The cantata Entsagen (Renunciation), WAB 14, is a cantata composed by Anton Bruckner in c. 1851.
History
Bruckner composed the cantata for the name-day of Michael Arneth, the prior of the St. Florian Abbey. The piece was intended to be performed on Arneth's name-day. It is not known when it was performed.[1]
Why Bruckner has chosen this unsound text for the name-day of his Maecenas remains unexplained. Perhaps he has put so into music his resignation following his father's death or Aloisia Bogner's refusal of his proposal of marriage.[2][3]
The manuscript is stored in the archive of the St. Florian Abbey. A facsimile of the cantata was first issued in band II/2, pp. 47–58 of the Göllerich/Auer biography. The cantata was thereafter issued by Ludwig Daxsperger in 1956.[1] It is put in Band XXII/1 No. 2 of the Gesamtausgabe.[4]
Text
The work is based on the poem Amaranth by Oskar von Redwitz.
Setting
The 126-bar long work in B♭ major is scored for SATB choir or quartet, soprano or tenor soloist, and organ (or piano).[1]
The cantata is a ‘spiritual song’ in three sections,[6] in ABA′ form:[3]
- Choir: O Maria! Du Jungfrau mild und hehr!, bittend und mit Andacht
- Aria: O Maria! Du Quell der heil'gen Lieb'!, langsam, betend - soprano or tenor soloist
- Choir: O Maria! Du starker Himmelsschild!, bittend und mit Andacht
The outer sections are in the form of Protestant chorale,[6] with in bars 16–19 (Die treu'ste Mutter groß!) and 110–113 (In heimlicher Gefahr!) a direct quotation from "O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden".[3]
The expressive middle section, a solo for soprano or tenor in F major, is with large intervals and strong modulation. The contrapuntal accompaniment by the organ (or piano) has some reminiscences of the baroque opera.[3]
References
- ^ a b c C. van Zwol, pp. 711-712
- ^ The 16-year old Aloisia Bogner, alias Louise or Luise Bogner, was the older daughter of Michaël Bogner, by whom Bruckner had a living accommodation. Bruckner composed for her the lieder Der Mondabend and Frühlingslied, and the piano works Four Lancier-Quadrille, WAB 120, and Steiermärker, WAB 122.
- ^ a b c d U. Harten, p. 145
- ^ Gesamtausgabe – Kantaten und Chorwerke mit Orchester
- ^ Oskar von Redwitz, Amaranth (29. Auflage), Franz Kirchheim, Mainz, 1874, pp. 112-113
- ^ a b C. Howie, Chapter II, pp. 22
Sources
- August Göllerich, Anton Bruckner. Ein Lebens- und Schaffens-Bild, c. 1922 – posthumous edited by Max Auer by G. Bosse, Regensburg, 1932
- Uwe Harten, Anton Bruckner. Ein Handbuch. Residenz Verlag [de], Salzburg, 1996. ISBN 3-7017-1030-9
- Anton Bruckner – Sämtliche Werke, Band XXII/1: Kantaten und Chorwerke I (1845–1855), Musikwissenschaftlicher Verlag der Internationalen Bruckner-Gesellschaft, Franz Burkhart, Rudolf H. Führer and Leopold Nowak (Editor), Vienna, 1987 (Available on IMSLP: Neue Gesamtausgabe, XXII/1. Kantaten und Chorwerke Teil 1: Nr. 1-5)
- 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
- Entsagen, WAB 14: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- Free scores for Entsagen, WAB 14 in the Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki)
- Entsagen B-Dur, WAB 14 Critical discography by Hans Roelofs (in German)
- A life recording by the Coro "De Musica Antiqua" de Salamanca with Maria Espada (soprano) can be heard on Youtube: Bruckner - Entsagen
