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The life and work of Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of movable type and letterpress printing, has been justifiably celebrated in a variety of forms. One of the most unusual and solemn tributes to the European prototypographer is a musical composition written by Felix Mendelssohn (1809-47). It was created to mark the quatercentenary of the invention of printing. Called Festgesang (festival song), the musical form is a cantata for male chorus, brass, and timpani.

Festgesang was first performed in the town square of Leipzig by an ensemble of 200 voices, 16 trumpets, 20 trombones, and timpani to accompany the unveiling of a new statue of Gutenberg in front of the Conservatory building during June 1840.

Four movements constitute the work and the second, named ‘Vaterland in deinen Gauen’, is particularly notable. In 1855, the composition was provided with a fresh lyric by William H Cummings beginning ‘Hark the Herald Angels Sing’, the combination forming the rousing and traditional Christmas carol.

Music and songs from Festgesang continue to be used at gatherings of the graphic arts. Memorial services for distinguished members are occasions where the music of Mendelssohn can be heard, as instanced by the commemoration of Justin Howes
at the St Bride Church off Fleet Street in May 2005.

Felix Mendelssohn was born in Hamburg to a Jewish family and first appeared in public as a pianist at the age of 10. He is probably best known in Britain for the Hebrides overture of 1830. His Jewish origins prompted the Nazi authorities to ban his music, while the statue of Gutenberg in Leipzig was nefariously removed and destroyed over the same period.

Lawrence Wallis held international pre-press marketing positions and was a respected author and print historian.