St. Paul (oratorio)

St. Paul (oratorio)

St. Paul (in German Paulus), Op. 36, is an oratorio by Felix Mendelssohn.

The libretto was begun in 1832 by the composer with Pastor Julius Schubring, a childhood friend, pulling together passages from the New Testament (chiefly the Acts of the Apostles) and Old Testament. It also features chorales or hymn settings after Bach's manner.

The oratorio, which is in two parts, begins with an introduction (Nos. 1-3), and continues with the martyrdom of St. Stephen, and St Paul's conversion and baptism (Nos. 12-22). Part Two continues with the mission of Paul and Barnabas (Nos. 23-27), Paul's persecution at the hands of his former co-religionists (Nos. 28-31), the healing of the lame man of Lystra (Nos. 32-36), the resistance of the Jews and heathen (Nos. 37-40), Paul's departure from Ephesus (Nos. 41-43), and following the mention of his martyrdom, a final chorus based on Psalm 103.

Composition of the music began in 1834, and the work was premiered on May 22, 1836 at the Lower Rhenish Music Festival in Düsseldorf. The English premiere was in Liverpool on October 3, 1836 in a translation by Mendelssohn's friend, Karl Klingermann. Contralto Mary Shaw was one of the soloists at the English premiere. The first performance in the United States was in Boston on March 14, 1837. Mendelssohn himself conducted the first performance in Leipzig in the Paulinerkirche on March 16, 1837. Numerous performances followed in Europe and in the United States.

During Mendelssohn's lifetime, St. Paul was a popular and frequently performed work. However, compared with such oratorios as Handel's Messiah, Bach's Christmas Oratorio and St Matthew Passion or even Mendelssohn's own Elijah, it has failed to maintain its place in the choral repertory and is now infrequently performed in its entirety.