The first and second violin parts here bear strong resemblances to the hymn tune "Chesterfield" (used for "Hark the Glad Sound"). Last December, I recorded this tune for my blog about hymns:
The arrangements I used for my recording (I combined arrangements from Lutheran Worship [#29] and The Lutheran Service Book [#349]) are in F major, but here's the first phrase of "Chesterfield" transposed up an octave and into D major in order to compare it to the first few bars of the first violin in Mendelssohn's string quartet:
A few note values are different, but - with "Chesterfield" adjusted for key - the pitches are all the same.
Here's the second phrase of "Chesterfield" (again transposed to D major, but not transposed up an octave) and the second violin part from Mendelssohn's string quartet, starting from the sixth full measure:
These phrases are quite similar too. The last five notes here have the same intervals; while they start from different pitches, the melody goes down a half-step, up a half-step, down a minor third, and then down a whole-step.
I couldn't find much information about Mendelssohn's string quartet, just that it was composed in 1838. Likewise, I couldn't find a great degree of definite information about "Chesterfield." Either it was written by or is attributed to Thomas Haweis, who was born in 1732 or 1734 (sources vary) and died in 1820. According to Hymnary, the tune itself was published in 1792. While all of that is a bit shaky, it's clear that "Chesterfield" is older than Mendelssohn's string quartet.
I don't know if Mendelssohn was familiar with "Chesterfield," but the resemblance between it and this movement of his string quartet seems to suggest so. For what it's worth: this wouldn't be the only instance of Mendelssohn's using a hymn tune in his music. His Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 107, written in 1830, quotes Martin Luther's "Ein feste Burg."
Here's the second phrase of "Chesterfield" (again transposed to D major, but not transposed up an octave) and the second violin part from Mendelssohn's string quartet, starting from the sixth full measure:
These phrases are quite similar too. The last five notes here have the same intervals; while they start from different pitches, the melody goes down a half-step, up a half-step, down a minor third, and then down a whole-step.
I couldn't find much information about Mendelssohn's string quartet, just that it was composed in 1838. Likewise, I couldn't find a great degree of definite information about "Chesterfield." Either it was written by or is attributed to Thomas Haweis, who was born in 1732 or 1734 (sources vary) and died in 1820. According to Hymnary, the tune itself was published in 1792. While all of that is a bit shaky, it's clear that "Chesterfield" is older than Mendelssohn's string quartet.
I don't know if Mendelssohn was familiar with "Chesterfield," but the resemblance between it and this movement of his string quartet seems to suggest so. For what it's worth: this wouldn't be the only instance of Mendelssohn's using a hymn tune in his music. His Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 107, written in 1830, quotes Martin Luther's "Ein feste Burg."
