History
Historic traditions for the Conversion of St. Paul are sparse, so in lieu of a sweet treat or savory dinner, we wanted to share this piece by Felix Mendelssohn that is performed annually on January 25th at the St. Paul Cathedral in England. We think that listening to Mendelssohn’s St. Paul oratorio is a fitting custom for his day and a cozy activity to do in the middle of winter, when his day falls on the liturgical calendar!
Perhaps you, too, have found that listening to a good playlist or extravagant classical work is a good accompaniment for cooking dinner. It is certainly a favorite activity for us and led us to think that becoming more familiar with this oratorio on St. Paul’s Day is is an activity that can make the evening chaos more enjoyable and romantic! Or maybe you’ll sit down as a family and watch a YouTube performance of Mendelssohn’s work, listening and following along with each movement while enjoying a cup of tea. We might even go so far as to suggest that you could make sword-shaped cookies to honor of St. Paul’s discourse on the armor of God and allude to the instrument of his martyrdom! If you’re interested, you could use our recipe for simple sugar cookies that we introduced to you for St. Luke’s Day!
Whatever you choose to do to commemorate this important saint, we hope that you’ll remember St. Paul’s great conversion and his fervent dedication to the Church. We have left a link to Mendelssohn’s St. Paul here, but first, a little more background on the work itself:
Felix Mendelssohn’s St. Paul
Mendelssohn’s St. Paul was begun in 1834 and completed after the death of his father, Abraham, to whom Mendelssohn would often go for advice and thoughts on his musical works, even though Abraham was a banker by trade. His father offered valuable critiques that would provide significant improvements to the piece and, before his death, had bid his son to complete the work. Thus Mendelssohn completed St. Paul only months after his father’s passing, and it was performed for the first time in the following year, 1836, in Düsseldorf.
When listening to the piece it is evident that Mendelssohn was influenced by Bach, Handel, and Haydn by the way in which the composer weaves together chorales, arias, and recitatives to retell the story of Paul’s life. He begins St. Paul with an overture that leads into scene one, the saint’s persecution of the Church at St. Stephen’s stoning. This then transitions to the musical rendering of Paul’s conversion. Part two picks up with Paul’s and Barnabas’s mission, then Paul’s own persecution and travels, and it comes to an end with his martyrdom.
We love the way in which the narrative of St. Paul’s life is conveyed throughout the progression of the music and the text and how the piece’s form mirrors the great transition of the saint’s life, bookended with a greater commentary on the role of martyrdom in the life of God’s people.
References:
1. Program Notes by John Bawden, http://www.choirs.org.uk/prognotes/mendelssohnst paul.htm
2. https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/activities/view.cfm?id=1285
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