Ruth Ziesak (soprano), Mojca Erdmann (soprano), Christian Elsner (tenor), MDR Radio Choir, MDR SO/Jun Märkl Naxos 8.572294 ****

Mendelssohn’s Second Symphony, the Hymn of Praise, was written in 1840 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Gutenberg’s invention of printing with moveable type. It may seem to be modelled on Beethoven’s Choral Symphony, with three orchestral movements followed by an extended choral finale. But Mendelssohn himself called it a symphony-cantata, and he was inspired by his view of printing as a means of disseminating the Bible to write in shades of joy, from reserved to jubilant. Jun Märkl brings out a real sense of eagerness in the music without ever making it sound inappropriately urgent or portentous. The lightness of touch doesn’t by any means inhibit a sense of resplendence in the cantata section, although there are recordings which capture the choir and soloists in more effective perspectives.

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