Mendelssohn: Psalm 115, Op. 31 'Non Nobis, Domine' (Nicht unserm Namen, Herr)

The only single CD with the complete Psalm Cantatas available.

Mendelssohn’s Psalm Cantatas are small scale works for vocal soloists, choir and orchestra, based on well known psalms, expressing the general emotional content of the psalm in dramatic and romantic musical language. The writing is firmly rooted in the German choral tradition, no wonder for a composer who revived Bach’s Matthäus Passion in his time.

Single issue drawn from the set of the complete choral works by Mendelssohn performed by the Chamber Choir of Europe conducted by Nicol Matt, a set which received uniform praise in the international press, among others a prestigious “Diapason d’Or”. Booklet contains liner notes and sung texts.

These cantatas, although relatively disregarded by the overly self‐critical composer and consequently only published in the 1970s and 80s, demonstrate Mendelssohn’s ability to strike a pleasing and impressive balance between the two extremes of this debate. The pieces are certainly not ‘utility music’ intended merely to serve a specific purpose within a church service; but neither do they cast off the liturgical framework in the manner of Beethoven’s Ninth or Mendelssohn’s ‘Reformation’ Symphony. Each one succeeds in having its own captivating effect capable of transporting the listener. The Psalm Cantatas are performed here by the Chamber Choir of Europe who, among numerous other feats, have already recorded the complete sacred choral works of both Mozart and Mendelssohn. They are led by Nicol Matt, a specialist in church music who has had several releases on Brilliant Classics and sold over eight million CDs worldwide.

Much of the sacred music written by German composers in the 19th century has been lost and forgotten. Mendelssohn’s Psalm-Cantatas enjoyed a dual life in both sacred and secular spheres, even in his lifetime but gradually fell into neglect. As part of the Mendelssohn celebrations in 2009, Rilling has championed these forgotten masterworks.

8 CD + CD ROM

Mendelssohn’s reputation has suffered over the past century from the madness of the Nazis who banned his music, destroyed statues of him, to the rantings of Richard Wagner in his horrible little tract ‘Judaism in Music’.The fact that he was probably one of the most gifted child prodigies of all time has also tended to obscure the fact that his later works are just as remarkable as those of his youth.

A Jew who converted to Protestantism, Mendelssohn was a prolific composer of sacred music and he made important studies of J.S Bach – in fact he was instrumental in the resurgence of interest in Bach’s great oratorios in the 1820s and 30s. Bach’s influence upon Mendelssohn’s own sacred music is unmistakable, however composers such as Handel, Haydn and Mozart all played a part in creating his choral style.

Schumann commented on one of the works on this collection (Prayer – Verlieh uns Frieden), ‘ This little piece deserves to be world famous, and will indeed be so in the future. Madonnas by Raphael and Murillo cannot remain hidden for long’

This 8 CD collection contains many more such gems, and offers the listener an opportunity to discover more about the composer of Fingals Cave, the Violin Concerto, and the Italian Symphony. Mendelssohn’s genius is apparent in every one of the works to be found in this set.