Page:Selected letters of Mendelssohn 1894.djvu/56

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42

SELECTED LETTERS OF

Then came psalms 74, 75, and 76. Then again three Lectiones. Then the Miserere, but in the same style as the preceding psalms—thus:—

Coro I.

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Coro II.

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You must pound your ears in a mortar to beat it! Then come psalms 8, 62, and 66, then the “Canticun Moysi” in a key of its own, and psalms 148, 149, and 150. Then follow more antiphons, and meanwhile all the candles on the altar are extinguished but one which is placed beneath the altar. High above the entrance six tapers are still burning, all else is dark; and now the whole choir in unison commences with full power the “Canticum Zachariae” while the last candles are put out. The great forte sounding in the darkness, and the solemn resonance of all the voices in unison, are beautiful beyond description. The melody in D minor is lovely too. At the end all is in darkness; an antiphon falls on the words: “He that betrayed Him gave them a sign,” and so on to “take Him and lead Him away.” At this point all the assistants fall on their knees, and a single voice sings, piano, “Christus factus est pro nobis obediens usque ad mortem.” On the second day