Otto Nicolai Zwei deutsche Liturgien

Otto Nicolai, primarily known as an opera composer, succeeded Mendelssohn in 1847 as court Kapellmeister at Berlin Cathedral during the reign of King Friedrich Wilhelm IV. The King’s father had introduced a new Agende, or order of worship, for the Protestant church in the whole of Prussia in 1829, with a music appendix for the chorally-sung sections of the liturgy. Friedrich Wilhelm IV commissioned not only Mendelssohn, but in 1846 also Otto Nicolai to compose a new setting of these liturgical motets. Today, these settings are still eminently suitable for use in worship, and some can also be performed separately in concerts. The soloists can be drawn from members of the choir.