consequent phrases. The fifteen-measure antecedent reaches its height on a fermata – a high “d,” the fifth of a III chord in E-flat major

(Example 27).

Example 27: O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden, mvt. 2, mm. 35–42.

The consequent follows with an even longer phrase. This thirty-one measure phrase peaks at an

“E-flat” and ends with a deceptive cadence (V7-vi in B-flat major). This is followed by rising cells, which finally arrive on a perfect cadence in measure 67 on B-flat major (Example 28).

Example 28: O Haupt voll Blut und Bunden, mvt. 2, mm. 51–75.

In the cantata Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten, Mendelssohn’s phrase structure is

4+4+8. But these phrases are connected by a pedal point in the ’cello/bass, which extends from before the end of one phrase through the beginning measures of the new phrase (Example 29).

Example 29: Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten, mvt. 3, mm. 1–7.

52 In another instance, Mendelssohn connects short motives, again by means of a pedal point that supports an instrumental canon and thereby links the phrases together (Example 30).

Example 30: Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten, mvt. 3, mm. 110–17 (strings, soprano).

While the use of canon and pedal tones are techniques that were pioneered in the past,

Mendelssohn’s application of them is entirely Romantic because the phrase climbs in octaves creating a swelling effect.

In this same aria, Mendelssohn also presents a playful Baroque-style phrase as he musically depicts the idea of “footsteps.” With the text “so kömmt Gott” (so comes God), there is “stepping” action in the music. Mendelssohn’s melody outlines a 6/3 chord “call up to God” and is “answered from above” by the instruments descending phrases. Further, he immediately repeats this text in rising melodic sequence, so that when “God” answers from above this second time, it is also the highest note (c²) of the entire movement (Example 31).

Example 31: Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten, mvt. 3, mm. 56–67 (strings, soprano).

This text-painting idea resembles Bach in many ways, but the detail of dotted quarter notes held across the barlines makes this music unlike any from the Baroque. The use of dynamic contrast to bring out the first part of the phrase, “so kömmt Gott,” as forte and the latter half as piano, “eh wir uns versehn” (we are unaware), to accentuate the phrase and text also points this music toward the Romantic era. Finally, the differing articulation changing the affect within two measures is also uncharacteristic of the Baroque.

54 Bach’s extended contrapuntal movements, which sometimes open his cantatas, are often lengthy and employ tutti forces. This music often brings together many layers. That is, Bach may choose to open with pairs of instruments perhaps in canon, another set of instruments to counter the opening idea, followed by voices/choir, each layer coming together to a cadence.

Often there is rhythmic variety and buoyancy or element of dance. Mendelssohn studied these techniques, and traces of this style can be seen in all of his contrapuntal activity. However, he remains firmly grounded in the nineteenth century. Mendelssohn’s counterpoint is a seamless weaving of motives among voices and instruments. Once the motive is announced, he keeps the motion without much rhythmic change. The motives, even when they are in counterpoint, are cells that evolve into melodies. Further, the closing of the contrapuntal episode is often extended with a further musical idea.

In Mendelssohn’s first cantata, Christe, du Lamm Gottes, he establishes a motive in the strings based on the chorale tune that is heard throughout the work. The imitation is heard as a long flowing phrase because the motive is passed on from lowest to highest instruments, intensifying because of the climb in pitch as it is being passed. This imitation rises and falls

(Example 32).

Example 32: Christe, du Lamm Gottes, mm. 1–4.

The entrance of the voices is especially lyrical. First, the altos enter before the cadence of the instrumental introduction, thereby making this an unmarked entrance. The counterpoint that

55 follows is also lyrical. Here, Mendelssohn cleverly disguises the first four notes of the chorale tune and alters this motive by disguising them in diminution and in retrograde in the bass

(Example 33).

Example 33: Christe, du Lamm Gottes, mm. 6–11 (strings, SATB).

