Elijah: "Blessed are the Men who Fear Him"
- Felix Mendelssohn
Requiem: "Agnus Dei" - W.A. Mozart
Fugue in g minor BWV 578 - J.S. Bach
Hymns: #390 Lobe den Herren, #586 Pleading Savior,
#411 St. Thomas
This week’s music is a sort of “preview of things to come” next
year. The two choir anthems are from the two major works that we will be
performing next year. In the fall we will perform the Mozart Requiem K626, an amazing piece that
makes most of us think of the film Amadeus.
Although the accounts of Mozart (1756-1791) dictating the music to his “adversary”
Salieri are completely fictional, the piece was not completed by Mozart but by
his student. Franz Xaver Süssmayr (1766-1803) served as Mozart’s copyist and a
composer of primarily religious works and operas. The Agnus Dei is thought to have
been assembled from a previous mass and constructed be Sussmayr. We will only
be presenting the first section of the movement before the soprano solo. Just
enough to whet the appetite before diving in next fall.
The gradual anthem is from Felix Mendelssohn’s epic Elijah, which we will present as our
Celebration of the Arts offering next year. Blessed
are the Men Who Fear Him is taken from the first part of the oratorio and
takes place after the exchange between Elijah and the Widow whose son has died
and is brought back to life. This chorus is typical of Mendelssohn’s writing
where two themes are stated and developed individually and then combined. This chorus
leads to the end of the opening scene and transitions into the Baal theme. This
is a good precursor to this scene because it extols all of the attributes of
God before we go into the rather bloody Baal scene.
The prelude is the second movement of Mendelssohn’s Fourth
Organ Sonata in Bb. The “Andante Religioso”
is a slow chorale like piece in-between the triumphal opening and the bubbly
Allegretto. Mendelssohn made a career as an organ recitalist in England where
the works of Bach were unknown. In fact, the organs of England had to be
rebuilt so that the works of Bach and Mendelssohn could be performed. The
organs of England had pedal boards that were very short and were not really
suited for playing the independent contrapuntal lines of Bach. This piece shows
the lyrical side of Mendelssohn, much like the chorus being performed today. It
is a meditative but solid start to the service.
The postlude is by J.S. Bach which seems fitting since
Mendelssohn is credited with a huge Bach revival. This is one of Bach’s best
known tunes and has become a favorite piece to be arranged for instrumental
ensembles. This four voice fugue with its angular theme was arranged for orchestra
by Leopld Stokowski and has been reincarnated in versions for brass quartet and
even marching band.
