Editing Felix Mendelssohn (section)

====Choral works====
[[File:Elijah arranged for duet 1.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|alt=|Part of the overture to ''Elijah'' arranged by Mendelssohn for piano duet (manuscript in the [[Library of Congress]])]]

Mendelssohn's two large biblical oratorios, ''[[St. Paul (oratorio)|St Paul]]'' in 1836 and ''[[Elijah (oratorio)|Elijah]]'' in 1846, are greatly influenced by J. S. Bach. The surviving fragments of an unfinished oratorio, ''[[Christus (Mendelssohn)|Christus]]'', consist of a [[recitative]], a chorus "There Shall a Star Come out of Jacob", and a male voice trio.{{sfn|Todd|2003|pp=555–556}}

Strikingly different is the more overtly Romantic ''[[Die erste Walpurgisnacht]]'' (''The First Walpurgis Night''), a setting for chorus and orchestra of a ballad by Goethe describing [[Paganism|pagan]] rituals of the [[Druid]]s in the [[Harz]] mountains in the early days of Christianity. This score has been seen by the scholar [[Heinz-Klaus Metzger]] as a "Jewish protest against the domination of Christianity".{{sfn|Todd|2003|pp=269–270}}

Mendelssohn wrote five settings from "[[The Book of Psalms]]" for chorus and orchestra. Schumann opined in 1837 that [[Psalm 42 (Mendelssohn)|his version]] of [[Psalm 42]] was the "highest point that he [Mendelssohn] reached as a composer for the church. Indeed the highest point recent church music has reached at all."<ref>[https://www.carus-verlag.com/en/choir/sacred-choral-music/felix-mendelssohn-bartholdy-wie-der-hirsch-schreit-oxid-1.html Psalm 42] on Carus Verlag website. Retrieved 3 December 2017.</ref>

Mendelssohn also wrote many smaller-scale sacred works for unaccompanied choir, such as a setting of [[Psalm 100]], ''[[Jauchzet dem Herrn, alle Welt (Mendelssohn)|Jauchzet dem Herrn, alle Welt]]'', and for choir with organ. Most are written in or translated into English. Among the most famous is ''[[Hear My Prayer]]'', whose second half contains "O for the Wings of a Dove", which became often performed as a separate item. The piece is written for full choir, organ, and a [[boy soprano|treble]] or [[soprano]] soloist. Mendelssohn's biographer Todd comments, "The very popularity of the anthem in England&nbsp;[...] later exposed it to charges of superficiality from those contemptuous of Victorian [[mores]]."{{sfn|Todd|2003|p=468}}

A hymn tune ''Mendelssohn''&nbsp;– an adaptation by [[William Hayman Cummings]] of a melody from Mendelssohn's cantata ''[[Festgesang]]'' (''Festive Hymn''), a secular 1840s composition, which Mendelssohn felt unsuited to sacred music – has become the standard tune for [[Charles Wesley]]'s popular Christmas hymn "[[Hark! The Herald Angels Sing]]".{{sfn|Mercer-Taylor|2000|p=157}}