Because the imitation is unannounced, the altos become the melody until the chorale tune appears in the soprano part. Mendelssohn’s approach to counterpoint is not strict, instead there is always a flowing lyricism. Again in the Example 34 below, lyricism prevails to the final measures heard from the bass part (measure 19). This is not only a diminution of the chorale tune, but serves to extend the musical idea beyond its close. This commentary heard at the tail end of a musical sentence is pure expressivity and an identifying feature heard throughout

Mendelssohn’s cantatas (Example 34).

Example 34: Christe, du Lamm Gottes, mm. 14–20.

Wir Glauben all an einen Gott is a fugue reminiscent of the Baroque. The opening shows promise in the marked entrances with all voices entering in succession on the tonic and sub- dominant four measures apart. But Mendelssohn is true to his own lyrical style even when employing such a learned approach to counterpoint. With each line of text comprising of one fugal section or phrase, Mendelssohn composes five long fugal phrases. He always begins each fugal section before the previous section has ended, a practice not found in the Baroque era

(Example 35).

Example 35: Wir glauben all an einen Gott, mvt. 1, mm. 35–41.

57 Unlike the fugues of Bach that mark the end of a fugal section with a cadence, the endings of

Mendelssohn’s phrases shows overlapping of voices and instruments making delineation of new phrases unclear. Cadences ending in inversions also make this movement a continuously roaming one.

Verleih uns Frieden is also an example of a lyrical theme. The opening dialogue between the two ’cellos surges forward to its peak, then subsides before the voices enter making this a fifteen-measure phrase (Example 36).

Example 36: Verleih uns Frieden, mm. 1-14

59 Even when the voices enter, the resting points of the voices are connected to the next phrase by the viola’s commentary, breaking down a twenty-six measure episode to 8+2+2+4+6+4.

All of these cantatas show two important underlying features of Mendelssohn’s music. It illustrates that his lyricism, harmonic language, orchestration, forms and chorale treatment bear witness to a compositional technique grounded in past traditions. These also reveal that

Mendelssohn’s technique was filtered through the lens of the nineteenth century, demonstrating a breadth of style consistent with that era.

60 CHAPTER THREE

ANALYSIS: ACH GOTT VOM HIMMEL SIEH DAREIN

The previous chapter compared elements of music between Mendelssohn and Bach, and the Baroque era. This chapter is solely concerned with Mendelssohn’s final chorale cantata, Ach

Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein. While the influence of Bach and the Baroque era is unmistakable, especially in the formal structure of the cantata – large opening movement, recitative, aria and final choral movement—it exhibits considerable traits distinguishable as music of the nineteenth century.

Mendelssohn’s last chorale cantata was conceived during his Italian trip in 1830–31 and according to the autograph the work was completed 5 April 1832.25 It is the last of

Mendelssohn’s “Lutheran Project” and is dedicated to Johann Nepomuk Schelble, the founder of the Caecilienverein in Frankfurt who had taken a considerable interest in Mendelssohn’s development as a composer. He hoped to have the work performed by the Caecilienverein; however, it is unclear whether such a performance took place. This work employs an orchestra consisting of 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, strings, baritone solo, and SATB chorus.

The text of six stanzas of Ach Gott vom Himmel sieh darein by Martin Luther is based on

Psalm 12. The source of the melody is unknown and can be traced back to the secular song

“Begierlich in dem Herzen mein” (The lustful desires in my heart) from about 1410. It is a tune that appeared for the first time connected to Luther’s chorale text in Johann Walter’s Enchiridion

25 Mendelssohn, Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, preface.

61 of 1524. Along with Luther’s text, Mendelssohn also included an interpolation of verses from

Psalm 103.

MOVEMENT ONE: CHORALE

The opening movement of Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein is marked Andante and explores many different compositional techniques. The movement is durchkomponiert (through- composed) using the first four stanzas of Luther’s text. The macro design of this movement is

ABCD, with new music for each new stanza.

