Mendelssohn's Hear My Prayer

Choral Artists of Michigan Chamber Singers
Jim Watson, Artistic Director
Hannah Watson, Collaborative Piano
Angela Bonello, Soprano
Recorded Live at the Take the Stage Choral Festival, June 9, 2023

Mendelssohn’s Hear My Prayer is a dramatic cantata that tells the story of David’s plea for God’s help, similar to David’s trouble when son Absalom conspired against him. The prayer comes from Psalm 55. Mendelssohn sets his work in three distinct sections, creating a three-act drama. The first section, written for soprano solo, portrays David pleading with God to answer his prayer for deliverance from his enemies. Mendelssohn captures these pleas with various compositional techniques: chromatic lines, wide ranging dynamics, and masterful text declamation. The second section pictures David’s frustration with his enemy’s oppression. Here the meter changes to a lively three, conjuring images of impending danger. The choir joins in, crying for help, as each voice part passes imitative melodies. The soprano continues with a recitative on the overwhelming anguish, and the choir responds with a unison plea, “Lord, hear me call!” The soprano solo in the third section, “O for the wings of a dove,” demonstrates Mendelssohn’s gift for melody. The long lines seem to depict David’s calm, resting in his God, longing for the wings of a dove to fly away to safety. This cantata is a good example of the Romantic era’s dramatic styles; Mendelssohn pens expansive, lyrical melodies with wide vocal ranges and chromatic inflection. In addition, the work is known for its programmatic storytelling. With this work, Mendelssohn captures the emotion of David’s cry for deliverance.