10041 – Andante and Ein Feste Burg from “Reformation’ Symphony

Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)

Arranged by Roger Harvey

Difficulty: Easy

Price: £20

Programme notes:
Mendelssohn grew up in a privileged and artistically enlightened environment but this does not explain his amazingly prodigious early maturity as a composer. He was writing sophisticated chamber music by the age of 12 and the exquisite overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream was written at the age of 17.
The Symphony No. 5, actually the 2nd of his mature symphonies, is known as the Reformation because of the inclusion of the Protestant chorale, ‘Ein Feste Berg’ in the last movement. It was written in 1830 when Mendelssohn was 21. The lovely Andante is the 3rd movement. The chorale which follows here serves as the introduction to the final movemebt of the symphony

Performance notes:
Keep all the accompaniment semiquavers as lightly articulated as possible; they should just throb gently underneath the melody which should be really cantabile.
At bar 26 the trumpet melody should become slightly agitato and quasi recitativo. Relax again into C.
The Chorale should be noble but never harsh - treat the louder dynamics with care.
If the 1st trumpet part cannot be played subtly colouring the texture then either omit or play an octave lower.