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Deines Kind’s Gebet erhöre [Father, Hear Thy Child’s Petition] Op. 96, No. 2 The short, simple chorale for alto solo, four-part choir, and organ, is set in B ♭ major, common meter, and with a Non lento tempo. Mendelssohn treats his original melody as a single stanza sung by the soloist with organ accompaniment which is then repeated by the choir with organ doubling the voices. Taken at the composer’s intended tempo, the melody is very pleasant and appropriate to the text. The harmony undergoes considerable alteration in the choral section, but only the fi fth of the seven phrases ends on a different chord (A major instead of F major). The second harmonization, vocally conceived, is an improvement over the one that accompanies the solo. This chorale setting can be sung by any choir with a mezzo soprano who will sing the solo version of the chorale and basses who can sing low F. Apart from the Carus edition, the piece is currently only available with German text. Herr, wir traun auf deine Güte [Lord, We Trust in Thy Great Goodness] Op. 96, No. 3 A joyful outburst of faith, the Allegro is in common meter and marked Con moto e vivace in the third idition. The work, a ternary form with coda, employs four complete statements of the stanza. Without introduction, the soloist presents the melody and fi rst statement of the text accompanied mainly by running eight notes. This accompaniment remains essentially the same until the fi nal phrase of the song. Melodically, the whole piece is derived from fi ve measures (Figure 3). The motives 3a and 3c always appear in the same form while 3b has its fi rst interval inverted in the extension of the B section. Altos and basses take up the fi rst phrase of the melody which is repeated a fi fth higher by the sopranos and tenors with fi rst alto and then bass harmony. The second phrase is then presented homophonically, but its extension is treated with imitative entrances that lead to the dominant key. The B section begins with the soloist presenting a new melody in F minor. The fi fth and sixth measures of this melody are exactly the same (transposed) as the corresponding measures of the original. Over the next two measures, the melody descends a seventh stepwise c 2 –d 1 . The soloist then sings an inversion of the second melodic motive (Figure 3b) with the last note descending, two measures of new material, and the concluding phrase (Figure 3c) in C minor. The return of the A section begins in C minor but with basses singing the fi rst two measures of the melody (Figure 3a) note for note. In turn, this is taken up by the tenors at the fi fth, the altos at the octave, and the sopranos an octave above the tenors. Once a voice enters it continues with only brief rests for the upper three voices. The section proceeds as a mini-development section based on the fi rst four measures. The only complete statement of this theme comes in the bass part, reinforced by octaves in the organ bass clef, at measures 55–58. As the basses reach the fi nal note of this phrase, the sopranos jump a sixth to A ♭2 . The piece reaches its climax eight measures later when successive entries of Figure 3a in alto, tenor, and soprano above a bass pedal tone B ♭ lead the sopranos to an extended forte A ♭2 . A cadence on the dominant seventh by the choir leads to the soloist’s entrance with the second melodic motive (Figure 3b). This phrase concludes similarly to the second phrase of the B section. The choir then takes up the melody from the soloist and closes with an extension similar to that of the A section but ending on the tonic. The coda consists of short phrases passed between the soloist and choir, a complete rendering of the second half of the text by the soloist on a melody that sequences upward, and a strong statement of the fi nal line of the text by chorus, soloist, and organ in long notes. A clever, well-integrated work, Her, wir traun, auf deine Güte, will prove not diffi cult and rewarding for those who attempt it. These Drei geistliche Lieder were intended by the composer to be sung as one work with no pauses. However, they have been published as separate pieces and each can stand alone as a single anthem for a worship service. The fi rst two are penitent in nature and would be appropriate for Lent or any service where a statement of confession is needed. The Andante is available in many English versions. The second and third pieces are only published with their English texts in scores with the other pieces (see the Carus editions). Number 3 would serve very well for any celebration of thanks and praise. Hear My Prayer [Hör, mein Bitten, Herr, neige dich zu mir] The hymn, Hear My Prayer, was composed in 1844 with the English text, but later published with the addition of a German Choral Journal • April 2010 37
