Pristine Classical Recorded Music

Mendelssohn - Symphony No. 5 in D, Op. 107

The Symphony No. 5 in D Major, op. 107, called the "Reformation" Symphony, was composed by Felix Mendelssohn in 1832 in honor of the 300th anniversary of Martin Luther’s Augsburg Confession which had established the founding doctrines of Lutheranism and was a momentous document of the Protestant Reformation. The symphony was written for a full orchestra and was the first extended symphony that Mendelssohn had written. The late opus number is misleading. One theory is that Mendelssohn composed the symphony in 1830 prior to his 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Symphonies but it was lost and published, after his death, in 1868. Another is that the symphony is not his, but a clever forgery that has fooled musicologists to this very day. Although the symphony is not very frequently performed, it is better known today than it was during Mendelssohn's lifetime.

 

History

Composition

In December 1829, a year before the King of Prussia, Frederick William III, had even announced the tercentennial Augsburg celebrations, Mendelssohn began work on the Reformation Symphony. As a devout Lutheran, Mendelssohn hoped to have it performed at the festivities in Berlin which took place on 25 June 1830. He had intended to finish the composition by January 1830 and tour for four months before the celebrations began in June. However, his ill health caused the Reformation Symphony to take longer to compose than he had initially expected. In late March the symphony was still in a state of fabrication, and in an inauspicious turn of events Mendelssohn caught measles from his sister Rebecca. With a further delay of the composing and touring, Mendelssohn eventually completed the symphony in May. Unfortunately, it was too late for the Augsburg commission to recognize the symphony for the celebrations. Although it is not clear when exactly he gave up, in a letter he wrote to Ferdinand David on 13 April 1830 Mendelssohn stated that he had no intention of finishing the symphony by the Augsburg celebrations.

Failure for formal commission

There are many reasons that speculate why commissions and appointments, which Mendelssohn relied heavily on for his performance in the tercentennial Augsburg celebrations and perhaps the establishment of a career in Berlin, never materialized. It is believed that antisemitism played a large role in the misfortune. Mendelssohn was raised a Lutheran but was still considered Jewish in Berlin. Many of his friends, including Carl Friedrich Zelter and Wilhelm von Humboldt, may have been wary of his composition because of his Jewish heritage and especially because the Augsburg celebration was a religious one. Another major reason was the existence of another aspirant, Eduard Grell. Grell had already established himself as a competent and successful composer who was gaining considerable popularity in Berlin. Grell was extremely conservative in his compositions, which matched what the Augsburg celebrations demanded. On the other hand, Mendelssohn's extensive, quixotic symphony was thought inappropriate during the time.

Touring

Mendelssohn resumed his touring immediately after he had completed the Reformation Symphony. His early attempts at publicizing his symphony had failed miserably. He sought to give his first performance in Leipzig on June 1 with the help of his friend Heinrich Dorn but failed to make the deadline for the concert as a result of his copyist’s delay. Soon after, he attempted to get his piece published but was rejected publisher after publisher. Mendelssohn's subsequent attempts at having his symphony played in Munich, Italy, and Paris were all unsuccessful. Players felt that it contained too much counterpoint and not enough melody. Distraught and disappointed, he did not bother to try to perform at London. During the summer of 1832, Mendelssohn returned to Berlin where he revised his symphony. Later that year a performance of the Reformation Symphony finally took place. It was not performed again until 1868.

Loss of enthusiasm

Mendelssohn had considered the Reformation Symphony as one of his failed works, and did not allow for it to be published. However, the piece was published posthumously in 1868 and is now performed by many orchestras worldwide.

 

 

Form

The symphony is in four movements:

1. Andante - Allegro con fuoco

2. Allegro vivace

3. Andante

4. Andante con moto - Allegro maestoso

A typical performance lasts about 33 minutes.

 

First movement

The first movement is in sonata form. During the slow introduction, Mendelssohn institutes the "Dresden Amen" on the strings. Mendelssohn's version of the main theme of the "Dresden Amen" is as follows:

(This is essentially the same phrase as the "Grail" leitmotif used by Richard Wagner in Parsifal.

The strings are defeated by the full brass which plays as follows:

The "Dresden Amen" soon reappears back on the strings and the alternation continues until the Allegro con fuoco. The second theme, the Allegro con fuoco, shifts to D minor but is still a derivative of the "Dresden Amen." The Allegro con fuoco opens as follows:

 

Second movement

The second movement, a scherzo, is not much different from the first movement. It begins with a dotted inversion of the "Dresden Amen." The inversion of the "Dresden Amen" present throughout the second and third movements is as follows:

 

Third movement

The third movement, in G minor, is much more restrained and is primarily for the strings. Again, parts of the "Dresden Amen" emerge. The third movement ends with a reference to the second theme of the first movement.

 

Fourth movement

The fourth movement is in sonata form and is in 6/8 time. It is based on Martin Luther's chorale Ein Feste Burg is unser Gott (A Mighty Fortress is Our God). The second theme is an inversion of the Allegro con fuoco of the first movement. At the very end of the coda, a powerful version of Martin Luther's chorale is played by the entire orchestra.