Rare Mendelssohn manuscript sold at Zurich auction

Mendelssohn wrote two arias and a recitative of St Matthew Passion for his friend, Julius Schubring, and his sister Agnes Koller Auctions

A rare music manuscript by composer Felix Mendelssohn has been sold at an auction in Zurich for CHF180,000 ($179,000).

The manuscript – a recitative from Johann Sebastian Bach’s St Matthew Passion, written out by Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) – is the only one in existence. It was bought by a private collector and will not be exhibited, Koller AuctionsExternal link told the Swiss News Agency on Saturday

The six-and-a-half page document dates from 1830, Koller Auctions said. It was valued at CHF160,000.

The young Mendelssohn wrote two arias and a recitative of St Matthew Passion for his friend, Julius Schubring, and his sister Agnes.

In 1829, age 20, Mendelssohn staged the first performance in decades of Bach’s Saint Matthew Passion, sparking a renaissance of interest in the then-forgotten composer’s work.

The manuscript remained for years in the Schubring family and was only recently rediscovered after the reunification of Germany. It was in Switzerland that it was formally identified as a document signed by Mendelssohn.