Hebe deine Augen auf is the seventh volume in
Frieder Bernius and the
Kammerchor Stuttgart's impressive series of recordings of
Mendelssohn's complete sacred music for Carus-Verlag. Though the music here has been recorded before, many of these arrangements will be unfamiliar to all but the most devoted
Mendelssohn enthusiasts. The title track, for example, is already famous from its appearance in the oratorio Elijah, but it takes on a whole new cast in this heavenly arrangement for women's choir by the composer. The overall program is wonderfully balanced between contrapuntal works for a cappella mixed choir like the Trauergesang, homophonic works for a cappella men's choir like the Zwei geistliche Männerchöre, intimate works for a cappella women's choir like the Drei Motetten, sentimental works for solo soprano and organ like the Zwei geistliche Lieder, and massive works for soloists, mixed choir, and organ like the Te Deum. But the unity of the genre and the cohesion of the performances binds the varied repertoire together. Whether written in England, Germany, or Italy for Anglicans, Lutherans, or Catholics, the music here is steeped in
Bach's sacred music, but
Mendelssohn's warm-hearted optimism transforms it into something wholly unique. And whatever the setting and the language,
Bernius and the Stuttgart choir turn in polished and devotional performances that translate
Mendelssohn's Victorian-era sacred music into timeless art. Nor should
Ruth Ziesak's smooth and creamy soprano solos and Sonntraud Engels-Benz's tastefully demur organ accompaniments go unremarked. As previously in this series, Carus-Verlag's sound is rich, deep, and detailed.