Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

The music is the music

The Romantic German wrote a choral symphony... or did he?

Felix Mendelssohn
Felix Mendelssohn
Video:

Felix Mendelssohn Symphony No 2 B flat major 'Lobgesang' 'Hymn of Praise' R.Chailly La Scala Philh

I’m feeling a tad sheepish here about my classical music knowledge. I did not realized that Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 2 was written for orchestra, chorus and soloists. I was listening along on Spotify to Mendelssohn symphonies when I suddenly heard singing.

At first I was impressed with Mendelssohn for writing a choral symphony and for writing one that was almost twice as long as any of his other symphonies. Way to go, Felix. Stepping up to Beethoven.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Then I did some research and found that Mendelssohn did not write a choral symphony but that editors had listed this choral piece as his second symphony after he died. While Mendelssohn was alive he never wrote a second symphony, but he did write a third.

The Scottish Symphony was numbered by Mendelssohn as his third. It appears he was intending his Italian Symphony to be the second as it was composed first but then withheld for revisions. We call his Italian Symphony his fourth symphony with the Reformation Symphony being the fifth.

Why don’t we just drop the numbers and go with the titles?

The thing about the so-called Symphony No. 2 is that it does have something of a symphonic structure. There are three clearly defined orchestra sections followed by 10 sections for chorus. That’s not really an oratorio, now is it? It’s not really a symphony either. What? How is that possible? We need to label this piece of music. If we don’t then what value could it possibly have? [Read Sarcasm]

For some reason or another the editors of the past put Mendelssohn’s music into a specific order and gave it numbers even though the numbers weren’t really in the order which he composed the corresponding music.

I’ve no problem with this. The music is the music. Call it whatever you want. Mendelssohn called it Lobgesang which means Hymn of Praise. That works. It also diminishes my idiot complex since it is not a choral symphony that I’d never heard of. However, I’m sure there’s a others out there of which I am unaware.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Gonzo Report: Stinkfoot Orchestra conjures Zappa at Winstons

His music is a blend of technical excellence and not-so-subtle humor
Next Article

Taco Taco Poway still has 99-cent fish tacos

Tacotopia prizewinner is well known among Powegians
Felix Mendelssohn
Felix Mendelssohn
Video:

Felix Mendelssohn Symphony No 2 B flat major 'Lobgesang' 'Hymn of Praise' R.Chailly La Scala Philh

I’m feeling a tad sheepish here about my classical music knowledge. I did not realized that Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 2 was written for orchestra, chorus and soloists. I was listening along on Spotify to Mendelssohn symphonies when I suddenly heard singing.

At first I was impressed with Mendelssohn for writing a choral symphony and for writing one that was almost twice as long as any of his other symphonies. Way to go, Felix. Stepping up to Beethoven.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Then I did some research and found that Mendelssohn did not write a choral symphony but that editors had listed this choral piece as his second symphony after he died. While Mendelssohn was alive he never wrote a second symphony, but he did write a third.

The Scottish Symphony was numbered by Mendelssohn as his third. It appears he was intending his Italian Symphony to be the second as it was composed first but then withheld for revisions. We call his Italian Symphony his fourth symphony with the Reformation Symphony being the fifth.

Why don’t we just drop the numbers and go with the titles?

The thing about the so-called Symphony No. 2 is that it does have something of a symphonic structure. There are three clearly defined orchestra sections followed by 10 sections for chorus. That’s not really an oratorio, now is it? It’s not really a symphony either. What? How is that possible? We need to label this piece of music. If we don’t then what value could it possibly have? [Read Sarcasm]

For some reason or another the editors of the past put Mendelssohn’s music into a specific order and gave it numbers even though the numbers weren’t really in the order which he composed the corresponding music.

I’ve no problem with this. The music is the music. Call it whatever you want. Mendelssohn called it Lobgesang which means Hymn of Praise. That works. It also diminishes my idiot complex since it is not a choral symphony that I’d never heard of. However, I’m sure there’s a others out there of which I am unaware.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Dating Sites For Little People: Best Platforms & Tips

Next Article

Gonzo Report: Stinkfoot Orchestra conjures Zappa at Winstons

His music is a blend of technical excellence and not-so-subtle humor
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.