Selected Male Part-Songs of Anton Bruckner by Justin Ryan Nelson

Home , D minor, Germanenzug, Helgoland (Bruckner), Locus iste (Bruckner), Ludwig Speidel, Os justi (Bruckner)

Songs in the Night: Selected Male Part-songs of Anton Bruckner

Justin Ryan Nelson, B.M., M.M.

A Dissertation

Choral Conducting

Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of

Doctor of Musical Arts

Approved

John S. Hollins Chair of Committee

Alan Zabriskie

Angela Mariani Smith

Mark Sheridan Dean of the Graduate School

May 2019

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

To begin, I would like to thank my doctoral dissertation committee: Dr. John

Hollins, Dr. Alan Zabriskie, and Dr. Angela Mariani Smith, for their guidance and support in this project. Each has had a valuable impact upon my life, and for that, I am most grateful. I would also like to thank Professor Richard Bjella for his mentorship and for his uncanny ability to see potential in students who cannot often see it in themselves. In addition, I would like to acknowledge Dr. Alec Cattell, Assistant

Professor of Practice, Humanities and Applied Linguistics at Texas Tech University, for his word-for-word translations of the German texts.

I also wish to acknowledge the following instructors who have inspired me along my academic journey: Dr. Korre Foster, Dr. Carolyn Cruse, Dr. Eric Thorson,

Mr. Harry Fritts, Ms. Jean Moore, Dr. Sue Swilley, Dr. Thomas Milligan, Dr. Sharon

Mabry, Dr. Thomas Teague, Dr. Jeffrey Wood, and Dr. Ann Silverberg. Each instructor made an investment of time, energy, and expertise in my life and musical growth.

Finally, I wish to acknowledge and thank my family and friends, especially my father and step-mother, George and Brenda Nelson, for their constant support during my graduate studies. This project is dedicated to the memory of my mother, Karen

Lynn Nelson.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

ABSTRACT v

LIST OF TABLES vi

LIST OF FIGURES vii

CHAPTER ONE: PURPOSES AND PROCEDURES 1

Introduction 1 Thesis 2 Justification 2 Methodology 2 Delimitations 3 Review of Literature 4

CHAPTER TWO: BRUCKNER BIOGRPAHY 6

CHAPTER THREE: BRUCKNER AND THE LIEDERTAFEL TRADITION 21

CHAPTER FOUR: “MITTERNACHT” (WAB 80) 26

Poem and Poet 26 Formal Analysis 28 Harmonic Analysis 29 Linear Analysis 32 Conclusion 33

CHAPTER FIVE: “TRÄUMEN UND WACHEN” (WAB 87) 35

Poem and Poet 35 Formal Analysis 37 Harmonic Analysis 38 Linear Analysis 41 Conclusion 43

CHAPTER SIX: “UM MITTERNACHT” (WAB 89 AND 90) 45

Poem and Poet 45

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WAB 89

Formal Analysis 47 Harmonic Analysis 48 Linear Analysis 51

WAB 90

Formal Analysis 54 Harmonic Analysis 56 Linear Analysis 58 Conclusion 61

CHAPTER SEVEN: PUBLCATIONS, PERFORMANCE 63 RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS

BIBLIOGRAPHY 67

APPENDIX A: LISTING OF BRUCKNER MALE PART-SONGS LISTED 70 BY WAB NUMBER

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ABSTRACT

The Austrian composer Anton Bruckner (1824-1896) has long been admired for his sacred choral music and expansive symphonies. Bruckner’s sacred pieces, such as the motets “Locus iste” and “Os justi,” have often been performed and become part of the choral canon in the United States. However, his secular choral music written for male choirs, numbering more than thirty pieces, is often overlooked and has been largely forgotten.

This document serves to introduce and re-introduce conductors, scholars, and choristers to Bruckner’s secular male choral music by providing information about his early life, musical training, and his involvement in the Germanic Liedertafel tradition.

At the core of this study is musical and poetic analysis for four of Bruckner’s secular songs for men’s choir written between 1864 and 1890 that are tied together through a common theme—the night. These songs display the composer’s uncanny ability to interpret poetic text as musical sound and offer glimpses into his improvisational ability. This document also offers information regarding the impact of musicians such as Simon Sechter and Richard Wagner on Bruckner’s life and compositions, and how his association with male choirs facilitated his meeting of these renowned musicians.

