''Jauchzet dem Herrn, alle Welt'' ("Exult in the Lord, entire world" or "Shout to the Lord"), WoO. 28, is an

anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to sho ...

for choir

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

, a setting of

Psalm 100 Psalm 100 is the 100th psalm in the Book of Psalms in the Tanakh. In English, it is translated as "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands" in the King James Version (KJV), and as "O be joyful in the Lord, all ye lands" in the Book of C ...

in German composed 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 ...

in 1844. It was published in 1855 after the composer's death. It is the most popular setting of Psalm 100 by Mendelssohn, who also wrote a four-part

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 ...

in Latin, "Jubilate Deo", as part of Three Motets, Op. 69, in 1847 for use in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

, which adds a

doxology A doxology (Ancient Greek: ''doxologia'', from , ''doxa'' 'glory' and -, -''logia'' 'saying') is a short hymn of praises to God in various forms of Christian worship, often added to the end of canticles, psalms, and hymns. The tradition derives ...

to the psalm text. He set the psalm again, but with paraphrased text by

Ambrosius Lobwasser Ambrosius Lobwasser (1515–1585) was a German humanist and translator, born in Saxony. He served as professor of jurisprudence at the University of Königsberg from 1563 until his retirement in 1580, but is best known for his ''Psalter des Köni ...

, "Ihr Völker auf der Erde all" (You peoples of the Earth), as part of ''Sieben Psalmen'', harmonising melodies from the Genevan Psalter.

History

Mendelssohn was ready to set music for different denominations. He had received an invitation to set three psalms for the new

reformed Reform is beneficial change. Reform, reformed or reforming may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine Places * Reform, Al ...

Jewish

Hamburg Temple The Hamburg Temple () is a former Reform Judaism, Reform Judaism, Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in Hamburg, Germany. The congregation was the first permanent Reform Jewish community and the first to have a Reform prayer rite. It oper ...

, Psalm 24,

Psalm 84 Psalm 84 is the 84th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in the English of the King James Version: "How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts!". The Book of Psalms forms part of the ''Ketuvim'' section of the Hebrew Bible and part of ...

and

, but only correspondence has survived, including disputes about the text and the scoring, and no music. The setting of Psalm 100 in

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

's translation was probably intended for the

Berlin Cathedral Berlin Cathedral (), also known as the Evangelical Supreme Parish and Collegiate Church, is a monumental Protestant Church in Germany, German Protestant church and dynastic tomb (House of Hohenzollern) at the Lustgarten on the Museum Island ...

Frederick William IV of Prussia Frederick William IV (; 15 October 1795 – 2 January 1861), the eldest son and successor of Frederick William III of Prussia, was King of Prussia from 7 June 1840 until his death on 2 January 1861. Also referred to as the "romanticist on the th ...

had appointed Mendelssohn as director of church music in Berlin where he had to promote a new liturgy. He completed the setting on 1 January 1844. It was published posthumously in 1855.

Text and music

The text is

, also known as the Jubilate Deo, in the German translation by

. (). Mendelssohn set it in one movement of three sections with different tempo markings. Written in

C major C major is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and its parallel min ...

and

common time A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates the ...

, it is first marked ''Andante con moto'', the middle section ("Gehet zu seinen Toren ein") is marked ''Poco lento'', and the final section ("Denn der Herr ist freundlich") ''Andante''. While the outer sections are for four parts, all parts are

divided Division is one of the four basic operations of arithmetic. The other operations are addition, subtraction, and multiplication. What is being divided is called the ''dividend'', which is divided by the ''divisor'', and the result is called the ...

in the middle section, split in a chorus of the four lower and one of the upper voices which first sing alternately. The section is marked for solo singing. The first verse of the psalm is set as a fanfare. The second verse, serving with gladness, begins in contrast with the high voices in

unison Unison (stylised as UNISON) is a Great Britain, British trade union. Along with Unite the Union, Unite, Unison is one of the two largest trade unions in the United Kingdom, with over 1.2 million members who work predominantly in public servic ...

, then expanded for all. The third verse, "Erkennet, daß der Herr Gott ist", is first soft and in low register for all voices, but gradually growing towards the word Gott. In the middle section, setting the fourth verse, the men's choir begins, answered by the high voices, then the opposite way. "Danket ihm", introduced by two notes by second bass alone, is richly set for eight parts. The final section, verse five, begins piano with the three lower voices in homophony, about the friendliness of the Lord, growing toward mercy, and further to truth. The development is repeated with the soprano.

Recording

The popular anthem was recorded often. On the occasion of the bicentenary of Mendelssohn's birth in 2009, Carus-Verlag made a recording of his complete sacred music in twelve volumes. The psalm setting is performed on vol. 5 by the Kammerchor Stuttgart, 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 ...

and recorded in 1996. A reviewer noted that the work in rich texture is accessible for amateur choirs and "has proved enduringly popular".

References

External links

* *
Psalm 100, "Jauchzet dem Herrn alle Welt", 1844
muziekweb.nl
Felix Mendelssohn's Psalm 100 Reconsidered
riviste.paviauniversitypress.it {{italic title Psalm settings Choral compositions by Felix Mendelssohn 1844 compositions