Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy - Symphony No. 2 (Lobgesang) op. 52 and The First Walpurgis Night op. 60

In 2026, the Freiburg Oratorio Choir celebrates its 50th anniversary with two major concerts. The first will take place in the Konzerthaus (concert hall) with a program that could perhaps be seen in terms of tolerance, respect for opposing views and the longing for freedom.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe called his poem The First Walpurgis Night a "dramatic ballad". It contrasts a pure monotheism born of the knowledge of nature with the superstitious mores of the early European church. The central idea is the unreflected intolerance of an institution that sets itself up as absolute towards a minority, as well as the unspoken demand for tolerance for those who think differently or are superstitious. Felix Mendelssohn, a close friend of Goethe, set this poem to music and wrote to his sister Fanny after completing the first version: "Now the thing has taken shape, but has become a great cantata with a large orchestra..." This composition is recognized as one of the best works of secular vocal music of the 19th century.

In 1840, the occasion for the composition of Symphony No. 2 in B flat major, which is also known as Lobgesang, was the 400th anniversary of the invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg. Mendelssohn saw the printing press as the victory of the human spirit over darkness.

The Freiburg Oratorio Choir is taking this "anniversary composition" as the central main work of its anniversary concert.

Johanna Allevato, soprano
Julia Werner, alto
Philipp Nicklaus, tenor
Hanno Müller-Brachmann, bass

Orchestra: Bodensee Philharmonie
Conductor: Bernhard Gärtner

Copyright: Freiburger Oratorienchor