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LIST OF TABLES

4.1 “Mitternacht,” Tonal Centers 28

5.1 “Träumen und Wachen,” Tonal Centers 38

6.1 “Um Mitternacht” (WAB 89), Formal Analysis and 47 Key Centers

6.2 “Um Mitternacht” (WAB 90), Formal Analysis and 55 Key Centers

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LIST OF FIGURES

4.1 “Mitternacht,” Formal Structure 29

4.2 “Mitternacht,” mm. 64-74, Harmonic Reduction 31

4.3 “Mitternacht,” Rhythmic Figure 32

4.4 “Mitternacht,” Augmented Rhythmic Figure 32

5.1 “Träumen und Wachen,” Formal Structure 37

5.2 “Träumen und Wachen,” mm. 15-25, Harmonic Reduction 39

5.3 Bruckner Symphony No. 4, Mvmt. I, mm. 65-68, “Bruckner Rhythm” 41

5.4 “Träumen und Wachen,” mm. 7-8, “Bruckner Rhythm” 42

5.5 “Träumen und Wachen,” mm. 48-50, “ Bruckner Rhythm” 42

5.6 “Träumen und Wachen,” mm. 1-4, Non-Chord Tones 43

5.7 “Traumen und Wachen,” mm. 44-50, Bass Line 43

6.1 “Um Mitternacht” (WAB 89), mm. 7-12, Harmonic Reduction 50

6.2 “Um Mitternacht” (WAB 89), mm. 41-46, Harmonic Reduction 50

6.3 “Um Mitternacht” (WAB 89), mm. 1-7, Non-chord tones 52

6.4 “Um Mitternacht,” (WAB 90), mm. 11-16, Melodic and 57 Harmonic Shifts

6.5 “Um Mitternacht,” (WAB 90), mm. 11-16, Key Relationships 57

6.6 “Um Mitternacht,” (WAB 90), mm. 50-57, Melodic Sequence 59

6.7 “Um Mitternacht,” (WAB 90), mm. 11-14, Linear Analysis 59

6.8 “Um Mitternacht,” (WAB 90), mm. 77-85, Tenor I, Motive 60

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CHAPTER ONE

PURPOSES AND PROCEDURES

Introduction

The Austrian composer Anton Bruckner (1824-1896) has long been admired for his sacred choral music and expansive symphonies. Bruckner’s sacred pieces, such as the motets “Locus iste” and “Os justi,” and his large-pieces such as the Mass in E minor and Te Deum, have often been performed and become part of the choral canon in the United States. However, his secular choral music written for male choirs is often overlooked and have been overshadowed by his other compositional output.

During his compositional career, Bruckner wrote more than thirty short pieces for men’s choir. These pieces range from short unaccompanied mottos for Germanic male choral societies, or Liedertafel, to through-composed settings of German texts.

Characterized by creative use of harmony and shifts between tonal centers, some of his works for men’s choir are rather challenging. Despite these difficulties, these pieces display Bruckner’s ability to paint text with musical sound, and these pieces deserve to be thought of as some of the finest examples of music written for the

Liedertafel tradition.

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Thesis

This document serves as an introduction to Anton Bruckner’s male part-songs by examining the musical traits of four works that are tied together by the theme of night. The musical examples are presented in the order of their WAB catalogue number and include analysis of form, harmony, and linear aspects.1 Each musical example is also used to illustrate how the composer manipulates form, harmony, and linear aspects to interpret a poetic text. Details about Bruckner’s life, musical education, and involvement with the Liedertafel tradition are also included in this document.

Justification

Prior to this study, there has been no comprehensive research completed dealing with Bruckner’s male chorus Liedertafel repertoire. This study and the analyses included are important because they offer insights into Bruckner’s compositional genius when setting non-sacred texts. His secular compositions for men’s chorus are often overlooked and therefore also underappreciated. These pieces are rich and appropriate literature for both amateur and professional men’s ensembles, and offer an alternative to the more traditionally programmed Romantic composers such as Schubert, Mendelssohn, and Brahms.