Your Church Choir Can Sing Mendelssohn! text, Hör, mein Bitten, Herr, neige dich zu mir. Later (1847), the composer arranged it for orchestra. Mendelssohn set a paraphrase of Psalm 55 by William Bartholomew (1793– 1867), who asked him to compose the piece. Bartholomew had translated several of Mendelssohn’s works into English. It was fi rst performed with organ accompaniment in 1844. 14 Although he composed it for a concert, the composer may have hoped to make it useable to churches by arranging the accompaniment for organ. Hear My Prayer is a testimony to Mendelssohn’s ability to absorb the form of the English anthem. Though this work enjoyed tremendous popularity in England during the nineteenth century, some twentieth century British scholars have complained that Felix “accommodated his style to English tastes.” 15 George Bernard Shaw, the playwright-critic, spoke of it in reverent tones [F]or Hear My Prayer. Unless you can sing those opening lines with the rarest nobility of tone and the most touching depth of expression, your one duty to them is to let them alone…: Success in delivering them is only possible to singers who have the fi nest temperamental sympathy with their spirit; and anything short of success is utter failure. 16 The work is divided into four sections— an introduction for soprano solo joined by choir in the last two measures, an Allegro moderato in two parts for solo and chorus, HELP WANTED The Choral Journal Needs Column Editors More information can be found on page 17. a recitative in which the chorus joins with brief imitation, and a fi nal section in ternary form. In the fi nal section, a soprano solo is followed by an imitative section for the chorus and then returns with the chorus underneath at one point, hinting at the imitation of the middle part. The Andante opening section consists of a thirty-three measure soprano solo that is, at fi rst, cantabile then recitative-like and returns to the cantabile before the chorus enters, singing in unison the fi rst phrase of the soprano solo. This G-major section shifts abruptly with the solo reentering to the Allegro moderato and E minor. This second section of the work also changes from common meter to 3/8. Until bar 64, there is a phrase-by-phrase echoing of the solo by unison choir. At 64, the choir breaks into parts with solo voice and soprano line the same. After the choir cadences, the soloist repeats the phrase that began this section. The unison choir again responds but this time a step lower and substituting an augmented fourth for the perfect fourth of the solo (Figure 4). The choir returns with similar parts as before and progresses to a climax on a 2 for both solo and sopranos. In block chords, the combined forces move to a cadence on the tonic. With one last outburst, “O God, hear my cry,” the soloist expands the skip in the fi rst motive of the section to a sixth. The choir then sings a phrase that ends on an E major six-fi ve chord which is the transition to the third section of the piece. A brief Recitative which becomes a Sostenuto when the choir joins the solo, the third section never reaches a point of harmonic rest until the fi nal D-major chord. One is only assured of this rest when the next section begins in the home key of G major. Melodically, all new material appears in this section. Only the fi nal unison phrase of the choir helps connect with what follows. The choir will reprise unison Ds in the middle of the fi nal section. The last section, Con un poco più di moto, begins with the soloist singing “O for the wings, for the wings of a dove,” to a poignantly fl owing melody. As in the Andante, the choir does not enter until the solo has presented her melody in its entirety (twentyeight measures). When the choir enters, they build up one part at a time from lowest to highest on the words with which the soloist began and then break into brief imitation on a descending arpeggio on the words “far away” before reaching a climax on a homophonic statement of those words. Imitation of a brief stepwise descending motive leads to a forceful declaration of “remain there for ever to rest” on unison Ds fi rst in the upper octave, then in the lower one. As the choir completes the only signifi cant portion of the work in which they sing independently of the soloist, the soloist enters and presents all but the fi nal phrase of the solo with which 38 Choral Journal • April 2010
Page 2 and 3: Your Church Choir Can Sing Mendelss
Page 4 and 5: The immediate predecessor of the
Page 8 and 9: the section began. This time, howev
Page 10 and 11: Jubilate, one borrowed from Mendels
Page 12 and 13: Opus 69, No. 3 As with its companio
Page 14 and 15: Conclusion Within these sacred work
Page 16: 13 NOTES Ibid., 6. 1 Peter Mercer-T

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