Music and Worship

Felix Mendelssohn, 1809-1847
Many of the great composers seem to have suffered more than their share of life’s misfortune and frustration. In sharp contrast, Felix Mendelssohn led, for the most part, a happy and successful life. Born into a wealthy and cultured family, his remarkable talents were encouraged from the start, and he brilliantly pursued an abundance of musical endeavors.

His grandfather, Moses Mendelssohn, had been an important Jewish philosopher, yet the composer’s father Abraham was somewhat uncertain in his beliefs. At first, he raised his children “without religion in any form,” though his brother-in-law was strongly influencing him toward Christianity. Once when he was a child, Mendelssohn ran home in tears from chorus practice. The chorus had been singing passages from Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion when another youth hisses mockingly, “The Jew boy raises his voice to Christ.” Seeing his children tormented because of their religious heritage was too much for Abraham; a desire for his children’s happiness rather than personal spiritual conviction finally persuaded him to have them baptized and raised in the Christian faith.

When he matured, Mendelssohn joined the Lutheran church because of his passionate love of the music of the Protestant J. S. Bach. He considered Bach’s music “the greatest Christian music in the world.” Mendelssohn excelled as a composer, a pianist, a conductor, and the founder of the Leipzig Conservatory of Music His talent won consistent acclaim, and his acquaintances included the finest musical geniuses of Europe: Schumann, Liszt, Wagner, Paganini, Weber and Chopin, to name a few. His wife, Cecile, the daughter of a well-known clergyman of the French Reformed Church, was a pious believer and a woman of prayer.

For Mendelssohn, the Bible served as the cornerstone of daily life as well as the inspiration for much of his work. Mendelssohn’s letters reveal profound faith in God. Echoing the words of a psalm, he wrote, “Pray to God that he may create in us a clean heart and renew a right spirit within us.” To his nephew, he wrote, “Nothing is attained without the fulfillment of one fervent wish – May God be with you! This prayer comprises consolation and strength; and also cheerfulness in days to come.”

Mendelssohn composed a great deal of sacred music, notably his celebrated oratorios, Elijah, and Saint Paul. His music is universal in its appeal and his compositions run the gamut from “Ave Maria” to texts of Martin Luther set to music. Mendelssohn’s life was cut short after he received the crushing news that his sister and close companion had suddenly died. He lost consciousness and fell, rupturing a blood vessel in his head. He never recovered, remaining very ill until his death a few months later at the age of 38.
Dennis Bucher