October 28, 2012 - Proper 25

Paulus Op. 36: "I Praise Thee, O Lord"
                                                               - Felix Mendelssohn
O Taste and See - John Goss
Songs Without Words: "Confidence"and "Hope"
                                                               - Felix Mendelssohn

Hymns: #429 Old 113th, #306 Sursum Corda,
              LEVAS #207 By and By

This week’s music is completely Victorian English music. The gradual anthem and postlude were written by Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847). Strictly speaking, Mendelssohn is a German Romantic composer but during his brief lifetime he made ten trips to England. During these trips he revolutionized the English organ world to the extent of causing a change in their approach to organ building. Before Mendelssohn’s trips to England, English pedal boards were just pull down pedals, meaning that they played whatever stops were on in the rest of the organ rather than being their own individual division. In fact, some British organs didn’t even have a pedal division. In addition to his career as an organist Mendelssohn found success with the composition of oratorios.

I Praise Thee, O Lord is taken from Mendelssohn’s Op. 36 Paulus written between 1832 and 1836. The text is derived from Biblical texts and was assembled by Julius Schubring. The work received its first performance on May 22, 1836 at the Rhenish Music Festival in Dusseldorf. It tells the story of Paul’s conversion and ministry, a story that may have had special meaning to Mendelssohn, the grandson of a Rabbi. In 1816 the Mendelssohn family moved to Berlin and added the surname Bartholdy although Felix resisted this. I Praise Thee, O Lord opens with a baritone aria sung by the newly converted Paul in praise of God. The chorus’s part of this movement is typical Mendelssohn. The choir sings a fugue alternating between two themes on two different texts, the first from the book of Revelations and the second from the Gospel of Matthew. After both themes have been presented and developed they are combined. The altos finish the movement the same way they started before the final statement of the choir, “for His word shall not decay” fades off into nothingness.  

For the postlude I have chosen two of Mendelssohn’s Songs Without Words that I feel complement each other while at the same time making a statement. Mendelssohn published eight collections of these “songs” each consisting of six pieces. As the piano grew in popularity it became common for composers to write short lyric pieces that were accessible to the general public. While subsequent publications of these pieces has paired titles with them that were not intended I think that the “titles” attached to the two pieces I will play does reflect the mood. The first is called Confidence. This light piece is assertive but also soft spoken and whimsical at the beginning and end, I think this speaks to our interpretation of confidence. I have often found that confidence comes from honesty and honesty from being true to yourself – I hear that in this piece. The second piece is called Hope. Again this piece opens and closes with soft whisperings with a confident statement sandwiched in-between. It seems an appropriate pairing for Confidence and an appropriate selection going into an Election week.

The communion anthem is a setting of Psalm 34 by the British composer John Goss (1800-1880). John Goss is a composer that I first discovered through his setting of God So Loved the World. Goss is best known for his choral compositions and his hymn tunes including Praise My Soul the King of Heaven. This setting of O Taste and See is typical of Goss’s writing and makes use of simple harmonies with primarily homophonic writing. The B section introduces slightly unexpected harmonies into the mix on the text “the lions do lack and suffer hunger” but still the piece follows a logical progression to the resolution that “they who seek the Lord shall want for nothing.” The piece closes with a prolonged statement that reminds us that the "man" who trusts the Lord is blessed. This week's music has essentially covered many of the positive attributes of human character: hope, trust, confidence, faith and thanksgiving. All important things for us to remember in these uncertain times when human character is called into question and is of such vital importance.