Felix Mendelssohn - Sechs Sprüche Op. 79 скачать в хорошем качестве

Felix Mendelssohn - Sechs Sprüche Op. 79

Felix Mendelssohn Anthems (6) for double chorus (Sechs Sprüche), Op. 79 1. Weihnachten (Rejoice, O ye people) 2. Am Neujahrstage (Thou, Lord, our refuge hast been) 3. Am Himmelfahrtstage (Above all praises) 4. In der Passionszeit (Lord on our offences) 5. Im Advent (Let our hearts be joyful) 6. Am Karfreitage (For our offences) Regenburger Domspitzen conducted by Georg Ratzinger Mendelssohn's Sechs Sprüche (Six Anthems), Op. 79, are similar to his Psalm settings in their polyphonic texture and are of equal quality. The texts are extracted from the Psalms and the New Testament and set with great care to make them intelligible, despite the frequent counterpoint. Mendelssohn arranged them for eight-voice mixed chorus without accompaniment. In the publication of 1848, the Sechs Sprüche are arranged according to the church year, beginning with Christmas. Mendelssohn actually completed the Christmas anthem on Christmas day, 1843. Its opening words, "Frohlocket, ihr Völker," are usually translated, "Rejoice, O ye people," and are here given to the women. The men enter at the close of the first line and then continue with their own music and words. After a few measures, the entire choir comes together rhythmically and textually and remains that way until the end, except for the "hallelujah." The overall effect is majestic. The second anthem, for New Year's Day, Mendelssohn finished the same day as the first. Beginning with "Herr, Gott, du bist uns're Zuflucht," (Lord God, you are our refuge), the anthem opens with a slow, homophonic statement before staggered entries build to a thick texture of repeated notes. "Erhaben, o Herr, über alles Lob" (Lord, elevated above all praise), for the feast of the Ascension of Jesus to heaven, begins with the first tenors alone. Marked Allegro and propelled by dotted rhythms, it is a stirring piece with numerous passages of imitation. Concerning the passion and death of Jesus, the fourth of the Sechs Sprüche is cast in D minor with an Adagio tempo. Mendelssohn completed it on October 9, 1846. Solo voices alternate with tutti passages in this almost entirely homophonic setting in D minor, with simple, quarter-note melodies. As in the first anthem, the polyphonic setting of "hallelujah" provides contrast. For Advent, Mendelssohn chose the text, "Lasset uns frohlocken" (Let us be joyful), completed on October 5, 1846. Imitative entries open the G major piece, which then moves to a solid homophonic section as the choir at last begins to sing the next line of text. The second half of the anthem contains the most interesting polyphony of the Sechs Sprüche. The last anthem, for Good Friday, opens with "Um uns'rer Sünden" (For our sins) and was finished on February 14, 1844. Slow and sustained, the piece is punctuated by a sudden rest after the words, "zum Tode am Kreuz" (to death on the cross). Consistently homophonic, the anthem ends in E minor.