Vor Arneths Grab, WAB 53

Vor Arneths Grab
by Anton Bruckner

Calliope, muse of elegy
Key F minor
Catalogue WAB 53
Form Elegy
Language German
Composed 1854 – St. Florian Abbey
Dedication Funeral of Prior Michael Arneth
Vocal TTBB choir
Instrumental 3 trombones

Vor Arneths Grab (Facing Arneth's tomb), WAB 53, is an elegy composed by Anton Bruckner in 1854, for men's voices and trombones. Brucker wrote in 1861 a second version, Am Grabe (At the grave), WAB 2, for men's voices a cappella.

History

Bruckner composed the elegy for the funeral of Michael Arneth, the prior of the St. Florian Abbey. The work, which was written together with the Libera me, WAB 22,[1] was performed on 28 March 1854 at the cemetery of the abbey. [2] The original manuscript is stored in the archive of Wels.[2]

The elegy was performed a second time for the funeral of Magistrate Wilhelm Schiedermayr on 23 September 1855.[2]

Vor Arneths Grab were first published in band II/2, pp. 184-188 of the Göllerich/Auer biography.[2] It is put in Band XXIII/2, No. 9 of the Gesamtausgabe.[3]

A revised, 21-bar long, a cappella setting (Am Grabe, WAB 2) was performed on the funeral of Josephine Hafferl on 11 February 1861. This setting discarded the fourth strophe. The voice score of the first two strophes is identical to that of Vor Arneths Grab. The setting of the third strophe is 5-bar longer.[4] The song, which was edited first by Josef Venantius von Wöß in 1924,[4] is put in Band XXIII/2, No. 13 of the Gesamtausgabe.[3]

Text and music

The elegy is using a text by Ernst von Marinelli.

Brüder, trocknet eure Zähren,
stillt der Schmerzen herbes Leid,
Liebe kann sich auch bewähren
durch Ergebungsinnigkeit.

Wohl ist dies das letzte Schauen
auf die Leiche und den Sarg,
doch die Seele, die sie barg,
triumphiert durch Gottvertrau’n.

Drum lasst uns den Herren preisen,
der die Edelsten erwählt
und für uns, die armen Waisen,
auch den Himmel offen hält!

Wollen hier am Grab geloben
Treue, Recht und frommen Sinn,
dass der Selige dort oben,
hat sich unser Geist erhoben,
uns zum Vater führe hin.

Brothers, dry your tears,
Still the hard pain of your sorrow,
Love can also show
In the intimacy of resignation.

While this is the last look
On the corps and the coffin,
The soul which they contained,
triumphs by trust in God.

Therefore, let us praise the Lord,
Who elects the most noble
And for us, the poor orphans,
aso holds the Heaven open!

We want to promise at the tomb
Trust, justice and pious devotion,
That the blessed one above,
Once our spirit will have risen,
Will lead us to the Father.

The 28-bar-long work in F minor is scored for TTTB choir and 3 trombones. The setting of the first two strophes (bars 1 to 8) is identical. It is followed (bars 9 to 16) by the setting of the third strophe, and, after two instrumental bars, ends (bars 19 to 28) with the setting of the last strophe.[2]

Although it is a funeral song, it displays little of the mournful character one might expect. The text and the music, with largely diatonic harmony and a predominance of major sonorities, focus instead on confidence about resurrection and salvation. Like the concomitant Libera me, the work contains portents of Bruckner's mature style and has thus a significant place in Bruckner's musical development.[5]

Discography

There are two recordings of Vor Arneths Grab:

There is no commercial recording of the full setting of Am Grabe.

References

  1. ↑ C. Howie, Chapter II, p. 10
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 C. van Zwol, p. 722
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Gesamtausgabe – Weltliche Chöre
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 C. van Zwol, p. 723
  5. ↑ K.W. Kinder, pp. 23-25

Sources

External links