Wer bis an das Ende beharrt (He that shall endure to the end),[1] is a motet for a four-part choir by Felix Mendelssohn. He wrote it as part of his oratorioElijah, published in 1847.
History
Mendelssohn composed the motet with orchestral accompaniment as part of his oratorio Elijah, as movement 32,[2] published in 1847.[3] It was published in a critical edition by Carus-Verlag.[3]
Text and music
In the oratorio, the motet is placed like a chorale as a point of rest and reflection. Elijah is in the desert and has given up, reviewing his mission as a failure, but an angel requests him to arise.[2][3] The text of the motet occurs twice in the Gospel of Matthew, in Matthew 10:22 and Matthew 24:13. Mendelssohn used the translation by Martin Luther. The English translation is from the King James Version of the Bible.