Table 2: Text of the first movement

Section Text Translation A Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein O Lord, look down from heaven, behold Und laß dich des erbarmen. And let Thy pity waken: Wie wenig sind der Heilgen dein, How few are we within Thy Fold Verlassen sind wir Armen! Thy saints by men forsaken! Dein Wort man nicht läßt haben wahr, True faith seems quenched on every hand, Der Glaub ist auch verloschen gar Men suffer not thy word to stand; Bei allen Menschenkindern. Dark times have us overtaken.

B Sie lehren eitel falsche List With fraud which they themselves invent Was eigen Witz erfindet Thy truth they have confounded; Ihr Herz nicht eines Sinnes ist Their hearts are not with one consent In Gottes Wort gegründet On Thy pure doctrine grounded. Der wählet dies, der andre das While they parade with outward show, Sie trennen sich ohn alle Maß They lead the people to and fro, und gleißen schön von außen. In error’s maze astounded.

C Gott woll ausrotten alle gar! May god root out all heresy Die falschen Schein uns lehren, And of false teachers rid us Dazu ihr Zung stolz offenbar Who proudly say: Now, where is he Spricht: “Trotz! Wer will’s uns That shall our speech forbid us? wehren? By right or might we shall prevail; Wir haben Recht und Macht allein What we determine cannot fail; Was wir setzen, das gilt gemein We own no lord and master. Wer ist, de runs wollt meistern?”

62 D Darum spricht Gott: “Ich muß auf sein Therefore saith God, I must arise, Die Armen sind verstöret The poor My help are needing; Ihr Seufzen dringt zu mir To Me ascend My people’s cries, Ich hab ihr Klagerhöret. And I have heard their pleading. Mein heilsam Wort soll auf den Plan For them My saving Word shall fight Getrost und Frisch sie greifen an And fearlessly and sharply smite, Und sein die Kraft der Armen.” The poor with might defending.

Each stanza is set with a different compositional idea and is entirely text driven. The music intends to correspond to Luther’s despairing text filled with cries and pleading from the people to God. Despite being through-composed, Mendelssohn achieves unity by means of two motives: a theme that climbs in step-wise motion and a theme consisting of the interval of a major seventh. These motives bind the four sections of this opening movement, as well as the four movements of this chorale cantata.

The first two sections of the movement set up the motives of the cantata. These are scenes depicting the deceit and dishonesty on earth through both contrapuntal and fugal techniques. The third section announces the chorale tune bearing the title Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein for the first time. This chorale is sung in unison representing the believers of God and confirms this work as having dramatic function rather than a theological or liturgical one.

This is then fully apparent when Mendelssohn presents a newly composed chorale for the final section to correspond to the voice of God.

The first section (A) of the cantata consists of twenty-eight measures and is in bar form

(aab).

mm. 1-4: orchestral introduction mm. 5-9: a (Stollen) mm. 10-14: a (Stollen) mm. 15-28: b (Abgesang)

63 Mendelssohn keeps the form of the chorale, ending each part with a cadence. However, he rejects the tune bearing the title of this work, “Ach Gott vom Himmel sieh darein.” He starts the cantata with his own melody or his own version of a “chorale.” This melody is far removed from congregational hymn style and is made up of chromatic and jagged contrapuntal motives more instrumental in nature and not conducive to singing. The orchestra opens immediately with the strings and winds playing a chromatic ascent, a sort of “despair” motive of a minor second.

Simultaneously, the bass makes a chromatic ascent up to a fifth creating a foreboding atmosphere (Example 37).

Example 37: Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, mvt. 1, mm. 1–4.

The voices seamlessly join in the lament in counterpoint, but here the semitone climb becomes an interval of a seventh (first heard in the tenor) – the other motive of the cantata (Example 38).

Example 38: Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, mvt. 1, mm. 5–7.

The interval of the seventh in measure five is passed to the altos who sing a diminished fifth.

