Bruckner Josef Anton Bruckner (; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer, organist, and music theorist best known for his symphonies, masses, Te Deum and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-Germa ...

's Psalm 114, WAB 36, is a psalm setting of verses 1 to 9 of a German version of

Psalm 116 Psalm 116 is the 116th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications". It is part of the Egyptian Hallel sequence in the Book of Psalms. In the ...

, which is Psalm 114 in the

Vulgata The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels u ...

History

The work was composed in 1852 in St. Florian. Bruckner dedicated it to Hofkapelmeister Ignaz Assmayr for the celebration of his

name-day In Christianity, a name day is a tradition in many countries of Europe and the Americas, among other parts of Christendom. It consists of celebrating a day of the year that is associated with one's baptismal name, which is normatively that of a ...

. The work was rehearsed at that time, but it was not followed by a public performance. The original manuscript, which is somewhat incomplete in detail, is stored in the archive of the St. Florian Abbey. The work was premiered by

August Göllerich August Göllerich (2 July 185916 March 1923) was an Austrian pianist, conductor, music educator and music writer. He studied the piano with Franz Liszt, who made him also his secretary and companion on concert tours. Göllerich is known for study ...

on 1 April 1906, using a copy of the manuscript. The work was first recorded by Matthew Best in 1987C. van Zwol, p. 696 and edited by Paul Hawkshaw in 1997 in Band XX/1 of the ', based on the dedicated ', which had been retrieved in 1957 in a private collection in Vienna. During a concert on 25 June 2017 with the

Missa solemnis {{Audio, De-Missa solemnis.ogg, Missa solemnis is Latin for Solemn Mass, and is a genre of musical settings of the Mass Ordinary, which are festively scored and render the Latin text extensively, opposed to the more modest Missa brevis. In French ...

, Łukasz Borowicz with the

RIAS Kammerchor The RIAS Kammerchor (RIAS Chamber Choir) is a German choir based in Berlin, Germany. It receives support from the Rundfunk Orchester und Chöre GmbH Berlin ("Berlin Radio Orchestra and Choirs"), a limited-liability company owned by the public bro ...

and the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin performed also Bruckner's Psalm 114. The later Accentus CD ACC 30429 of this concert did however not include a recording of this performance of Psalm 114.

Text

(Thanks for salvation from great perils)

Setting

The 209- bar long work in

G major G major (or the key of G) is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative minor is E minor and its parallel minor is G minor. The G major scale is: Notable composi ...

is written for five-part mixed choir ( SAATB) and three

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

s. "The music is at first of an impressive archaic austerity, bare in harmony, and strikingly simple in texture. E minor is the opening key, but G major ultimately dominates."Leaflet by Robert Simpson, Hyperion CDA66245 The structure of the psalm, which is quite simple in concept, is grounded on liturgical practice.U. Harten, p. 344 The composition begins with a four-phrase, homophonically constructed ''Alleluja'', which serves as an

antiphon An antiphon ( Greek ἀντίφωνον, ἀντί "opposite" and φωνή "voice") is a short chant in Christian ritual, sung as a refrain. The texts of antiphons are the Psalms. Their form was favored by St Ambrose and they feature prominentl ...

to the psalm setting. The individual verses, with the exception of verses seven and eight, are clearly separated by strong

cadences In Western musical theory, a cadence (Latin ''cadentia'', "a falling") is the end of a phrase in which the melody or harmony creates a sense of full or partial resolution, especially in music of the 16th century onwards.Don Michael Randel (19 ...

or a few beats of

silence Silence is the absence of ambient audible sound, the emission of sounds of such low intensity that they do not draw attention to themselves, or the state of having ceased to produce sounds; this latter sense can be extended to apply to the c ...

.K.W. Kinder, pp. 10-16 " rucknerrelied to the trombones to reinforce contrasts delineated by the silences that would become so poignant in his later music."J. Williamson, pp. 46–47 The trombones are so reinforcing the contrasts between "''Es umgaben mich die Schmerzen des Todes''" (shift to minor) and "''Kehre zurück meine Seele''" (return to major). The truly inspired work, which projects a profound understanding of the text, captivates the ear with interesting harmonies and varied timbres and textures. The final words of verse eight ("''meinen Füße vom Falle.''"), which are set in a two-voice

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

over a dominant

pedal A pedal (from the Latin '' pes'' ''pedis'', "foot") is a lever designed to be operated by foot and may refer to: Computers and other equipment * Footmouse, a foot-operated computer mouse * In medical transcription, a pedal is used to control p ...

, provide an effective

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

to the large-scale, five-voice double fugue, which ends with a powerful

unison In music, unison is two or more musical parts that sound either the same pitch or pitches separated by intervals of one or more octaves, usually at the same time. ''Rhythmic unison'' is another term for homorhythm. Definition Unison or per ...

on "''im Lande der lebendigen.''"

Bruckner's Psalm 114 is an aurally pleasing and expressive composition that does not deserve the near oblivion to which it has been relegated. It represents another important step in his slow process toward a purely musical career.

Discography

There are three recordings of Bruckner's Psalm 114: * Matthew Best, ''Bruckner - Requiem, Psalms 112 & 114'', Corydon Singers,

English Chamber Orchestra The English Chamber Orchestra (ECO) is a British chamber orchestra based in London. The full orchestra regularly plays concerts at Cadogan Hall, and their ensemble performs at Wigmore Hall. The orchestra regularly tours in the UK and internationall ...

, 1987 - CD Hyperion CDA66245
This recording of Psalm 114 used a score made by Best-self, based on the '. * Johannes Rühl, ''Anton Bruckner zum 175. Geburtstag'', Capella Kreuzberg, members of the

Berlin State Opera The (), also known as the Berlin State Opera (german: Staatsoper Berlin), is a listed building on Unter den Linden boulevard in the historic center of Berlin, Germany. The opera house was built by order of Prussian king Frederick the Great from ...

, 1999 - CD issued by the choir * Mark Forkgen, ''Sing Praises'', London Concert Choir, Alexander Mason (organ), 2002 - CD issued by the choir (with organ instead of trombones)

References

Sources

* Cornelis van Zwol, ''Anton Bruckner – Leven en Werken'', Thot, Bussum (Netherlands), 2012. * John Williamson, '' The Cambridge Companion to Bruckner'', Cambridge University Press, 2004. * Keith William Kinder, ''The Wind and Wind-Chorus Music of Anton Bruckner'', Greenwood Press, Westport CT, 2000. . *

Uwe Harten Uwe Harten (born 16 August 1944) is a German musicologist, who works in Austria. Life Born in , Harten grew up in Hamburg, where he was a boy soprano at the Staatsoper. He took over the roles of a child. In Hamburg he also began his studies of ...

, ''Anton Bruckner. Ein Handbuch''. , Salzburg, 1996. . * ''Anton Bruckner – Sämtliche Werke, Band XX/1: Psalm 114 (1852)'', Musikwissenschaftlicher Verlag der Internationalen Bruckner-Gesellschaft, Paul Hawkshaw (Editor), Vienna, 1997

External links

*
''Psalm 114 (116)'' G-Dur, WAB 36
Critical discography by Hans Roelofs * A live performance by Andrew Lewis with the Elgin Master Chorale (26 February 2018) can be heard on YouTube
Anton Bruckner - Psalm 114 in G major, WAB 36
{{Authority control Psalms by Anton Bruckner Choral compositions 1852 compositions Compositions in G major