Pre-Order: Juliane Banse * Mendelssohn: Complete Sacred Choral Works Vol. 2 [CD]

The music of Felix Mendelssohn is often at it's most profound in his sacred choral works. This second volume focuses on chorale cantatas in which the composer sets Lutheran texts and chorales in short movements, deploying solo arias or duets as necessary. Strong connections with Bach and Handel can be felt throughout, from the vividly pictorial Da Israel aus agypten zog to the festive Christmas cantata Vom Himmel hoch. Of the prayer for peace, Verleih uns Frieden, Schumann wrote 'this small piece deserves to be world famous and will become so in the future'.