The motive then continues with the sopranos singing another ascending seventh and finally ends with the horns that take the interval further to an octave. Even the ’cellos join by recalling the minor second intervals of the opening motive. This instantly projects the pleading of the people looking up to God and portrays the imploring character of stanza 1 – the people pleading to the

Lord to take pity on those who have forsaken God. The uncertainty of the home key creates the element of instability: the key signature indicates A minor, but this first section is in E major/E minor. The opening bass ascent to “e” indicates that the work starts in the dominant. Second, the incessant chromatic motion produces angst not only melodically, but harmonically as well, in the form of suspensions. This foreboding atmosphere is then repeated in the second Stollen beginning in measure 10 and continued in the Abgesang at measure 15.

The Abgesang starts with a less jagged melody and features intervals of a second and fourth. The bass voice is also highlighted by the use of a basso seguente giving direction and pulse and leads to a cadence that bears witness to the chromatic tendencies of this opening section. The last six measures leading to the E-major cadence are exemplary of prolonged resolution and are packed with diminished chords, large intervals and leaps, especially in the soprano voice (Example 39). The harmonic movement in E minor is as follows:

IV – V – IV6 – dim7 – I – dim7 / V – dim4/3 – I – V – I

The text here repeats “dein Wort man nicht läßt haben wahr, der Glaub ist auch verloschen gar bei allen Menschenkindern” (People do not believe your Word, belief/faith is even extinguished by all humankind) (Example 39).

Example 39: Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, mvt. 1, mm. 23–28.

This first section of the cantata ends with an emphatic cadence on E major and moves directly to the B section in m. 32 with a four-measure interlude that mixes the major and minor modes and cadences on E minor (Example 40).

Example 40: Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, mvt. 1, mm. 28–31 (oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns, strings, SATB).

These four measures restate the motive of the minor second (opening of cantata) and close the first stanza by re-articulating the choral cadence at m. 27 by the instruments. As well,

Mendelssohn composes running sixteenth notes foreshadowing the instrumental display of section C (stanza three).

The second stanza and section B of this movement is a fugue of fifty-nine measures in four large phrases. In the first phrase, mm. 32–47, two fugal motives are stated: an ascending and descending chromatic melody consisting of the first two lines of text. The second phrase, mm. 47–58, a new fugal motive is stated along with the previous two motives to lines three and

67 four of text. The following phrase is the episode/development using all three motives, lines three and five of the text. Finally, this B section of the movement closes with a homophonic/syllabic declamation using lines six and seven of the text.

Mendelssohn again denies the use of the chorale tune “Ach Gott vom Himmel sieh darein” and instead supplies a fugue, an ascending and descending chromatic scale previewed in the work’s introduction (Example 41a).

Example 41a: Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, mvt. 1, mm. 32–35.

He also provides a third motive for this fugue consisting of disjunctive intervals (Example 41b).

Example 41b: Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, mvt. 1, mm. 48–51.

68 The ascending and descending chromatic motives are assigned to the words “sie lehren eitel falsche List” (they teach vain, false trick [or ruse]) and “der wählet dies, der andre das” (one follows this, another that). The chromatic motives effectively depict the “cunning and deceitful teachers,” as well as the constant swaying beliefs of the people. The third motive, on the text

“ihr Herz nicht eines Sinnes ist,” outlines a minor 6/4 chord and refers to the heart of the people whose conscience is not grounded in God’s Word. This fugue belongs to a master of fugal writing. The motives are relentless and are found in almost every measure of the fifty-measure fugue (the remaining ten measures of this fugue is homophonic) to reveal the essence of the text

– confusion and insistence of the believers of God. The main role of the orchestra here is to double the choir, but Mendelssohn also uses an independent bass line functioning almost as a basso continuo that sometimes doubles the bass voices for emphasis and support, especially in bringing out the motives (Example 42).

Example 42: Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, mvt. 1, mm. 36–39

(strings, SATB). The development of the fugue arrives on a ten-measure pedal on the dominant “e,” reminiscent of a pedal used by Mozart or Haydn before a recapitulation. This is an instrumental pedal that Mendelssohn also gives to the basses to sing (Example 43).

