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The "Festgesang", also known as the "Gutenberg Cantata", was composed by Felix Mendelssohn in the first half of 1840 for performance in Leipzig at the celebrations to mark the putative 400th anniversary of the invention of printing with
movable type Movable type (US English; moveable type in British English) is the system and technology of printing and typography that uses movable components to reproduce the elements of a document (usually individual alphanumeric characters or punctuation m ...
by Johannes Gutenberg. The full title is ''Festgesang zur Eröffnung der am ersten Tage der vierten Säkularfeier der Erfindung der Buchdruckerkunst auf dem Marktplatz zu Leipzig stattfindenden Feierlichkeiten (Ceremonial song for the opening of the celebrations taking place on the first day of the quadricentennial celebration of the invention of the art of printing on the market square in Leipzig).'' It was first performed in the market-square at Leipzig on 24 June 1840.Todd, R. Larry, ''Mendelssohn: a life in music'' (Oxford University Press, 2003, p. 396). The piece is scored for male chorus with two brass orchestras and timpani, and consists of four parts, the first and last based on established Lutheran chorales. Part 2, beginning "Vaterland, in deinen Gauen", was later adapted to the words of
Charles Wesley Charles Wesley (18 December 1707 – 29 March 1788) was an English leader of the Methodist movement. Wesley was a prolific hymnwriter who wrote over 6,500 hymns during his lifetime. His works include "And Can It Be", "Christ the Lord Is Risen T ...
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Christmas carol A Christmas carol is a carol (a song or hymn) on the theme of Christmas, traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas holiday season. The term noel has sometimes been used, especially for carols of French ori ...
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Hark! The Herald Angels Sing "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" is an English Christmas carol that first appeared in 1739 in the collection ''Hymns and Sacred Poems''. The carol, based on , tells of an angelic chorus singing praises to God. As it is known in the modern era, it f ...
" (against Wesley's original request, as he had originally wanted more somber music, though he had been long deceased by this point). The original German words for ''Festgesang'' were by Adolf Eduard Proelss (1803–1882). The use of a large choir and two orchestras was designed to make use of the natural acoustics of the market-place to produce an impressive, resonant sound. Mendelssohn wrote at least two other "Festgesänge", with which the present work are sometimes confused, known as '' Festgesang an die Künstler'' (1846) and ''Festgesang'' (“Möge das Siegeszeichen” 838.Cooper, John Michael, “Mendelssohn’s works: prolegomenon to a comprehensive inventory” in Seaton, Douglas, ''The Mendelssohn companion'' (Westport, Conn. and London: Greenwood Press, 2001, p. 721).


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{{authority control Compositions by Felix Mendelssohn Cantatas 1840 compositions German patriotic songs