Psalm "Non nobis Domine" / "Nicht unserm Namen, Herr" op. 31 MWV A 9

The first great orchestral psalm by Mendelssohn took almost six years to complete, from the initial sketches and the first version of 1830 to the final version of 1835. Its premiere, which took place at the Leipzig Gewandhaus, did not occur until 1838. Unlike his other orchestral psalms, Mendelssohn took the Latin words from the Vulgate as his principal text, which stems from Psalm 113. When he later prepared his own German translation, he made use of Psalm 115 from the Luther Bible. This edition by the leading Mendelssohn authority, John Michael Cooper, incorporates all the relevant sources. In accordance with the work's genesis, the vocal parts are underlaid with the Latin text, and the German text appears underneath. Rounding off this Urtext edition are an informative Foreword and a detailed Critical Commentary. The piano reduction stems from Mendelssohn himself.