Example 43: Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, mvt. 1, mm. 71–73.

This pedal eventually mounts to a climax resulting in obvious disonnance. Mendelssohn creates discord by holding an “e” pedal with a D-sharp diminished chord and against that a D-natural

(Example 44).

Example 44: Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, mvt. 1, mm. 77–81.

70 This rearticulates the prevalent minor second and emphasizes the modality of this chorale.

Immediately following is the opening choral motive and opening text “Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein” (Example 47 at m. 78), providing unity for this movement.

The last two lines of stanza two that end this fugal section B are a homophonic and syllabic chorale setting of the two chromatic motives (descending and ascending) with colla parte instruments. Here, Mendelssohn’s chromatic motives receive vertical attention through bold harmonies: (AM: I – 6/5 – IV – V – V6/5 / V – 6/5 – I - i – IV/VI – V7/VI – VI/IV –

VI/IV – I – IV – V4/2 – I6 – dim4/3 – VII6 – V7 – I Am) (Example 45).

Example 45: Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, mvt. 1, mm. 80–90.

71 Upon the A-minor final cadence of section B, Mendelssohn finally reveals in section C the chorale tune to which the title refers. Here Mendelssohn’s reasons for composing a motive based on a minor second and his use of major and minor modes for this cantata are illuminated.

The chorale tune discloses ample use of this minor second. This chorale is also innately modal allowing Mendelssohn to mix major and minor modes throughout.

Section C in bar form is thirty-seven measures, and Mendelssohn picks up the pace of the music by writing unison strings in ceaseless sixteenth notes. This introduces the chorale tune

“Ach Gott vom Himmel sieh darein,” which is sung by voices—also in unison—with winds doubling. The technique used in section C is extended chorale (chorale with instrumental commentary). But the instrumental activity does not subside for thirty-seven measures and rises above the chorale in the voices providing implied harmony and color. Only two different melodies are heard, but the sheer virtuosity of strings and solidarity of the singers and winds

“lifts” this music off the page. For all of these reasons, this music is highly characteristic of

Mendelssohn’s style (Example 46).

Example 46: Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, mvt. 1, mm. 95–98 (oboes, clarinets, bassoons, strings, SATB).

The chorale text sung by the choir in unison is declamatory and illustrates the resolve of the people who stand firm in God. But at the second Stollen to the words “Trotz! Wer will’s uns wehren?”, the music suddenly changes from unison to four-part for three measures (Example

47).

Example 47: Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, mvt. 1, mm. 106–108.

This signifies Mendelssohn’s intention to depict the decision that the people have finally rejected any deceit. Further, the harmonic progression is a circle of fifths from A major – D major – G major – C major (mm. 106–108) as one would find in the Baroque. Although this is a modal chorale, Mendelssohn sets it in A minor. This chorale tune centers around the second and third scale degrees (notes “b” and “c”) of an A-minor scale with the final note of the chorale ending on the second degree. Mendelssohn resolves this by allowing the final note of the chorale to be heard as V of E major for four measures (mm. 122–26), eventually leading to A major to begin section D (Example 48).

Example 48: Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, mvt. 1, mm. 124–27.

74 From the example above, it is also evident that Mendelssohn thwarts the expected A-minor cadence and concludes instead on A major.

The final part, section D of this movement, is a seventeen-measure chorale marked

Maestoso with colla parte instruments. Again, Mendelssohn rejects the chorale tune “Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein” and in its place presents his own newly composed melody.

Mendelssohn’s chorale is completely different than the traditional modal chorale to which the title of this work refers and which is heard in stanza three. For these seventeen measures,

Mendelssohn adds the trumpets and timpani for the first time in this work. A bright A major bespeaking the triumph and majesty of the text. The text here is in quotes; it is God speaking to his people that he hears their laments and will bestow blessings upon them. The melody of this chorale is made up of perfect and major intervals and the instruments double the chorale for emphasis (Example 49). This is a melody that contains no trace of the chromatic motives of the previous stanzas and is almost entirely diatonic, creating a hymn of confidence.

