SKU: BR.OB-5581-30

ISBN 9790004343258. 10 x 12.5 inches.

A Programmatic Declaration of BeliefFelix Mendelssohn Bartholdy composed his Reformation Symphony for the celebrations marking the 300th anniversary of the Confessio Augustana, the Protestant declaration of faith. Owing to various and only partially explained reasons, there was no performance in 1830, the year in question; it was only two years later that the composer conducted the premiere of his work, now heavily revised, in Berlin. There was only one more performance in Mendelssohn's lifetime, this one conducted by Julius Rietz in Dusseldorf; the composer had since distanced himself from his opus.Conceived for the concert hall, the symphony formulates its theological references through the integration of various motives. This occurs in the finale, for example, in which Mendelssohn quotes the Luther chorale Ein feste Burg in the flute, from where it builds up to a triumphant principal theme. The strong extra-musical aspect must have been one of the reasons for the composer's later avoidance of this score, especially since Mendelssohn was becoming increasingly skeptical about explicitly programmatic music in the instrumental domain. Next to the Dusseldorf performance material of 1837, two scribal copies have been examined for the first time; they transmit the main stages of the version of 1830.

SKU: CA.1035314

ISBN 9790007190323. Language: German. Text: Lehms, Georg Christian. Text: Georg Christian Lehms.

Born in Saxony and originally trained at the St. Thomas school in Leipzig, Christoph Graupner (1683-1760) celebrated great success at the Hamburg Opera on the Gansemarkt. In 1709 he was lured away to a position in Darmstadt, where he remained for the rest of his life. The sacred composition Gott will mich auch probieren (GWV 1121/14) was written during the early years of his tenure as Music Director at the Court of the Landgraves. In it he attempted to make the genre of the motet useful for church music in Darmstadt through innovative design and varied structure. The present chorale motet is a markedly charming and catchy piece of choral music (easy to mid-level difficulty) which manages totally without solo arias and recitatives and through its compact dimensions can excellently be suited for use in today's worship services. Score and part available separately - see item CA.1035300.