Leipzig Edition of the Works of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy

SKU: BR.SON-442

ISBN 9790004803509. 10 x 12.5 inches.

This volume contains three reworkings and orchestrations of religious works by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy which were originally set for smaller ensembles (solo voices, four-part chorus and organ). They were composed at different times and for different occasions, two of them as commissions. The anthem ,,Why, o Lord, delay forever MWV A 19 was originally the sacred vocal piece MWV B 33, published in England in 1841 with the additional title ,,[…] The Thirteenth Psalm, and in Germany in the same year as ,,Lass, o Herr, mich Hilfe finden with the title ,,Drei geistliche Lieder which was composed at the suggestion of the English literature and music lover Charles B. Broadley who also provided the paraphrase of the psalm text. After Mendelssohn had refused an initial request by Broadley to furnish the anthem post festum with an organ prelude, the composer did not want to turn down a second request to orchestrate the work and he even expanded the existing material with a lengthy closing fugue involving additional trumpets and timpani. The ,,Ave Maria MWV B 19 was written in connection with Mendelssohn's appointment as municipal music director, a position which at the same time included the responsibility for the musical organization of church services. The instrumentation of the work with an accompaniment of two clarinets and two bassoons as well as low strings was due to the fact that the organ in Dusseldorf's principal church St. Lambertus was out of order for an extended period of time, and Mendelssohn considered this solution explicitly only as a surrogate for the organ should there be none. A further psalm paraphrase in English, this time by William Bartholomew, of the hymn ,,Hear my prayer MWV B 49 was set to music in early 1844; the orchestration of the organ part commissioned by the distinguished Dublin musician Joseph Robinson was not completed until 1847 so that the premiere finally only took place after Mendelssohn's death. In the further course of the century ,,Hear my prayer would, particularly in the version with organ accompaniment, come to enjoy great popularity in Great Britain and Ireland.