Example 49: Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, mvt. 1, mm. 127–32.

With sparing use of horns, trumpets and timpani, Mendelssohn is also able to create built-in crescendos and diminuendos for phrasing. Mendelssohn’s own chorale possibly indicates that

“God’s voice” is unique and different from the “chorale sung by the people.”

76 MOVEMENT TWO: BARITONE RECITATIVE

The second movement, consisting of ten measures, is the only recitative found in

Mendelssohn’s eight cantatas. The text for this movement is not Luther’s chorale text, but taken from the Old Testament, Psalm 103: 8, 10, and 11.

Barmherzig und gnädig ist der Herr, geduldig und von grosser Güte. Er handelt nicht mist uns nach unsern Sünden und vergilt uns nicht nach unsrer Missetat. Denn so hoch der Himmel über der Erde ist, lasset er seine Gnade walten über die so ihn fürchten.

The Lord is compassionate and good, most patient and of steadfast mercy. He does not punish us for our transgressions, and requites us not for out iniquities. Even as the heaven is high over all the earth, so he spreads out his grace and mercy over them that revere him.

This text continues the assurance of the previous chorale and shows no sign of the chorale melody; however, the movement of the ’cello/bass part does consist mainly of seconds. The music looks like a recitative, with music serving speech patterns; however, this recitative is more typical of an accompanied recitative (Example 50).

Example 50: Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, mvt. 2 (mm. 1–10).

The recitative contains an expressive melodic line accompanied by strings, marked by the following harmonic movement:

V6 of G major – dim 7 of A major (iv) – V – 4/2 – I6 – IV – V4/2 – I6 – V6/5 (V4/3) of V – I E major ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

78 This movement displays a general mood of confidence more than it demonstrates specific words through text-painting with the exception of the word “Himmel” that carries the highest note in the recitative.

MOVEMENT THREE: BARITONE ARIA (ANDANTE)

The baritone aria in C-sharp minor is accompanied by the strings in binary form.

13 mm. ------24 mm. ------33 mm. ------11 mm. string intro A B Coda lines 1–4 of text lines 5–7 of text repeated 2x (8+16) repeated 2x (16+17)

The string introduction shows a long phrase of thirteen measures with a prevailing idea of two- note slurs, rocking on seconds. This immediately establishes a sense of mystery. The text for this movement is Luther’s fifth stanza; a warning to the people of God who will be tested, just as silver is also tried by fire.

Das Silber durchs Feur siebenmal As silver tried by fire is pure bewährt wird lauter funden. From all adulteration, An Gottes Wort man warten soll, So through God’s Word shall men endure Desgleichen alle Stunden, Each trial and temptation. Es wird durchs Kreuz bewähret sein! Its light beams brighter through the cross, Da wird sein Kraft erkannt und And, purified from human dross, schein It shines through every nat Und leucht stark in die Lande

Often in this aria the baritone melody is doubled by the ’cello/bass, leaving the violins and viola to give harmonic support. This technique provides a transparent texture and actually serves to highlight the solo voice (Example 51).

Example 51: Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, mvt. 3, mm. 14–21.

Mendelssohn’s lyricism in his second phrase is apparent as he passes the melody to the instruments as the baritone cadences (Example 52). The blossoming of the continuing instrumental phrase and the eventual fall to a cadence make this phrase sixteen measures long

(8+8).

Example 52: Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, mvt. 3, mm. 30–36.

The B section of this aria contains the “warning” motive. This section is built around the motive occurring on the text “Es wird durchs Kreuz bewähren” (It will be proven by the cross) (Example

53).

Example 53: Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, mvt. 3, mm. 38–40.

This motive also appears at the very end in the coda as a final warning.

