Mendelssohn - Psalm 42 : Wie der Hirsch schreit nach frischem Wasser, Op.42 

1. Chor. Wie der Hirsch schreit
2. Arie. Meine Seele dürstet
3. Recitativ. Meine Thränen sind meine
4. Chor. Was betrübst du dich
5. Recitativ. Mein Gott, betrübt ist meine Seele
6. Quintett. Der Herr hat des Tages verheissen
7. Schlußchor. Was betrübst du dich meine Seele
Composed in 1837, revised in 1838.
A set of the Martin Luther's German translation of Psalm 42 from the Book of Psalms. At the work's first performance, in Leipzig on 1 January 1838, Mendelssohn conducted the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, with Clara Novello as soprano. He was the orchestra's musical director from 1835 until his death in 1847. Schumann opined in 1837 that Mendelssohn's setting 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." Mendelssohn himself described it as “my best sacred piece… the best thing I have composed in this manner”, a work “I hold in greater regard than most of my other compositions.”
Performers : La Chapelle Royale
Collegium Vocale
Ensemble Orchestral de Paris
Eiddwen Harhhy, soprano
Philippe Herreweghe, conductor