NCS Spring Concert - Mendelssohn: St. Paul

Newbury Choral Society

Newbury Choral Society is delighted to announce that our next concert will be Mendelssohn’s St Paul (Paulus in the original German), a work that is not perhaps performed as often as it deserves to be. It will appeal to lovers of both the Classical and Romantic styles, showing pleasing features of both. This will also be our first concert since we welcomed Joe Tobin as our new Director of Music.

The high point of Mendelssohn’s career may well have been the rapturous reception of his oratorio Elijah, first performed in Birmingham in 1846, but before that his oratorio Paulus had won him fame, admiration and popularity at home. He drew on the fugal technique of Bach, with his admiration for the choral works of Bach, Haydn and Handel no doubt leading to his interest in the oratorio form. Raised in the Protestant faith despite his Jewish ancestry, Mendelssohn had a thorough knowledge of the Bible. When he began work on the oratorio in 1834, he chose to base it on the book of Acts, beginning with St Stephen’s martyrdom and Saul’s persecution of the Christians and progressing to Paul’s conversion and ministry. The libretto was provided by his long-time friend, Pastor Julius Schubring, with whom he had collaborated before. Mendelssohn used the traditional forms of aria, recitative and chorus, as well as chorales in homage to Bach, bringing to them his natural melodic gifts coupled with the highest levels of musical craftsmanship.

We hope that those who enjoyed our performance of Elijah in 2017 will find equal pleasure in this performance of St Paul.