St. Paul (oratorio) St. Paul (oratorio) St. Paul (in German Paulus), Op. 36, is an oratorio by Felix Mendelssohn. The libretto was begun in 1832 by the composer with pastor , a childhood friend, pulling together passages from the New Testament (chiefly the Acts of the Apostles) and Old Testament. It also features chorales or hymn settings after Bach's model. Composition of the music began in 1834, and the work was premiered on 22 May 1836 (having been completed in April of that year) at the Lower Rhenish Music Festival in Düsseldorf. The English premiere was in Liverpool on 3 October 1836 in
Norfolk and Norwich Festival of earlier musical fundraisers for the hospital dating back as far as 1772 including the annual performance of an oratorio at Norwich Cathedral. In its early days, the festival was mainly held in St. Andrew's Hall and St Peter Mancroft. These events consisted primarily of oratorios and other large scale choral works performed by the Norwich Festival Chorus, then 300 strong. Noted premieres from this time included "The Last Judgement" by the German Romantic composer and conductor Louis Spohr. The triennial festival continued to develop a reputation throughout the Victorian and Edwardian period, and saw the premieres of significant classical