Mendelssohn's "There Shall a Star" Notes

The first number for this year's Christmas program is the chorale "There Shall a Star from Jacob Come Forth", from the unfinished oratorio Christus, Op. 97, by Felix Mendelsson. Born into a Jewish family without religion, Felix became a Reformed Christian as an adult. To avoid the antisemitism of his time, he adopted the last name Bartholdy, but today we know him simply as Felix Mendelssohn. Christus was published after his untimely death at the age of 38.

The text involves the 3 scriptures listed in the program, and begins with the main theme, followed by the middle dramatic section describing the destruction of the world's kingdoms. After further development of the main theme, Mendelssohn concludes the chorus with a J. S. Bach harmonization of Philipp Nicolai's chorale "How Brightly Beams the Morning Star."

Mendelssohn's inclusion of a Bach chorale is very fitting, since Mendelssohn single-handedly revived appreciation and performance of the works of Johan Sebastian Bach. At the age of 20, in 1829 he organized and performed Bach's majestic St. Matthew's Passion, which had not been heard since Bach's death in 1750. Of this performance, he later wrote: "To think that it took ... a Jew's son to revive the greatest Christian music for the world!"

Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy

It will be a great experience to sing this spiritual and inspiring work from the great Romantic composer, Felix Mendelssohn. Click here to listen to a 2010 performance by the Utah Baroque Ensemble.