background
Denn er hat seinen Engeln befohlen is a composition by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809-1847), a prominent composer of early Romanticism. Mendelssohn was a versatile composer, known for his orchestral, vocal, and chamber music works. This particular work is a motet composed in 1844, and is part of his oratorio Elias. The text is from Psalm 91, verses 11-12, and translates to, “For He will command His angels over you, that they keep you in all your ways. They shall bear thee on their hands, lest thou dash thy foot on any stone.”
Mendelssohn’s approach to religious music was rooted in the tradition of Bach and Handel, but he brought his own Romantic sensibility to it. Written for eight-part choir (SSAATTBB), the motet is an example of Mendelssohn’s masterful use of polyphony and harmonic color. It begins with a serene and quiet atmosphere, in which the voices are gradually introduced. His sense of balance between the various vocal lines is clearly audible here. The dynamics vary subtly, giving greater emphasis to certain words and phrases, without the whole losing its quiet character.
Denn er hat seinen Engeln befohlen was performed by Cappella Amsterdam under conductor Daniel Reuss in concert series De Grootinquisiteur. At the request of Cappella Amsterdam, the concert was filmed by production company MILLK in De Vereeniging, Nijmegen. The audio is recorded by A-A-AUDIO.
lyrics
Denn Er hat seinen Engeln befohlen über dir,
daß sie dich behüten auf allen deinen Wegen,
daß sie dich auf den Händen tragen
und du deinen Fuß nicht an einen Stein stoßest.
performers
Cappella Amsterdam
Daniel Reuss conductor
