Sunday at 10:30 a.m., for the First Sunday in Lent, the Saint Mark’s Choir sings Felix Mendelssohn’s beautiful motet “Denn er hat seinen Engeln befohlen” and Ned Rorem’s anthem “Prayer to Jesus.” Organist Tyler Robertson plays Dietrich Buxtehude’s “Erhalt uns, Herr, bei deinem Wort,” BuxWV 185. The service begins with the Great Litany. Join us!
Pictured here is the great German composer Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847). Mendelssohn originally composed his lush eight-part motet “Denn er hat seinen Engeln befohlen” in 1844 as a stand-alone, unaccompanied piece. He later adapted the work (adding orchestral accompaniment) and incorporated it into his oratorio “Elijah.” The text comes from Psalm 91 (“And he has given his angels charge over you”).