Iam lucis orto sidere, WAB 18

Iam lucis orto sidere (Now that the daylight fills the sky), WAB 18, is a motet composed by Anton Bruckner in 1868. The work is also known as In S. Angelum custodem (In the custody of the holy angels). Bruckner revised the composition in 1886.

History

Bruckner composed this motet in the summer of 1868 for the Schutzengelbruderschaft ("Guardian angel confraternity") of Wilhering Abbey. Bruckner dedicated it to Adolf Dorfer, the abbot of the abbey.^[1] Bruckner set the music on the text written by Robert Riepl, one of the priests working at the abbey.^[2] Riepl's text is an adaptation of the text used by Orlande de Lassus.^[3] Bruckner's original manuscript, which was stored in the abbey, is lost. A copy of it is stored in the archive of the Kremsmünster Abbey and two other copies are found in the Austrian National Library. The motet was published in 1868 by the Wilhering Abbey.^[4][1]

In 1886, Bruckner made a new version of the motet for men's choir, which was published in the journal An den scönen blauen Donau, band 1, No. 8, p. 240, F. Mamroth, Vienna.^[5]

The Gesamtausgabe includes two settings of the 1868 version in Band XXI/24, and the 1886 setting in Band XXI/35.^[6]

The text used in the three settings can be found on Roelofs' critical discography.^[7]

Music

The first version in Phrygian mode, which Bruckner composed in 1868, is 24-bar long. Two settings are extant: a first with all eight verses of Riepl's text for SATB choir a cappella, and a second with only the first verse for SATB choir and organ.^[4] The motet is a simple, modally inspired piece and homophonic throughout.^[1]

A new version of the motet in G minor, which Bruckner composed in 1886, is one bar shorter (23-bar long). It uses verses 1, 2, 7 and 8 of Riepl's text and is set for TTBB choir a cappella.^[5]

Selected discography

The first recording occurred in 1976:

• Mathias Breitschaft, Limburger Domsingknaben, Bruckner: 9 Motets/Palestrina: 8 Motets – LP: Carus FSM 53118 (1st verse of the 1st setting)

1868 version

There are a few other recordings of the first setting, all with deviations from the score:

• Balduin Sulzer, Chor des Musikgymnasiums Linz, Musik aus der Stifterstraße – LP: Extempore AD-80.01/2, 1980
• Robert Jones,Choir of St. Bride's Church, Bruckner: Motets – CD: Naxos 8.550956, 1994
• Lionel Sow, Choeur de Filles Caecilia & Maîtrise des Petits Chanteurs de Saint-Christophe de Javel, Johannes Brahms – Anton Bruckner Jardins secrets – CD: Studio SM Collection Blanche D3029, 2004

There is one recording of the second setting:

• Balduin Sulzer, Mozart Chor Linz, Bruckner – CD: AtemMusik Records ATMU 97001, 1997 (with brass accompaniment)

1886 version

There is one recording of this setting in accordance with the score:

• Duncan Ferguson, Choir of St. Mary's Cathedral of Edinburgh, Bruckner: Motets – CD: Delphian Records DCD34071, 2010

References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 C. Howie, chapter III, p. 95
2. ↑ Musikgeschichte des Zisterzienserstiftes Wilhering
3. ↑ Jam lucis orto sidere (Orlando di Lasso) on ChoralWiki
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 C. van Zwol, p. 705
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 C. van Zwol, pp. 708-709
6. ↑ Gesamtausgabe – Kleine Kirchenmusikwerke
7. ↑ Roelofs' critical discography of Iam lucis orto sidere

Sources

• 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. ISBN 978-90-6868-590-9
• Crawford Howie, Anton Bruckner – A documentary biography, online revised edition

External links

• Critical discography of In S. Angelum custodem / Iam lucis orto sidere WAB 18 (German)
• Iam lucis orto sidere, a live performance of the third setting of the motet by la Chorale du Brassus (2011), on YouTube