(Three motets), Op. 39, is a collection of three sacred

motet In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the preeminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to the Eng ...

s for women's voices and organ by

Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions inc ...

. Composed in 1830 for different

liturgical Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembra ...

occasions and in different scoring, they were published together in 1838.

History

Mendelssohn composed three

s for women's voices inspired by a visit to

Trinità dei Monti The Church of Santissima Trinità dei Monti, often called simply Trinità dei Monti (French: ''La Trinité-des-Monts''), is a Roman Catholic late Renaissance titular church, part of a monastery complex in Rome. It is best known for its positio ...

, the church at the top of the

Spanish Steps The Spanish Steps () in Rome, Italy, climb a steep slope between Piazza di Spagna at the base and Piazza Trinità dei Monti, dominated by the Trinità dei Monti church, at the top. The monumental stairway of 135 steps is linked with the Trinit� ...

in Rome, which he visited in 1830. Having heard the nuns sing there, he wrote to his parents on 20 December 1830: He composed ''Veni Domine'', ''Laudate pueri'' and ''O beata et benedicta'' the same year. In the three motets published together in 1838, he replaced ''O beata et benedicta'' with the more substantial ''Surrexit pastor bonus''.

Structure

The titles of the three motets, Op. 39, are: # Veni Domine # Laudate pueri # Surrexit pastor bonus "Veni Domine" (Come, O Lord our God) is a setting of a Latin verse for the

Fourth Sunday in Advent Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'', a 1972 Soviet drama ...

. It is a setting in

G minor G minor is a minor scale based on G, consisting of the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has two flats. Its relative major is B-flat major and its parallel major is G major. The G natural minor scale is: Changes n ...

for three voices ( SSA) and organ. The duration is about 4 minutes. "Laudate pueri Dominum" (O ye that serve the Lord) is a setting of two psalm verses,

Psalm 113 Psalm 113 is the 113th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Praise ye the Lord, O ye servants of the Lord". The Book of Psalms is part of the third section of the Hebrew Bible, and a book of the Christia ...

:2 and

Psalm 128 Psalm 128 is the 128th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Blessed is every one that feareth the ; that walketh in his ways". In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and t ...

:1, in Latin. The first verse is set in

E-flat major E-flat major is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has three flats. Its relative minor is C minor, and its parallel minor is E minor, (or enharmonically D minor). The E-fla ...

marked ''Allegro moderato assai'', the second in A-flat major marked ''Adagio''. Both are scored for solo and choir voices (SSA) and organ. The motet takes about 6 minutes to perform. "Surrexit pastor bonus" (The Shepherd blest is risen) is a setting of a Latin hymn for the Sunday of the Good Shepherd. It is based on the reference to Jesus as the

Good Shepherd The Good Shepherd (, ''poimḗn ho kalós'') is an image used in the pericope of , in which Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ is depicted as the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. Similar imagery is used in Psalm 23 and Ezeki ...

in the

Gospel of John The Gospel of John () is the fourth of the New Testament's four canonical Gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "Book of Signs, signs" culminating in the raising of Lazarus (foreshadowing the ...

( 10:12,13,15). Set in

G major G major is a major scale based on G (musical note), G, with the pitches G, A (musical note), A, B (musical note), B, C (musical note), C, D (musical note), D, E (musical note), E, and F♯ (musical note), F. Its key signature has one sharp (music ...

, it is written in four sections for four solo and choral voices (SSAA) and organ. The final section is an Alleluja building to eight voices. The motet takes about 9 minutes to perform.

Recordings

The motets were recorded in 2005 by the

Kammerchor Stuttgart The Kammerchor Stuttgart is a professional chamber choir based in Stuttgart, founded in 1968 by Frieder Bernius who has remained its leader. The choir performs in changing size, according to the music, from 16-part vocal ensemble to 80 voices in an ...

, conducted by

Frieder Bernius Frieder Bernius (born 22 June 1947) is a German conductor, the founder and director of the chamber choir Kammerchor Stuttgart, founded in 1968. They became leaders for historically informed performances. He founded the Stuttgart festival of Baroq ...

, in volume 7 of a complete recording of Mendelssohn's sacred music in 10 volumes. A reviewer noted "the masterly singing of captivating reverence ... from the women of the Stuttgart choir".

References

External links

* * * * {{DISPLAYTITLE:''Drei Motetten'', Op. 39 (Mendelssohn) Motets by Felix Mendelssohn 1830 compositions