NM Philarmonic throws in a hymn with the classical
The New Mexico Philharmonic’s next neighborhood concert features works by Bach and Mendelssohn sandwiched by a hymn.
The musicians will play both composers’ versions of Martin Luther’s “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” on Friday, Feb. 12, at St. John’s United Methodist Church.
Bach’s choral work “Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott” is one of hundreds of cantatas penned by the church musician. Mendelssohn’s symphony came 100 years later.
“Bach was a great composer for the church,” conductor Matthew Greer said.
The composer often based his chorale cantatas on hymns familiar to the congregation. The piece is one of his best-known cantatas.
The cantata contains 11 movements, three of them for chorus. The soloists are Ingela Onstad, soprano; Jacqueline Zander-Wall, mezzosoprano; Seth Hartwell, tenor; Michael Hix, bass and Quintessence: Choral Artists of the Southwest.
“It’s very complex and challenging for the choir,” Greer said, “and it’s just brilliant. It’s really fun to sing.”
Despite his Jewish surname, Mendelssohn was another Protestant composer, Greer added. His parents converted and had him baptized in his teens.
Musicologists credit Mendelssohn with Bach’s revival from virtual obscurity in the 19th century, Greer added.
Mendelssohn wrote his Symphony No. 5 when he was just 22. He based the final movement on “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.” The piece would not premier until 10 years later, thanks to church politics.
“It was only performed once in his lifetime,” Greer said. “He wasn’t particularly proud of it.”
The composer cast the work aside, dismissing it as “youthful juvenila,” and ordered it burned. Thankfully, no one listened. Each of its four movements vary in character, Greer said. The last, based on the hymn, is its grandest.
“It’s very rhythmic and colorful and ends with a really long, strong statement.”