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The Bach-Mendelssohn Project

Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia
The Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia performing St. Matthew Passion. Photo by Sharon Torello.
The Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia performing St. Matthew Passion. Photo by Sharon Torello.
The Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia in rehearsal for the Bach/Mendelssohn St. Matthew Passion. Photo by Sharon Torello.
The Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia in rehearsal for the Bach/Mendelssohn St. Matthew Passion. Photo by Sharon Torello.
The Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia in rehearsal for the Bach/Mendelssohn St. Matthew Passion. Photo by Sharon Torello.
The Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia in rehearsal for the Bach/Mendelssohn St. Matthew Passion. Photo by Sharon Torello.
Mendelssohn's original Bach St. Matthew Passion full score. Throughout the score, Mendelssohn made dynamic and articulation marks in light pencil, preserving the original manuscript. Photo courtesy of the Bodleian Library, Oxford University.
Mendelssohn's original Bach St. Matthew Passion full score. Throughout the score, Mendelssohn made dynamic and articulation marks in light pencil, preserving the original manuscript. Photo courtesy of the Bodleian Library, Oxford University.

In celebration of their 140th season, Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia reconstructed Felix Mendelssohn's 1841 revision of Johann Sebastian Bach's St. Matthew Passion, in an American premiere at Girard College Chapel. Mendelssohn's edits to the original score were designed to popularize Bach among mid-19th-century audiences, who were more likely to study than to perform the composer's work. Artistic Director Alan Harler, who traveled to Oxford University to study Mendelssohn's handwritten edits, conducted the February 8, 2015 performance. Participating musicians included the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, soprano Susanna Phillips, mezzo-soprano Marietta Simpson, tenor Yusuke Fujii, bass Andrew Bogard, and Michael Stairs, organ. Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia also produced a "BIG SING" concert, during which audience members will be invited to sing several of Bach's St. Matthew Passion chorales.


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uestions of ractice
Mendelssohn's original Bach St. Matthew Passion full score. Throughout the score, Mendelssohn made dynamic and articulation marks in light pencil, preserving the original manuscript. Photo courtesy of the Bodleian Library, Oxford University.
Interview

Susan Bernofsky on Artists as Translators

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The Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia in rehearsal for the Bach/Mendelssohn St. Matthew Passion. Photo by Sharon Torello.
Interview

"Whose Passion Are We Hearing?:" On Mendelssohn's Revival of the St. Matthew Passion

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Recipient
Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia

Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia

One of this country's oldest choruses, Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia seeks to advance the development of choral music as an art form. Founded in 1874, the Mendelssohn Club's rich musical history includes the American premiere of Mahler's Eighth Symphony and the Philadelphia premieres of Brahms' Ein Deutches Requiem and Britten's War Requiem. 

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