MOVEMENT FOUR: CHORAL

The last movement and sixth stanza opens V – I in F-sharp minor to the chorale “Ach

Gott vom Himmel sieh darein.”

Das wollst du, Gott bewahren rein Thy truth defend, O God, and stay Vor diesem argen G’schlechte This evil generation; Und laß uns dir befohlen sein And from the error of their way Daß sich’s in uns nicht flechte. Keep Thine own congregation. Der gottlos Hauf umher sich findt The wicked everywhere abound Wo diese losen Leute sind And would Thy little flock confound; In deinem Volk erhaben. But Thou art our Salvation.

The movement is in the style of harmonized chorale. Here, the strings come to the fore with sforzandos on the second and fourth beat urgently shaping and moving the chorale to the next phrase. The triplet rhythms supply renewed momentum, and the music presses on befitting a final movement (Example 54).

Example 54: Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, mvt. 4, mm. 1–4.

The opening key of F-sharp minor quickly modulates to E major after the second line of text.

However, the key signature here actually implies A minor (C major), the key of the first movement (Example 55).

Example 55: Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, mvt. 4, mm. 5–8.

82 Mendelssohn’s harmonic structure through to the end of this work is a series of tonicizations on IV, V, IV and I of E major. Mendelssohn ends the work on a plagal cadence, a hallmark of his chorale cantatas. The last seven measures stay on the tonic with emphasis on the scale degrees 7–8 in the strings recalling the minor second motive of the first movement (Example 56).

Example 56: Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, mvt. 4, mm. 24–29 (oboes, clarinets, horns, strings, SATB).

In the final moments of this cantata, Mendelssohn brings back in the instruments the motive of the first movement – the opening motive of the chorus.

83 This cantata is true to the nineteenth-century feature of unity in a given work; it is cyclic in form. As well, it possesses qualities inherent in nineteenth-century Lieder. The melodies are lyrical, even the chromatic ones. The dramatic depiction of text is the essence of this music, and the voices are in partnership with the instruments, depending on each other for musical and textual support. This work could be seen as the forerunner to the dramatic psalms and oratorios of Mendelssohn’s later years.

84 CONCLUSION

Mendelssohn was only ten years old when he began compositional studies with Carl

Friedrich Zelter. Due to this education, which was largely indebted to the past, especially the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, these eight chorale cantatas are reflective of this training. As expressed throughout this document, Mendelssohn exhibits forms or styles borrowed and adapted from the Baroque. He was a solid craftsman, well versed in the traditions of the past and was not content merely to duplicate this music. While the specific genre of chorale cantata, and forms and techniques may be influenced by past procedures, this music represents the Romantic era. Mendelssohn in his letter of 15 July 1831 to Devrient reveals that he was fully aware of using similar formal techniques, but that he was serving own artistic intentions:

If my music bears any resemblance to Sebastian Bach, it is again no fault of mine, for I wrote it just according to the mood I was in; and if the words inspired me with a mood akin to that of old Bach, so much the better. I am sure you do not think that I would merely copy his form, without the substance; if it were so, I should feel such disgust and such a void, that I could never again finish a composition.26

The cantatas are works by a young composer whose voice was starting to be heard and are honest representations of Mendelssohn’s impressive musical mind in the early stages of his career. He took the chorale cantata, a form of the past, and shaped this to suit the tastes of the nineteenth century. Homophonic chorales that usually ended Bach’s works and expressed the

“voice of the congregation” were no longer appropriate in the Romantic era. Mendelssohn tailored this design to fit the concert format of the nineteenth century. In the final movements of his cantatas, while they consistently adopt the chorale tune, Mendelssohn always brings specific

26 Mendelssohn, Letters, 150.

85 attention to the instruments. They are critical in shaping the chorale, possessing an intensity and urgency especially in the string writing.

