''Christus'' is title of an unfinished

oratorio An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble. Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...

Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions inc ...

, which exists only as a collection of fragments. The title was given to the work by the composer's brother, Paul, and it was published posthumously as Op. 97. Some scholars believe the completed movements may have been intended as parts of a larger, unrealised work. Movements from ''Christus'' are commonly performed at the Feast of

Epiphany Epiphany may refer to: Psychology * Epiphany (feeling), an experience of sudden and striking insight Religion * Epiphany (holiday), a Christian holiday celebrating the revelation of God the Son as a human being in Jesus Christ ** Epiphany seaso ...

due to their references to prophecies of a star, associated with the Biblical account of the

Three Wise Men 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies ...

following the

Star of Bethlehem The Star of Bethlehem, or Christmas Star, appears in the nativity of Jesus, nativity story of the Gospel of Matthew Matthew 2, chapter 2 where "wise men from the East" (biblical Magi, Magi) are inspired by the star to travel to Jerusalem. There, ...

. The work includes two

Lutheran hymn Martin Luther was a great enthusiast for music, and this is why it forms a large part of Lutheranism, Lutheran services; in particular, Luther admired the composers Josquin des Prez and Ludwig Senfl and wanted singing in the church to move away ...

s, "

Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern "" (; ) is a Lutheran hymn by Philipp Nicolai written in 1597 and first published in 1599. It inspired musical settings through centuries, notably Bach's chorale cantata , but also vocal and instrumental works by Baroque composers, Peter Cornelius ...

" and "Er nimmt auf seinen Rücken".

Composition history

Writing in 1848, the musicologist

Otto Jahn Otto Jahn (; 16 June 1813, in Kiel – 9 September 1869, in Göttingen), was a German archaeologist, philologist, and writer on art and music. Biography After the completion of his university studies at Christian-Albrechts-Universität in Kiel, ...

noted that Felix Mendelssohn had begun to compose a new oratorio while he was still working on ''

Elijah Elijah ( ) or Elias was a prophet and miracle worker who lived in the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of King Ahab (9th century BC), according to the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible. In 1 Kings 18, Elijah defended the worsh ...

'', and surmised that the work that later came to be known as ''Christus '' formed part of a complementary whole along with ''Elijah'', emphasising the

Incarnation of Christ In Christian theology, the incarnation is the belief that the pre-existent divine person of Jesus Christ, God the Son, the second person of the Trinity, and the (Koine Greek for 'word'), was "made flesh" by being conceived through the power o ...

as the fulfilment of Old Testament prophecies. After ''Elias'', Mendelssohn was searching for a

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

for a new oratorio and consulted a number of scholars for inspiration, among them Julius Schubring,

Johann Gustav Droysen Johann Gustav Bernhard Droysen (; ; 6 July 180819 June 1884) was a German historian. His history of Alexander the Great was the first work representing a new school of German historical thought that idealized power held by so-called "great" men. ...

and

Henry Chorley Henry Fothergill Chorley (15 December 1808 – 16 February 1872) was an English literary, painting and music critic, writer and editor. He was also an author of novels, drama, poetry and lyrics. Chorley was a prolific and important music and ...

. A successful collaboration emerged in 1844, when Christian Karl Josias von Bunsen produced a libretto compiled from biblical sources. Composition began in 1846 and continued through Mendelssohn's last year. It is thought that certain material from Mendelssohn's embryonic composition was included in his oratorio ''Erde, Hölle und Himmel'', possibly the third number, "Es wird ein Stern aus Jacob aufgeh'n".

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

recorded in her diary that Mendelssohn performed this work for her during his visit to Britain in 1847. After Felix Mendelssohn's death in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

in November 1847, his brother Paul acquired Felix's untitled

autograph An autograph is a person's own handwriting or signature. The word ''autograph'' comes from Ancient Greek (, ''autós'', "self" and , ''gráphō'', "write"), and can mean more specifically: Gove, Philip B. (ed.), 1981. ''Webster's Third New Intern ...

