Today is Felix Mendelssohn’s 200th birthday.
We singers can thank him for two oratorios St. Paul and Elijah, a number of songs, and the revival of interest in J.S. Bach’s music partially due to Mendelssohn’s revival of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion.
Here’s a New York Times review of on Mendelssohn’s “Liederbuch für Cécile” along with a bit of history about the cycle. Performers are soprano Ying Huang and Thomas Bagwell on piano.