Mendelssohn was also concerned with creating “mood pictures” especially in the single movement works. These works are intimate pieces that exhibit the composer’s lyricism and while counterpoint is the prevailing technique used in these cantatas, Mendelssohn’s gift of threading phrases to an intensity is unquestionably Romantic. His sister Fanny, for whom the cantata Christe, du Lamm Gottes was composed, wrote “for me he (Mendelssohn) has written something of a different nature, a four-part chorus with a small orchestra on the chorale, ‘Christe, du Lamm gottes.’ I have played it through a few times today and it is quite exquisite.” 27 These one movement works are intimate and introspective in mood and unique to Mendelssohn.

With Mendelssohn’s last chorale cantata, Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, he composed his most dramatic cantata. This drama is heard especially in his use of chromaticism and use of the chorale melody. This cantata is a realization of Mendelssohn’s attempt to depict

Luther’s stanzas, especially in the first movement. It looks back to Bach, but it also looks forward to the new century and exemplifies traits found in the Romantic era.

Mendelssohn’s cantatas are still relatively unknown. While the cantata Verleih uns

Frieden is often performed especially in church settings, these cantatas have not yet found their place in the mainstream of choral repertory. They are exceptional works that demonstrate compositional techniques mentored by the past and presented in the language appropriate to the nineteenth century. Old material is presented in a fresh new way – they are “stylishly” appropriate cantatas of the Romantic era. Also, these cantatas are valuable works that could be

27 Fanny Hensel Mendelssohn, letter to Karl Klingemann dated 25 December 1827, quoted in Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Christe, du Lamm Gottes, ed. Oswald Bill (Stuttgart: Carus-Verlag, 1998), preface.

86 programmed alongside Bach, even performing parallel cantatas on the same chorale, such as Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten or Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein. As well, they could effectively be programmed with works of another nineteenth-century composer, Johannes

Brahms, who also looked to the past to find his own compositional language. Like Brahms’s choral works, Nänie, Alto Rhapsody, or Schicksalslied, Mendelssohn’s chorale cantatas are also works that were new to the Romantic nineteenth century, for no other composer during this era wrote this form of composition.

Chorale cantatas were fashionably outmoded in the nineteenth century, but Mendelssohn stayed close to this genre. Learning from Bach was the means to finding his own compositional language and style. Bach’s models became “romanticized” in the hands of Mendelssohn—old wine into new bottles.

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Scores

Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Felix. Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein. Full score edited by Günter Graulich. Stuttgart: Carus-Verlag, 1980.

______. Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein. Vocal score edited by Günter Graulich. Germany: Carus-Verlag, 1998.

______. Christe, du Lamm Gottes. Full score edited by Oswald Bill. Germany: Carus- Verlag, 1978.

______. Christe, du Lamm Gottes. Vocal score edited by Oswald Bill. Germany: Carus- Verlag, 1998.

______. Jesu, meine Freude. Full score edited by Günter Graulich. Germany: Carus-Verlag, 1979.

______. Jesu, meine Freude. Vocal score edited by Günter Graulich. Germany: Carus- Verlag, 1998.

______. O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden. Full score edited by Oswald Bill. Germany: Carus- Verlag, 1980.

______. O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden. Vocal score edited by Oswald Bill. Germany: Carus-Verlag, 1998.

______. Verlieh’ uns Frieden. Full score edited by Günter Graulich. Germany: Carus- Verlag, 1980.

______. Vom Himmel hoch. Full score edited by Karen Lehmann. Germany: Carus-Verlag, 1985.

91 ______. Vom Himmel hoch. Vocal score edited by Karen Lehmann. Germany: Carus- Verlag, 1983.

______. Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten. Full score edited by Thomas Christian Schmidt. Germany: Carus-Verlag, 1996.

______. Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten. Vocal score edited by Thomas Christian Schmidt. Germany: Carus-Verlag, 1997.

______. Wir glauben all an einen Gott. Full score edited by Günter Graulich. Germany: Carus-Verlag, 1980.

______. Wir glauben all an einen Gott. Vocal score edited by Günter Graulich. Germany: Carus-Verlag, 1998.