Contributing to the Mendelssohn Birthday Bandwagon

Last updated on: February 3, 2015 at 12:51 pm by Joseph Susanka

Contributing to the Mendelssohn Birthday Bandwagon 2015-02-03T12:51:33-07:00 Joseph Susanka

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I stumbled across an amazing Mendelssohn video yesterday, courtesy of the always-instructive (and enjoyable) Saturday Chorale website. I loved it , especially because it’s subject, his Second Symphony, is so unlike the other Mendelssohn symphonies with which I am most familiar. But I wasn’t quite sure what to do with it. Or when. So I stashed it in a post draft, as is my (too frequent, I fear) want.

Then, Simcha Fischer went and posted this:

The other day, Mendelssohn’s string octet came on the radio, and I was astonished to learn that he wrote it when he was sixteen years old. It’s an extraordinary piece for a composer of any age, but sixteen!

Perfect. As she notes, it’s Mendelssohn’s birthday, so I don’t even need a(nother) reason for posting it. Thanks, Simcha! (Also, yes. Your title’s better. And yes, “bandwagon” is a bit strong. But at the same time, the cycle of violins is spinning a bit more slowly here, right? Tell your sister “You’re welcome.”)

Via Wikipedia:

The Symphony No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 52, commonly known as Lobgesang (Hymn of Praise), was composed by Felix Mendelssohn in 1840, along with the less-known Festgesang “Gutenberg Cantata,” to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the invention of printing.

The composer’s description of the work was “A Symphony-Cantata on Words of the Holy Bible, for Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra”. It requires two sopranos and a tenor as soloists, along with a chorus and orchestra. It lasts almost twice as long as any of Mendelssohn’s other four symphonies.

Attribution(s): All artwork, publicity images, and stills related to the performance are the property of AVROTROS Klassiek, a Dutch Public Broadcasting Organization and all respective creators and/or distributors; “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy” by Friedrich Wilhelm Schadow is licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

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