Felix Mendelssohn - Paulus - Oratorium
Sunday, November 9, 2025, 5 PM, Gedächtniskirche Speyer
“Felix Mendelssohn - Paulus” Memorial Concert for November 9
Vocal soloists, Chamber Philharmonic Mannheim, Speyer Cantorate, Conducted by: KMD Robert Sattelberger, Admission: €25/€10, Advance Sales: reservix, Tourist Info, Capella Verlag
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy 1809 – 1847 Paulus op. 36
Oratorio based on words of sacred scripture for soloists, choir, and orchestra
Mendelssohn's oratorio Paulus was created in connection with the civic music festivals of the first half of the 19th century. Art was understood as an indispensable subject of education, and active participation in choirs and orchestras was regarded as part of civic cultural life. Thus, Mendelssohn conducted his Paulus several times in our Palatinate, including in Zweibrücken.
The rediscovery and care of old masterpieces was revived and upheld for the preservation of traditional musical values. Mendelssohn played a central role in this respect, as he learned masterpieces by Bach, Handel, and Haydn as a child. The world premiere of Paulus took place on Pentecost 1836 at the Lower Rhineland Music Festival and was received with great applause from the outset. Around 50 performances quickly followed in European cultural centers and in the United States. For almost a century, Paulus was part of the fixed repertoire of the emerging oratorio societies. While supporters saw in Paulus a worthy renewal of the artful and complex music of Bach, critical voices arose by the end of the 19th century in response to Mendelssohn's conservatism.
Historical and theological studies accompanied the 26-year-old Mendelssohn in the creation process of Paulus. The texts mainly derive from the Acts of the Apostles and describe the transformation of Saul of Tarsus into the early Christian missionary Paul. In confronting this theme, he created a significant piece of autobiography. Felix Mendelssohn was the grandson of Moses Mendelssohn, a significant Jewish philosopher of the 18th century. His family converted to Lutheran Christianity in his 7th year and lived as a devout Protestant family. The creation of the oratorio Paulus and its message of spiritual awakening and self-discovery became for the composer a confrontation with a piece of family history. With this concert, the Cantorate aims to remember Mendelssohn as a composer with Jewish roots on November 9.
Paulus is a two-part work with short episodes from the life of the Apostle Paul. The main motif is the enlightenment and conversion of Saul. The first part includes the backstory with the persecution and stoning of the Christian martyr Stephen, who proclaims the new doctrine. One encounters an angry Saul, who acts out in rage against the Christian communities. The journey to Damascus leads to the spiritual core of the oratorio: The Son of God appears to him, and this experience strikes him to his core. The voice of God, “Saul, why are you persecuting me?” resonates as a four-part women’s choir, placing it in mystical distance. Saul becomes blind, fasts for three days, and is visited by Ananias, the messenger of God, who brings him to conversion. In the aria “God, be merciful to me,” the deep remorse of Saul is poignant. Under the name Paul, he becomes the most significant apostle of Jesus Christ. The second part depicts the stages of the mission activities of the converted Paul. Compared to the first part, there is a less dramatic, yet more contemplative mood. After his death as a martyr, Paul, as a steadfast believer, receives “God's crown of righteousness” and as a conclusion also “all who love his appearance.”
In line with this conclusion, Mendelssohn formally draws on the baroque model of the Bach Passions throughout the entire oratorio: After each narrative segment, there is a contemplative chorale that directly relates to the events and invites the listeners to reflection. A meditation from a distance - this applies in a way to the whole oratorio Paulus and thus transcends every spirit of the times.
Admission: 4:00 PM
Hallo, ich bin Maya.
