Unfinished 6th symphony by Felix Mendelssohn (1845)

[gprengel]

In the beginning of this year I made the most interesting discovery that in the month his violin concerto had it's first performance (March/April 1845) Mendelssohn was working on a 6th symphony in C-Major! For the 1st mov. he wrote the first about 80 bars in full score and some sketches for the 2nd theme and the development. This fascinated me so much that I tried to make a full movement of it.

I finally could also get the sketches for a second movement from a library in Oxford and made it to complete also this to a whole Andante movement of about 14 minutes.
The first 2:50 minutes are based on a full melody sketch with various hints to the accompaniement by Mendelssohn. After orchestrating this I continued with a new middle part with various themes with each increasing in strength and coming to a dramatic climax with an appassionate fugato.
After this various variations of Mendelssohn's beautiful Andante theme follow until a recapitulation of the beginning and a most tender final variation.

I.Allegro

http://www.gerdprengel.de/Mendelssohn_unfinished_symphony1.mp3
http://www.gerdprengel.de/Symphony_in_C_Allegro.pdf

II. Andante cantabile

http://www.gerdprengel.de/Mendelssohn_unfinished_symphony_Andante.mp3
http://www.gerdprengel.de/Mendelssohn_unfinished_symphony_Andante.pdf

It would help me to get your impressions ... Thank you

Regards, Gerd

[matesic]

Very impressive! Throughout most of the Allegro I could easily be convinced that this was by Mendelssohn. I did rather lose the musical thread during the recapitulation. The Andante I'm afraid didn't persuade me so well, possibly on account of the rather unconvincing pizzicato sounds and very sparse harmonies, some of which sounded a bit, well, wrong... The Garritan personal orchestra makes some great sounds in tutti but its weaknesses are exposed in lightly scored passages

[Alan Howe]

I too greatly enjoyed the first movement - very impressive indeed. This ought to be recorded.

[Mark Thomas]

I can only echo matesic's comments: the first movement does indeed sound like it could be by Mendelssohn, and is an enjoyable and intriguing listen. Well done! The second isn't anywhere near as convincing unfortunately. I'm quite ignorant of it's complexities, but perhaps the Garritan orchestral sound can be tweaked to improve the impression it gives?

[TerraEpon]

Note there also exists a symphony in Bb which apparently has the first movement exposition extant. Well according to the thematic catalog anyway.
Plus three "Children's Symphony"s, whatever that means (I assume they are fragments of string symphonies)

[gprengel]

Thank you for your warm response regarding the first movement!
Further explanation: Bars 1 - 80 are altogether the score by Mendelssohn (I added only the tremolos in the violins in the beginning). Bars 85 - 96 with the lovely second theme,  also the end of the exposition and beginning of the development (bars 128 -148) and furthermore 178 - 191 are based on sketches from Mendelssohn (melody and bass).

But I don't quite understand your reservations for the Andante. I adore the lovely main theme... and especially the cantabile part at 2:20 ff. But ok, maybe the istrumentation is a bit thin here in the first part part... I will consider this ... But did you listen to the end of the piece with the variations?

Gerd

[matesic]

Gerd - you say the first 2.50 of the Andante is based on a full melody sketch with hints as to accompaniment. Does that mean the harmonization is largely your own? I'll listen again.

[eschiss1]

is this the symphony with a theme in common with - either the Heimkehr or the Prosperous Voyage overture? A late friend pointed me to Grove 2's inclusion of a reduced score of its opening, I think (see also IMSLP.)

[gprengel]

Gerd - you say the first 2.50 of the Andante is based on a full melody sketch with hints as to accompaniment. Does that mean the harmonization is largely your own? I'll listen again.

No, the accompaniement in the sketch includes roughly the basic harmonies.

is this the symphony with a theme in common with - either the Heimkehr or the Prosperous Voyage overture? A late friend pointed me to Grove 2's inclusion of a reduced score of its opening, I think (see also IMSLP.)

Yes, here is this link:
http://ks.imslp.net/files/imglnks/usimg/5/51/IMSLP208344-PMLP349910-FMendelssohn_Symphony_in_C_major_fragment.pdf
But this has nothing in common with the overtures you mentioned.

[eschiss1]

The Ruy Blas overture seems to be the one I was thinking of -you're right.

Todd has written about this symphony and the surviving incomplete orchestral drafts on several occasions (in an article published in 1980 in Music & Letters ; in Mendelssohn Essays, 2013.)

[gprengel]

Yes, you are right. there is a certain resemblense to a theme from Ruy Blass.I see also elements from the wedding march.

The article from Todd is indeed the source where I got the sketches...

[Hector]

gprengel - so do you consider this a reconstruction or a composition based on Mendelssohn's sketches?

[gprengel]

gprengel - so do you consider this a reconstruction or a composition based on Mendelssohn's sketches?

apart from the first 80 bars it is rather a my own composition based on Mendelssohn's sketches . However I tried to preserve the "Romantic" spirit, which also expresses my personality the most.

[Hector]

I commend your ambition.

[Double-A]

I am afraid I have the same reaction:  Impressed with the first movement and less convinced by the andante.  But I wonder if this is a matter of tempo:  You have the tempo at approx. eighth = 70 beats per minute.  I believe the theme would flow much more naturally at a significantly faster tempo, say a quarter = 50 or so.  This way the music counts naturally in quarter notes, matching the time signature.  One hears andante movements counting in slow eighth notes quite often, especially in Haydn and they are always in danger of boring the audience.  The faster tempo would also "correct" the rather great length of the movement.  If I remember correctly a slow movement that outlasts the first is rare in Mendelssohn.

It seems to me that especially in Mendelssohn tempi should always (well, almost always) taken relatively fast.  He was after all the one who wrote into a quartet: "Dieser Satz darf durchaus nicht schlepped gespielt werden" (this movement must not be played in a dragging way; the translation of the old fashioned intensifier "durchaus" escapes me).

Edit:  I should add that some of the instrumentation in the andante strikes me as very pretty, even it the synthetic realization.