REVIEW OF MENDELSSOHN IN BIRMINGHAM VOL. 3, PARTICULARLY LOBGESANG (SYMPHONY #2)

 

 Since I became a fan of classical music, my favorite composer as I grew older, from Beethoven to Dvorak to Bruckner to Berwald and now Mendelssohn. 

Some of you aren't into classical music, and may tell me you've never heard of Mendelssohn's music. I will kindly shake my head and ask you to turn in your hymnal to "Hark The Herald Angels Sing." You'll see Charles Wesley's name on the left for the words, and on the right you'll see the composer for the music identified as - you guessed it -  Mendelssohn. It makes me smile that the brother of John Wesley wrote words that would be set to music by a Reformed Messianic Jew who wasn't born when Charles was promoted to hymn writing in heaven.

Felix Mendelssohn by Eduard Magnus, 1846

Mendelssohn is typically assumed to have written five symphonies. His symphonies are numbered according to the order of their publication. For example, the Reformation symphony was the second one he wrote, but he put it on mothballs and it wasn't published until 20+ years after his death, and was numbered as his fifth. 

Above, I've pictured volume three of the collection "Mendelssohn in Birmingham". Mendelssohn visited Britain ten times during his short life (1809-1847). The first three volumes, which feature his symphonies (each also starts off with an overture), have a sketch done by Mendelssohn of Birmingham. (Each volume has a different ink color). Not only does it show that the composer was a talented artist, but it also showed some humor: Notice the large bird in the drawing? And in the forefront was the luggage of Mendelssohn and his two traveling companions.

The first two volumes feature four of his five symphonies, saving the longest for this volume. This symphony, designated as the second (though it was either his fourth or fifth that he wrote) is titled Lobgesang, which means hymn of praise. Like Beethoven's 9th, the symphony starts with three instrumental movements and then brings in a choir for the end. However, there are distinct differences. Beethoven's choral finale was a symphony movement with singing. The choir part of Lobgesang more resembles the Messiah than Beethoven, taking up the majority of the time of the symphony, and is usually divided into several parts. In fact, some modern music critics don't consider this a symphony but more of a sacred choral work. 

One reason I am looking at this rendition instead of just the symphony is that this includes the English translation of the lyrics, which Mendelssohn authorized (the original was in German). 

I'm not a professional music critic, but allow me to pretend to be one. The symphony starts off with horns playing a melody in a low key, echoed by the orchestra, not unlike a songleader singing a line from a song with the choir or congregation echoing that line back. There is no break between the minuet of the 2nd movement and the slow 3rd movement. The fourth starts with the orchestra playing the beginning of the theme from the first movement.

One interesting note is this was composed for a choir, a pair of sopranos, and a tenor. There is one short segment where the sopranos sing together.

When I listen to this symphony, the theme runs through my head, with the English words taken from Psalm 150: "Let all that has life and breath praise the Lord."

This volume starts off with an overture titled "Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage." I'll admit it's not my favorite Mendelssohn composition. It starts off very quietly, and sometimes if I don't put the volume on the stereo loud enough I miss the first couple of minutes of this overture.

Who is your favorite classical composer? What music helps you worship?