Helgoland (Bruckner)

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Helgoland is a piece by Anton Bruckner for full orchestra and male choir with a duration from twelve to thirteen minutes. It was composed in 1893 for the Men's Choir of Vienna (according to Volume XXII/8 of the Bruckner Complete Edition, Vienna Male Singing Society [Wiener Männergesangvereins]) to celebrate its fiftieth birthday, and thus constitutes, if one takes account of the incompletion of the Ninth symphony, the last complete work of Bruckner.

It is not known if Bruckner chose the subject of the work, or if he yielded on this point to satisfy the order. The sung text is a poem of August Silberstein (Bruckner had already put the work of this author to music with Germanenzug in 1864): the Saxon people of the island of Helgoland are threatened by the invasion of the Romans, but divine intervention saves them. The part is full with strength even of enthusiasm, and carries more still than other works of Bruckner the mark of the influence of Wagner. It was a case of interest, as the island had been just returned by Great Britain to Germany, in 1890.

This work was first conducted on 8 October 1893 by Eduard Kremser.

Nun, Gegner, Erbeuter, als Beute ihr bleibt,

Now, opponent, looter, when booty remains,

gesunken zu Tiefen, geschleudert zum Sand,

sunk to depths, hurled to the sand

das Wrackgut der Schiffe zur Insel nun treibt!

the wreck's property to the island now floats!

O Herrgott, dich preiset frei Helgoland!

O gentleman, you praise free Helgoland!

[edit] Discography

Helgoland is played curiously seldom, and even largest Brucknerans seems to have neglected it. Daniel Barenboim has recorded it twice, at the time of his playing the symphonies of Bruckner with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and again with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.