Ave Regina caelorum (Hail, Queen of Heaven), WAB 8, is a motet composed by Anton Bruckner in c. 1886 .
| Ave Regina caelorum | |
|---|---|
| Motet by Anton Bruckner | |
 Madonna by Jan van Eyck | |
| Key | Gregorian mode |
| Catalogue | WAB 8 |
| Form | Marian Antiphon |
| Text | Ave Regina caelorum |
| Language | Latin |
| Composed | c. 1886: Vienna |
| Published | 1910: Klosterneuburg |
| Vocal | Voice(s) |
| Instrumental | Organ |
History
editThe motet was composed in c. 1886 on request of Ferdinand Schölzig, Master of novices at the Klosterneuburg Abbey. The Marian antiphon was performed first on 25 March 1886 (Feast of the Annunciation).
Bruckner's manuscript is stored in the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek. The motet was first published in 1910 in the third yearbook of the Klosterneuburg Abbey. It has been re-edited by Wöss in 1921 together with the Zur Vermählungsfeier, WAB 54.[1] It is put in Band XXI/36 of the Gesamtausgabe.[2]
Music
editThe Bruckner's compostition is a not a mere harmonisation of a Gregorian antiphon, but rather a choral paraphrase of the Ave Regina caelorum for voice(s) and organ[3] or, according to Leopold Nowak, an original composition by Bruckner in Gregorian style.[4]
Discography
editNone of the about ten recordings faithfully follows Bruckner's original score. According to Hans Roelofs, only two of the recordings follow it more or less:[5]
- Robert Shewan, Roberts Wesleyan College Chorale, Choral Works of Anton Bruckner – CD: Albany TROY 063, 1991
- Franz Farnberger, St. Florianer Sängerknaben, Anton Bruckner in St. Florian – Requiem & Motetten CD: Studio SM D2639 SM 44, 1997
References
edit- ^ C. van Zwol, p. 709
- ^ Gesamtausgabe – Kleine Kirchenmusikwerke
- ^ Elisabeth Maier in: U. Harten, p. 77
- ^ Preface to Anton Bruckner – Sämtliche Werke, Band XXI: Kleine Kirchenmusikwerke
- ^ Discography
Sources
edit- 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
- Uwe Harten, Anton Bruckner. Ein Handbuch. Residenz Verlag, Salzburg, 1996. ISBN 3-7017-1030-9.
External links
edit- Ave regina caelorum, WAB 8: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- Ave Regina WAB 8 Critical discography by Hans Roelofs (in German)
- A live performance of the Ave Regina caelorum by Ricardo Luna with the Wiener Madrigalchor can be heard at 53:10 of the Benefizkonzert für den Wiener Stephansdom, 6 October 2007 – performance according to the Bruckner's original score