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Lobgesang (Hymn of Praise), Op. 52 (MWV A 18[1]), is an 11-movement "Symphony-Cantata on Words of the Holy Bible for Soloists, Choir and Orchestra" by Felix Mendelssohn. After the composer's death it was published as his Symphony No. 2 in B-flat major, a naming and a numbering that are not his. The required soloists are two sopranos and a tenor. The work lasts almost twice as long as any of Mendelssohn's purely instrumental symphonies.
Lobgesang | |
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Choral symphony by Felix Mendelssohn | |
English | Hymn of Praise |
Other name | Symphony No. 2 |
Key | B-flat major |
Catalogue | MWV A 18 |
Opus | 52 |
Occasion | 400th anniversary of printing |
Text | Psalms, other biblical verses, "Nun danket alle Gott" |
Language | German |
Composed | 1840 |
Performed | 25 June 1840 |
Movements | 10 |
Scoring |
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External audio | |
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You may hear Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 52 Hymn of Praise performed by the Gewandhaus Orchestra led by Kurt Masur in 1990 Here on Archive.org |
It was composed in 1840, along with the less-known Festgesang "Gutenberg Cantata", to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the invention of Johannes Gutenberg's movable type printing system.
In 1842 Mendelssohn had published his Scottish Symphony as "Symphony No. 3", however a "Symphony No. 2" had never been published during Mendelssohn's lifetime. Possibly the composer's intention was to spare this number for his earlier Italian Symphony, which he premiered in 1833, but afterwards withheld for a revision that was never completed. The Italian Symphony was published posthumously as "Symphony No. 4". Decades after Mendelssohn's death, the editors of the old Mendelssohn complete edition entered Lobgesang as "No. 2" in the sequence of the symphonies for editorial reasons.[1] However, there is no indication that this represented the composer's intentions. The new Mendelssohn-Werkverzeichnis (MWV), published in 2009 by the Saxon Academy of Sciences and Humanities, no longer lists Lobgesang among the symphonies, but rather among the sacred vocal works.[1][2]
Structurally, it consists of three purely orchestral movements followed by 10[3] movements for chorus and/or soloists and orchestra, and lasts approximately 65–75 minutes in total. The English titles of the movements are:
The now-standard harmonisation of "Nun danket alle Gott" by Martin Rinkart (1636) was devised by Felix Mendelssohn in 1840 when he adopted the hymn, sung in the now-standard key of G major and with its original German lyrics of stanzas 1 and three, as the chorale to Lobgesang.
The symphony is scored for two sopranos, tenor, chorus, two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani, organ and strings.
1. Sinfonia |
1. Sinfonia
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