Hear my prayer by

Mendelssohn (1809 -1847)

Word Painting/text setting
Beginning - Solo
• ‘Hear my prayer’ a falling perfect 5th (bar 3) itself is a memorable motif, clear and
prominent calling to God,.
• Rising quaver scale on, ‘O God incline thy ear’ can depict the singer raising his/her voice
for their prayer to be heard, this occurs in bar 4.
• ‘Take heed to me’, sung in sf, is dotted to show a sense of urgency and then ‘Mourn to
thee’ is given a high G, the words are also repeated here for emphasis. This is at bar 13
and 15.
• There is effective word painting in ‘Without thee all is dark- I have no guide’ occurs in bar
20-21 with a rising chromatic scalic passage paired with pianissimo dynamic.
• The tonal uncertainty from the tritone in the accompaniment parallels the singer’s anxiety
on the words ‘I have no guide’, in bar 24.
• In bar 25-26 the last repeat of ‘I have no guide’, the singer sings up to a G, a last climax
to the singer’s statement, before repeating ‘Hear my prayer’ for the last time.
• There is an octave leap in ‘O God’ at bar 33 with a fermata, for extra emphasis, this is
followed by a unison statement from the choir.
 Chorus Enters – ‘The enemy shouteth’
• In this section the call and response theme is presented with forceful declamation of the text and a rising
4th at ‘The enemy shouteth’, bar 35 onwards.
• There is word painting on ‘fast’ as the tempo is ‘Allegro moderato’ at bar 41 and the dotted rhythm
again shows urgency of the singer.
• There is full clarity of the text as it is all syllabic and the dynamic is loud and impactful.
• The chorus enter in an antiphonal style answering what the soloist has sung.

• ‘iniquity’ is given a dotted note

• ‘Hatred’ is given a high D “Iniquity hatred up on me they cast”
• ‘cast’ is given an sf and a leaping 6th to a high D# B47-51
These all create further emphasis of the text

• ‘Where shall I fly-’, has word painting, depicted by the high octave leap in the melody on a F# (bar 57).
• Soloist has a descending then ascending sequence at b59, with crescendo and preparation for the
next choral entry.
• b63, the soprano and alto are imitated by the tenor and basses in a descending sequence ‘O God
hear my cry’.
• Except this time, the choir sing a tone lower than the soloist, an echo effect in which Mendelssohn
uses effectively throughout this work.

• ‘Perplexed and bewildered…’originally a descending scale with a rising sequence sung by the
soloist in b59-63 is repeated by the choir at b69, polyphonically with a rising sequence as the cries to
God become more and more impassioned.
• After another repeat of the call and response theme from the choir (bar 78-86), the soloist sings
once more ‘O God hear me cry!’and at bar 91, this time the choir rises to a G on ‘God’, in the key
of E minor, rather than an F from b64, heightening the build up more.
• At b106 ‘O God’ is once again echoed throughout the choir in octave and 7th leaps, before a
powerful climax of a high A on ‘cry’.
• This is followed by a homophonic passage of the choir and the soloist at b123 rises to a fortissimo G
rather than an E on ‘cry’, again followed by a repeat of the choir’s homophonic passage this time
with piano dynamic for preparation of the next section.
Recitative Secco
• The new section begins at bar 131 with the opening syllabically set text of “My
heart is sorely pain’d… within my breast”, is triadic, has an appoggiatura and the
dotted rhythm emphasises that he/she is in pain, making the text more dramatic.
• Bar 133 the soloist then sings “My soul with deathly terror is oppressed” , even the
choice of lyrics are distressing, with a falling 6th (also at ‘horror’) and rising minor
3rd.
• Another suggestion is that the bassline is descending as if it is also moving ‘down
into the depths of sorrow’(bars 131-133)
• “lord hear me call” is first sung by soloist on a dramatic high G at bar 137 then
repeated by choir at bar 138. This again depicts a sign of calling,as call and
response texture is common in this work.
• “with horror over-whelm’d “is polyphonic with emphasis on the word ‘horror’,(bar
139-140) furthermore the choir echoes this to promote the feeling of darkness and
pain.
• At b143, the choir sings on a unison D, giving a sense of unity and calmness to the
text, ‘lord hear my call’.
‘O for the wings…’
• In the lines, “o, for the wings, for the wings of a dove!” at bar 146, expresses
the mood of the text, the music features used are; scalic triplet movement,
ascending sequence, descending triplet motif and repetition. These are
used to express an uplifting mood and image of heaven, or birds flying.
• “Far away, far away would I rove!” there is descending triads and this
depicts fading as if he/she is travelling afar at bar 148 and 149.
• In bar 171 “Forever at rest”, incorporates word painting with a lengthened
note value on ‘ever’.
• At b174, “O… for the wings” is another intensifying motif consisting of a
crotchet and 2 quavers.
• “far away” text returns with a polyphonic choral texture, crescendo and an
ascending sequence rather than descending at bar 184.
• “in the wilderness build me a nest” is an augmented triad from “o.. For the
wings of a dove!”, bar 176
• “ever” has a long tied note to express the word ever, bar 171 and 227 by
the soloist.
• At b193, the unison D is sung again by the choir over the text ‘Remain there
forever at rest’, this repeat of the unifying motif matches the text well and is
used frequently.
• At b201, the chorus divide into sustained chords accompanying the soloist
singing “O for the wings’ for the last time, this creates serenity for the
beautiful melody.
• Near the end of Hear my prayer, progressive lengthening of note values
add to the sense of finality while also complementing the text ‘forever at
rest.’(bar 227-231)