Christus (Mendelssohn)
Encyclopedia
Christus is the title given by the composer's brother Paul to fragments of an unfinished oratorio
by Felix Mendelssohn
, published posthumously as Op. 97. The work was suggested by Christian Karl Josias von Bunsen
, who compiled the German libretto from biblical sources. Composition began in 1846 and continued through Mendelssohn's last year. The completed portions include a tenor recitative relating Christ's birth, a TBB chorus "Where is the newborn", the well known SATB chorus "There Shall a Star from Jacob Shine Forth" using Philipp Nicolai
's chorale
Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern
, and a passion
section ending with another chorale, O Welt, sieh' hier dein Leben. The first performance took place in 1852.
Jeffrey S. Sposato's 2006 The Price of Assimilation: Felix Mendelssohn and the Nineteenth-Century Anti-Semitic Tradition discusses both Christus and Mendelssohn's cuts in the Matthäuspassion and discerns an agenda to promote "the Lutheran concept of universal guilt for Christ's death" over the prevailing antisemitism of the time.
Oratorio
An oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...
by Felix Mendelssohn
Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text...
, published posthumously as Op. 97. The work was suggested by Christian Karl Josias von Bunsen
Christian Charles Josias Bunsen
Christian Charles Josias, Baron von Bunsen was a German diplomat and scholar.-Early life and education:Bunsen was born at Korbach, an old town in the little German principality of Waldeck....
, who compiled the German libretto from biblical sources. Composition began in 1846 and continued through Mendelssohn's last year. The completed portions include a tenor recitative relating Christ's birth, a TBB chorus "Where is the newborn", the well known SATB chorus "There Shall a Star from Jacob Shine Forth" using Philipp Nicolai
Philipp Nicolai
Philipp Nicolai was a German Lutheran pastor, poet, and composer, author of two famous hymns: Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme and Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern...
's chorale
Chorale
A chorale was originally a hymn sung by a Christian congregation. In certain modern usage, this term may also include classical settings of such hymns and works of a similar character....
Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern
Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern
Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern , BWV 1, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach composed the cantata in Leipzig for the feast of the Annunciation and first performed it on 25 March 1725....
, and a passion
Passion music
In church music, Passion is a term for sung musical settings, normally at least partly choral, of the Gospel texts covering the Passion of Jesus, the events leading up to the Crucifixion of Jesus, and emphasising his suffering...
section ending with another chorale, O Welt, sieh' hier dein Leben. The first performance took place in 1852.
Jeffrey S. Sposato's 2006 The Price of Assimilation: Felix Mendelssohn and the Nineteenth-Century Anti-Semitic Tradition discusses both Christus and Mendelssohn's cuts in the Matthäuspassion and discerns an agenda to promote "the Lutheran concept of universal guilt for Christ's death" over the prevailing antisemitism of the time.