. Finding the collection of movements all related to the life of Christ, Paul published the work under the title ''Christus'', with the

opus number In music, the opus number is the "work number" that is assigned to a musical composition, or to a set of compositions, to indicate the chronological order of the composer's publication of that work. Opus numbers are used to distinguish among ...

97.

Movements

The existing fragments of ''Christus'' comprise 16 movements for choir and solo voices, relating the Biblical accounts of the Nativity and

Passion of Jesus The Passion (from Latin , "to suffer, bear, endure") is the short final period before the death of Jesus, described in the four canonical gospels. It is commemorated in Christianity every year during Holy Week. The ''Passion'' may include, amo ...

. The completed portions include a tenor recitative relating Christ's birth, two choruses "Wo ist der neugeborne?" ("Where is the newborn?") and "Es wird ein Stern aus Jacob aufgeh'n" ("There Shall a Star from Jacob Come Forth") using Philipp Nicolai's

chorale A chorale is the name of several related musical forms originating in the music genre of the Lutheran chorale: * Hymn tune of a Lutheran hymn (e.g. the melody of " Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme"), or a tune in a similar format (e.g. one o ...

", and a

passion Passion, the Passion or the Passions may refer to: Emotion * Passion (emotion), a very strong feeling about a person or thing * Passions (philosophy), emotional states as used in philosophical discussions * Stoic passions, various forms of emotio ...

section ending with another chorale, Paul Gerhardt's " O Welt, sieh hier dein Leben". The first performance took place in 1852.

Analysis

Paul Mendelssohn's choice of ''Christus'' as the title for the oratorio was based on the completed fragments relating the life of Christ. Music scholars have compared it to Felix Mendelssohn's earlier work ''Erde, Hölle und Himmel'' (''"Earth, Hell and Heaven"'') and surmise that the completed movements of ''Christus'' were intended to form the ''Erde'' part of a larger work, to be followed two more unrealised sections concerned with the

Crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, beam or stake and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Achaemenid Empire, Persians, Ancient Carthag ...

, Christ's descent into Hell and

Resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions involving the same person or deity returning to another body. The disappearance of a body is anothe ...

(''Hölle''), and the

Last Judgment The Last Judgment is a concept found across the Abrahamic religions and the '' Frashokereti'' of Zoroastrianism. Christianity considers the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to entail the final judgment by God of all people who have ever lived, res ...

(''Himmel''). The third movement of ''Christus'', "Es wird ein Stern aus Jakob aufgehn" ("A Star shall come out of Jacob") may be understood as a prophecy about the reign of

King David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Damas ...

, but Mendelssohn emphasises a

Christological In Christianity, Christology is a branch of theology that concerns Jesus. Different denominations have different opinions on questions such as whether Jesus was human, divine, or both, and as a messiah what his role would be in the freeing of ...

interpretation, associating it with the New Testament account of the

following the

by including Philipp Nicolai's 1599

" ("How brightly beams the morning star"). Jeffrey S. Sposato discusses both ''Christus'' and Mendelssohn's cuts in his performing version of J. S. Bach's '' Matthäuspassion'' and claims to discern an agenda in the latter to promote "the Lutheran concept of universal guilt for Christ's death" in a manner consistent with anti-Jewish sentiment, which he was able to transcend with genuine Christian sincerity in the former.

Legacy

The first three movements of ''Christus'' are popular choices for church choirs to sing at the Feast of the

, often in English translation – the recitative "When Jesus our Lord…", the trio "Say, where is he…?", and "There shall a star…" (with the chorale, "How brightly beams the morning star").

References

Citations

Sources

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External links

* * {{italic title Oratorios by Felix Mendelssohn 1847 oratorios Oratorios based on the Bible German-language oratorios Unfinished musical compositions Epiphany music Christmas music Passion settings