Old wine in new bottles. Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy's chorale cantatas: J. S. Bach's models become 'Romanticized'

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809-47) composed eight chorale cantatas between the years 1827-32. These compositions stem from the time of Mendelssohn's study and interest in the works of J. S. Bach, including the period that he was heavily devoted to reviving the long dormant St. Matthew Passion at the Berliner Singakademie in 1829. As a result, the chorale cantatas are evidence of Mendelssohn's fluent understanding of Baroque forms and styles, and his assimilation of Bach's musical language into his own compositional style.;Chapter One of this document explores Mendelssohn's compositional studies during the 1820s in Berlin and addresses the few articles and books concerning these relatively unexplored cantatas. As well, this chapter briefly introduces the eight chorale cantatas. The second chapter is a comparative study of Mendelssohn's eight cantatas in relation to the Baroque style of compositions. Bach's influence on Mendelssohn's compositions is explored as well as those distinguishing characteristics that point to Mendelssohn the Romanticist. The final chapter is an analysis of Mendelssohn's last chorale cantata, Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein, with the understanding that although the composer's compositional style is rooted in Baroque traditions, this is music of his own time.