Mendelssohn’s Difference in FaithRethinking Kunstreligion in the Context of His Compositional Aesthetics

Abstract

This chapter departs from confessional interpretations of Felix Mendelssohn’s musical and religious outlook, encouraged by an empathetic reading of his own statements within the context of wider philosophies of art and religion, which combined into what became known as art-religion. In Mendelssohn’s writings, Kunstreligion was both a form of religion that was associated with Friedrich Schleiermacher’s theology and a means of finding his true self as a composer, as intended by his father, Abraham. His identification with nineteenth-century sacralized aesthetics of feelings never gave way to the unworldly nostalgia that critics and scholars have so often associated negatively with aesthetic religion. For Mendelssohn, Kunstreligion had practical implications and clear boundaries. His leaning towards religious theories of art inspired him to compose musical works for the spiritual enhancement of his audiences but found its limits whenever musico-religious rhetoric ran counter to his own moral consciousness, innermost beliefs, and sense of tolerance.