MENDELSSOHN
Symphony No. 2 "Lobgesang"

Majella Cullagh, Soprano I
Mary Nelson, Soprano II
Adrian Thompson, Tenor
National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland
RTÉ Philharmonic Choir
Reinhard Seifried

Symphonies No. 2 in B flat major, Op. 52,
"Lobgesang" (Hymn of Praise)
1. Sinfonia: Maestoso con moto
––– Allegro
––– Allegretto un poco agitato
––– Adagio religioso
2. Allegro moderato maesetoso
––– Allegro di molto
3. Recitativo
4. A tempo moderato
5. Andante
6. Allegro un poco agitato
7. Allegro maestoso e molto vivace
8. Chorale: Andante con moto
9. Andante sostenuto assai
10. Allegro non troppo

Mendelssohn sub-titled his Symphony No. 2 "The Hymn of Praise". It was written to celebrate the four hundredth anniversary of the Gutenberg press in 1840 and first performed in Leipzig in that year. He intended it to celebrate German civilisation and the religious freedom spread by the invention of printing. With its conscious similarity to Beethoven’s "Choral" Symphony, through its extended choral finale and its powerful ethical message, it was a very popular work in the nineteenth century. It contains much beautiful writing for both orchestra and voices and is undoubtedly a "hidden masterpiece" by this major romantic composer.

Recorded in the National Concert Hall, Dublin, Ireland from 2nd – 3rd June 1998.
Producer / Engineer: Tim Handley
Cover Picture: Exterior of the concert hall Leipzig, Germany by Artist unknown (The Art Archive / Richard Wagner Museum Bayreuth / Dagli Orti (A))