Mendelssohn: Richte mich, Gott Op. 78 No. 2

Compared with large-scale oratorios such as St Paul, which includes the lyrical chorus How lovely are the messengers, Mendelssohn’s smaller sacred choral works were influenced by Palestrina, ranging from short liturgical motets such as the Sechs Sprüche to the canticle settings of the Magnificat and Nunc dimittis. The famous sacred melody ‘O for the wings of a dove’ is to be found in Hear my prayer. The fine choristers of St Albans Cathedral can also be heard ‘on sparkling form’ (Gramophone) in John Rutter’s Gloria (8572563).

Mendelssohn’s ‘Hear my prayer’ (or, in its English adaptation also known as ‘O for the wings of a dove’) is a much loved piece of ‘Victoriana’, made famous by, among others, Master Ernest Lough. Often sung by boy sopranos, it is here performed by Felicity Palmer, traditionally a mezzo, but using the soprano register of her voice here. She is soloist with the Heinrich Schütz Choir and Chorale under Roger Norrington, on an Argo LP which also contains the Sechs Sprüche (Six Aphorisms), a collection of short motets for particular days in the ecclesiastical year was written in 1845, the year in which Mendelssohn resumed directorship of the Leipzig Gewandhaus orchestra. The three sublime Psalms, Op. 73 are included (shared between the Heinrich Schütz and King’s College choirs) as is the brief but touching Ave Maria, written in Rome in 1830 and whose publication at the time led The Neue Zeitschrift für Musik said of it at the time that ‘the music sings so convincingly of the sanctity of Mary that it could lead a non-Catholic to her. ‘If issued as a pop disc Ave Maria would probably make the top ten’ wrote The Gramophone when this recording was first issued.

Critics have applauded the ensemble’s purity of sound, its controlled sensuality, and the profundity of its music-making: since Jörg Breiding took over the direction of the Knabenchor Hannover (Hanover Boys Choir) ten years ago, he has expanded the choir’s comprehensive repertoire with works by less-known composers. Excerpts from previously published CDs and from so-far unpublished recordings present a musical portrait spanning five epochs of European choral music.

The psalm is one of the oldest forms of sacred song in Western culture and temple liturgy is one of the most important sources of later hymns of the Roman church. Various ways of singing the psalms are represented on this CD, which includes works by Rossi, Sulzer, Mendelssohn, Lewandowski, Sweelinck, Schönberg, Gokkes and Avni. The Netherlands Chamber Choir has been a topclass chamber choir for decades and many of their CDs have received international awards.

The St Thomas Boys Choir Leipzig can look back on a history spanning nearly eight hundred years. Based at St Thomas’s Church in Leipzig, the members of the choir are all boarders at St Thomas’s School. Curiously enough, the St Thomas Boys Choir is only half a century younger than Leipzig itself and hence the city’s oldest cultural institution. St Thomas’s Boys Choir appreciates the University Leipzig with sacred vocal music directly or indirectly connected to the Alma Mater Lipsiensis in general and the University Church St Pauli in particular: music which takes its lifeblood precisely from this religious conviction.

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Kammerchor Stuttgart, Carus is releasing this CD of selected ‘a cappella’ choral works by Mendelssohn, Homilius, Brahms and Rheinberger. Many international awards bear witness to the high quality and the worldwide recognition of this outstanding ensemble. Taken from the back catalogue of recordings made between 1988 and 2005 this sumptuous release illustrates why this choir is recognized as the very best of its type in the world.