''Virga Jesse'' (The branch from Jesse), WAB 52, is a

motet In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the pre-eminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to Ma ...

by the Austrian composer

Anton 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-Ger ...

. It sets the

gradual The gradual ( la, graduale or ) is a chant or hymn in the Mass, the liturgical celebration of the Eucharist in the Catholic Church, and among some other Christians. It gets its name from the Latin (meaning "step") because it was once chanted ...

Virga Jesse floruit for unaccompanied mixed choir.

History

The work was completed on 3 September 1885 and may have been intended for the celebration of the one-hundredth anniversary of the

Linz Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846. In 2009, it was a European Capital ...

diocese; however, like the ''

Ecce sacerdos magnus is a piece of Christian religious music. It is an antiphon and a responsory from the common of confessor bishops in the Liturgy of the Hours and in the Graduale Romanum, and the Epistle in their proper Mass. It belongs to Sir 50,Ecce sacerdos m ...

'' that Bruckner composed A.M.D.G. for that event, it was not performed there. It was performed on 8 December 1885 in the Wiener Hofmusikkapelle for the

Feast of the Immaculate Conception The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, also called Immaculate Conception Day, celebrates the sinless lifespan and Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary on 8 December, nine months before the feast of the Nativity of Mary, celebr ...

. The original manuscript is archived at the ''

Österreichische Nationalbibliothek The Austrian National Library (german: Österreichische Nationalbibliothek) is the largest library in Austria, with more than 12 million items in its various collections. The library is located in the Neue Burg Wing of the Hofburg in center of Vi ...

'', and transcriptions of it at the ''Hofmusikkapelle'' and the Abbey of

Kremsmünster Kremsmünster is a town in Kirchdorf an der Krems District, in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. Settled in 777, it is home to the Kremsmünster Abbey. The Abbey was founded 777 by Duke Tassilo III of Bavaria and is one of the oldest abbeys o ...

. The motet was edited together with three other

s (''

Locus iste is the Latin gradual for the anniversary of the dedication of a church (), which in German is called .Cornelis van Zwol, ''Anton Bruckner 1824-1896 - Leven en werken'', Thoth, 2012, p.706 The incipit translates to "This place was made by God" ...

'' WAB 23, ''

Christus factus est Christus factus est (Christ became obedient) is taken from Saint Paul's Epistle to the Philippians. It is a gradual in the Catholic liturgy of the mass. In the classical Roman rite, it was sung as the gradual at mass on Maundy Thursday, however sinc ...

'' WAB 11, and ' WAB 30), by Theodor Rättig,

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in 1886. The motet is put in Band XXI/34 of the '.Gesamtausgabe – Kleine Kirchenmusikwerke
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Setting

This 91-

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar ( ...

E minor E minor is a minor scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative major is G major and its parallel major is E major. The E natural minor scale is: : Changes needed ...

is for mixed choir ''a cappella''. In the first part on the verse ''Virga jesse floruit'' (bars 1-20) Bruckner used twice the ' on the word ''floruit'' (bars 7-9 and 17-19). The last part (bars 63-91) consists, as in the earlier '' Inveni David'' WAB 19, of an '' Alleluja'', for which Bruckner drew his inspiration from the ''

Hallelujah ''Hallelujah'' ( ; he, ''haləlū-Yāh'', meaning "praise Yah") is an interjection used as an expression of gratitude to God. The term is used 24 times in the Hebrew Bible (in the book of Psalms), twice in deuterocanonical books, and four tim ...

'' of

Händel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...

's ''

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...

'', on which he often

improvised Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

on organ. The motet ends in ''pianissimo'' by the tenor voice on a pedal point.M. Auer, pp. 73-77 Max Auer regards it as the most accomplished and magnificent ''a cappella'' motet of the composer. The Bruckner biographer Howie also calls this work "one of Bruckner's finest motets".

Selected discography

The first recording of Bruckner's ''Vexilla regis'' occurred in 1931: * Ferdinand Habel with the Choir of the St. Stephans-Dom, Vienna (78 rpm: Christschall 129) A selection among the about 80 recordings: * John Alldis, John Alldis Choir, ''Bruckner, Messiaen, Debussy, Schönberg'' – LP: Argo ZRG 523, 1967 * Norbert Balatsch, Wiener Staatsopernchor, ''50 Jahre Konzertvereinigung Wiener Staatsopernchor'' – LP: Preiser SPR3278, 1976 * Matthew Best, Corydon Singers, ''Bruckner: Motets'' – CD: Hyperion CDA66062, 1982 * Frieder Bernius, Kammerchor Stuttgart, ''Bruckner: Mass in E minor; Ave Maria; Christus factus est; Locus iste; Virga Jesse'' – CD: Sony CL SK 48037, 1991 * Joseph Pancik, Prager Kammerchor, ''Anton Bruckner: Motetten / Choral-Messe'' – CD: Orfeo C 327 951 A, 1993 *

Uwe Gronostay Uwe Gronostay (25 October 1939 – 29 November 2008) was a German choral conductor and composer. Born in Hildesheim, he grew up in Braunschweig and was already organist of the Jakobikirche at age 15. He studied church music in Bremen and worked ...

, Netherlands Chamber Choir, ''Bruckner/Reger'' – CD: Globe GLO 5160, 1995 * Peter Dijkstra, Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, ''Machet die Tore weit'' – CD: Oehms Classics OC 535, 2005 * Marcus Creed, SWR Symphony Orchestra and Stuttgart-Radio Vocal Ensemble, ''Mass in E minor and Motets'' – CD: Hänssler Classic SACD 93.199, 2007 * Stephen Layton, Polyphony Choir, ''Bruckner: Mass in E minor & Motets'' – CD: Hyperion CDA 67629, 2007 *

Erwin Ortner Erwin Ortner (born 15 December 1947, in Vienna) is an Austrian conductor, especially of vocal music. He is the founder and artistic director of the Arnold Schoenberg Chor. References External links * * Erwin OrtnerArnold Schoenberg Chor ...

Arnold Schoenberg Chor The Arnold Schoenberg Choir (german: Arnold Schoenberg Chor) is a Viennese/Austrian choir which was founded 1972 by Erwin Ortner, who is still its artistic director. The choir has a high reputation both among conductors and among critics and the ...

, ''Anton Bruckner: Tantum ergo'' – CD: ASC Edition 3, issue of the choir, 2008 * Philipp Ahmann, MDR Rundfunkchor Leipzig, ''Anton Bruckner & Michael Haydn - Motets'' – SACD: Pentatone PTC 5186 868, 2021

References

Sources

* Max Auer, ''Anton Bruckner als Kirchenmusiker'', G. Bosse, Regensburg, 1927 * ''Anton Bruckner – Sämtliche Werke, Band XXI: Kleine Kirchenmusikwerke'', Musikwissenschaftlicher Verlag der Internationalen Bruckner-Gesellschaft, Hans Bauernfeind and Leopold Nowak (Editor), Vienna, 1984/2001 * Cornelis van Zwol, ''Anton Bruckner 1824–1896 – Leven en werken'', uitg. Thoth, Bussum, Netherlands, 2012. *

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.

External links

* *
Motet Translations / Anton Bruckner: "Virga Jesse"
Emmanuel Music
''Virga Jesse'' e-Moll, WAB 52
Critical discography by Hans Roelofs * A live performance by the UniversitätsChor München (2013) can be heard on YouTube
''Virga Jesse''
{{authority control 1885 compositions Motets by Anton Bruckner Advent music