Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Sacred Choral Works
Latvian Radio Choir/Sigvards Klava
rec. 2024, St. John’s Church, Riga, Latvia
Text and English translations provided
Ondine ODE1459-2 [54]
For this particular listener and lover of choral music the Latvian Radio Choir can do no wrong. They excel in all repertoire, from Bruckner to Cage to traditional Baltic music. I have been lucky enough to hear them several times in concert, in France when they have taken part in the Radio France summer festival, and just once in the glorious acoustic of St. John’s Church in Riga, where this disc was recorded. The arresting setting of Psalm 100 that opens this collection reveals many of the qualities of this outstanding choir. The beauty of the sound they make is evident throughout the programme, and is particularly noticeable where Mendelssohn resorts to contrapuntal writing that allows us to hear each section. Their fortissimo singing is awe-inspiring, but no more so than their pianissimo. Perfect tuning goes without saying. The pacing of the music, demonstrating profound respect for the composer’s intentions, and the superb internal balance of all the voices can be attributed to the skill of the choir’s artistic director, Sigvards Klava. The extreme sincerity of expression, however, stems from the personal commitment of each of the singers, twenty or so in number.
Die Deutsche Liturgie was new to me, and a pleasant discovery. Guy Rickards, in a helpful booklet note, tells us that it was composed for the choir of Berlin Cathedral, of which Mendelssohn was the conductor. Its ten movements were ‘intended to accompany Protestant worship’, but when the work is programmed for concert performance only three movements are usually given, the Kyrie, Gloria and Sanctus, the latter two sung, of course, in German. The Kyrie is a short setting of great beauty, with only a passing reference to the Christe. The Gloria is the longest movement, with considerable variety of mood and tempo as well as some lovely use of solo voices. The Sanctus opens with a passage where the listener might easily be persuaded that Mendelssohn had found a new, and subtle, way to evoke the Sanctus bell.
The six short anthems that make up Sechs Sprüche are performed here in an order that will be unfamiliar to many. The publisher, Carus Verlag, has returned to the composer’s original intentions as part of its critical edition, where the order follows the Church year, beginning with Advent and Christmas, then to Easter and ending with Ascension. These works are, like most of the programme, composed for double choir and the richness of harmony and texture this formation offers is fully exploited, with only little recourse to contrapuntal devices. Following the words and translations provided in the booklet enhances one’s appreciation, but in fact the music speaks directly to the listener. The work closes the first part of the programme, preceding the more elaborate and imposing music that makes up the second part, essentially the three psalm settings, Op. 78.
Mendelssohn’s setting of Psalm 2, Warum toben die Heiden (Why do the heathen rage?) is as lively and muscular as Handel’s setting of passages from the same psalm in Messiah, though Mendelssohn, in his search for meaning, allows himself scope for more restrained sequences. There are many wonderfully sonorous antiphonal exchanges. The doxology – ‘Glory be to the Father’ – takes up the final page of my Breitkopf score. It is banded separately here, its deceptively simple canonic writing rising to a finely wrought forte. It would require, I think, a comprehensive knowledge of Mendelssohn’s oeuvre to know how many times he set this particular text. Another setting, and a particularly rich one, extracted from Die Deutsche Liturgie, is programmed further on, and lovers of Mendelssohn’s sacred choral music will appreciate as I do the ravishing setting that closes his anthem Herr, nun lässest du deinen Diener in Frieden fahren. The present programme is, for the most part, performed in the 1997 Carus editions. Choral singers familiar with the older Breitkopf scores will hear little to disturb them in Warum toben die Heiden and in Psalm 22, Mein Gott, warum hast du mich verlassen (My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?).There are several surprises, however, in the magnificent short setting of Psalm 43, Richte mich, Gott (Judge me, O God). The Carus edition retains much that is familiar from the Breitkopf, and the duration and number of bars is almost the same. Yet there are significant differences, the Carus more elaborate in certain passages. The booklet is silent as to the reasons for these differences, but it is true that the catalogue of Mendelssohn’s unaccompanied sacred choral music, and its chronology, are difficult to unravel. The Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir (Ondine ODE1201-2) also uses the Carus editions, whereas the French choir Accentus (Accord) remains loyal to Breitkopf. Comparing these performances reveals that there is more steel in the Latvian sound than in the mellower, gentler approach of the Estonian choir. The Accentus performances are technically accomplished, but to my ears are rather short on character and affinity with the composer. The programmes have the Op. 78 Psalms in common, but otherwise explore a different selection. The Estonian disc is particularly attractive, though, because it also includes some Psalm settings by the Estonian composer Cyrillus Kreek (1889-1962) whose wonderful music is unlike any other I know, and deeply resonant of its national origins.
Mendelssohn’s choral music does not appeal to everybody, its rich harmonies and multiple suspensions leaving some listeners cold. (Though not Queen Victoria!) Others, myself included, have found it wonderful to conduct, to sing and to hear, its sincerity unequivocal. And there is a surprising amount of variety and contrast in these works, witness the quiet, closing Zum Abendsegen, written when the composer was 24 and one of the few works presented here that was published during Mendelssohn’s miserably short life.
William Hedley
Contents
Psalm 100, Jauchzet dem Herrn, alle Welt (WoO 28; MWV B 45)
Die Deutsche Liturgie, MWV 57 (Three pieces)
Sechs Sprüche, Op. 79
Psalm 2, Warum toben die Heiden (MWV B 41)
Gloria Patri (MWV B 41)
Psalm 43, Richte mich, Gott und führe meine Sache (MWV B 46)
Ehre sei dem Vater (MWV B 48)
Psalm 22, Mein Gott, warum hast du mich verlassen (MWV B 51)
Zum Abendsegen (WoO 12; MWV B 27)
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