Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Christus

The birth of Christ

1. Recitative (Soprano)

When Jesus our Lord was born in Bethlehem, in the land of Judea, behold, from the east to the city of Jerusalem there came wise men, and said:

2. Trio (Tenor, Basso I/II)

Say, where is he born the king of Judea? For we have seen his star, and are come to adore him.

3. Chorus

There shall a star from Jacob come forth,
and a sceptre from Israel rise up,
and dash in pieces princes and nations.
As bright the star of morning gleams,
so Jesus sheddeth glorious beams
of light and consolation!
Thy Word, O Lord, radiance darting,
truth imparting, gives salvation.
Thine be praise and adoration!

Die Geburt Christi

1. Rezitativ (Sopran)

Da Jesus geboren ward zu Bethlehem im jüdischen Lande, da kamen die Weisen vom Morgenlande gen Jerusalem und beteten ihn an.

2. Terzett (Tenor, Bass I/II)

Wo ist der neugeborne König der Juden? Wir haben seinen Stern gesehn und sind gekommen, ihn anzubeten.

3. Chor

Es wird ein Stern aus Jakob aufgehn
und ein Szepter aus Israel kommen
und wird zerschmettern Fürsten und Städte.
Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern!
O welch ein Glanz geht auf vom Herrn,
uns Licht und Trost zu geben!
Dein Wort, Jesu, ist die Klarheit,
führt zur Wahrheit und zum Leben.
Wer kann dich genug erheben?

Foreword of the Edition Carus 40.131

R. Larry Todd

The oratorio Christus has remained among Mendelssohn’s most enigmatic works, raising innumerable questions since his death in November 1847 that have so far eluded answers in the scholar ly literature. Left unfinished, the project appeared in print in 1852 as Mendelssohn’s Op. 97, the twenty-sixth in a series of posthumous works. It included a trio for male soloists, several recitatives and choruses, and a setting of the chorale “Er nimmt auf seinen Rücken.” Understandably enough, the editors of the first edition divided these numbers into two parts: “The Birth of Christ” (Trio of the Wise Men and Chorus “Es wird ein Stern aus Jakob aufgeh’n”) and “The Passion of Christ” (alternating recitatives and choruses for the audience with Pilate and the procession to Golgatha, concluding with the chorus “Ihr Töchter Zions, weint über euch selbst,” and the chorale). But the ultimate position of the fragments in the oratorio remains unclear; indeed, Mendelssohn himself seems not to have specified a bipartite division (versus, say, a tripartite ordering, with a third section for the Resurrection), and, furthermore, does not appear to have used the title Christus for what