Music TheoryPrint

Felix Mendelssohn

Wer bis an das Ende beharrt

(He that shall endure to the end), is a motet for a four-part choir by Felix Mendelssohn. He wrote it as part of his oratorio Elijah, published in

History#

Mendelssohn composed the motet with orchestral accompaniment as part of his oratorio Elijah, as movement 32, published in 1847. It was published in a critical edition by Carus-Verlag.

Text and music#

In the oratorio, the motet is placed like a chorale as a point of rest and reflection. Elijah is in the desert and has given up, reviewing his mission as a failure, but an angel requests him to arise. The text of the motet occurs twice in the Gospel of Matthew, in Matthew 10:22 and Matthew 24:13. Mendelssohn used the translation by Martin Luther. The English translation is from the King James Version of the Bible. The music is in one movement in F major and common time, marked Andante sostenuto. The instruments play colla parte with the voices. It has been described as “delicate”.

  • “Wer bis an das Ende beharrt [He that shall endure to the end] from Elias [Elijah] (Matthew 24:13) – by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy”, bibleasmusic.com
  • “Sei stille dem Herrn und warte auf ihn” – Digitaler Fastenimpuls (in German) evangelischekirchehochdahl.de
  • He that shall endure to the end, shall be saved. Mendelssohn’s Elijah: The Dessoff Choirs & Abyssinian Baptist Church on YouTube
Composer
Felix Mendelssohn