1 WAB numbers are from the thematic catalogue compiled by Renate Grasberger entitled Werkverzeichnis Anton Bruckner. 2

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Methodology

This research and resulting document combines details from Bruckner’s biography, his involvement in the Germanic Liedertafel tradition, and detailed musical and poetic analysis of four of Bruckner’s male chorus compositions. Chapter Two is a biography of the composer that focuses on his early life, musical education and development, and skills as an improviser at the organ. Chapter Three discusses

Bruckner’s intersection with the Liedertafel tradition, including his roles as singer, conductor, and composer. Chapters Four through Six are analyses of four Bruckner compositions. Each of the compositions will be listed by title and WAB number. The final chapter offers performance suggestions, score locations, and listings of recordings.

Delimitations

Chapter Two focuses on biographical information regarding Bruckner’s improvisatory skills at the organ as well as his musical education, and does not focus on his sacred or symphonic output. Chapter Three, describing Anton Bruckner’s activity within the Liedertafel tradition, does not consider the typical repertoire performed most Liedertafel groups.

Chapters Four through Seven contain song analysis of four of Bruckner’s works. These analyses strive to illuminate Bruckner’s use of musical elements as pertains to his poetic interpretation. Each chapter offers brief introductory remarks about the poet and origin of the composition. These chapters do not deal with his

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large-scale works for men such as Helgoland. Further research would be necessary to explore each poet and to completely explicate the origin of each composition. Further research and time would also be needed to provide a measure-by-measure musical examination of each work. When selecting scores for this project, the following guidelines for selection were observed: 1) Adherence to the night theme, 2)

Representation of a variety of difficulty levels, and 3) Representation of both accompanied and unaccompanied works.

Review of Literature

Two articles have proven helpful in the development of this project. Published in 1980, “Anton Bruckner and the Liedertafel Movement,” by Theodore Albrecht, focuses on the historical development of men’s choruses in Austria and Germany as well as the role of the Liedertafel in Bruckner’s musical development.2 Published in

1996, Andrea Harrandt’s “Bruckner and the Liedertafel Tradition: His Secular Music for Male Voices,” discusses Bruckner’s men’s chorus output, typical Liedertafel repertoire, information about Bruckner as a choral conductor, and provides a detailed catalogue of Bruckner’s secular works.3

Many other books offer much historical detail. There is, however, very little detail regarding particular songs. Many of these books are listed in the bibliography.

2 Timothy Albrecht, “Anton Bruckner and the Liedertafel Movement,” American Choral Review 22, no. 1 (1980), 10-19 3 Andrea Harrandt, “Bruckner and the Liedertafel Tradition: His Secular Music for Male Voices,” The Choral Journal 37, no. 5 (December 1996), 15-21. 4

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The most helpful writing regarding Bruckner’s secular male part-songs is included in

The Cambridge Companion to Bruckner. In this collection of essays by different authors, A. Crawford Howie offers a chapter entitled “Bruckner and secular vocal music.” In this chapter, Howie describes the male chorus movement in Germany as well as many of Bruckner’s small-scale choral works for men.

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CHAPTER TWO

BRUCKNER BIOGRPAHY

Joseph Anton Bruckner was born in Ansfelden, near Linz, Austria, on

September 4, 1824, into a family of modest means. His father, also named Anton, was a schoolteacher, and like Schubert, Bruckner would follow his father’s footsteps by himself becoming a teacher. His mother, Theresia, was reputed to be a talented singer.4 Serving as organist was an additional duty for schoolteachers. According to

Derek Watson, Bruckner enjoyed being next to his father on the organ bench, and at ten years of age, Anton played the organ for services and official functions when his father was absent.5

In 1835, Anton was sent to live with Johan Baptist Weiss, his cousin and godfather, leaving two younger sisters and one younger brother at home. Weiss, a schoolmaster and organist at Hörsching, instructed Bruckner in organ and music theory. In December 1836, Anton moved back home because his father became ill with consumption. Following his father’s death in June of the next year, Anton’s mother took him to the nearby St. Florian monastery where he served as a chorister until his voice broke at the age of fifteen. While at St. Florian, Bruckner served as a deputy organist and was exposed to great church music, including the Masses of

4 Stephen Johnson, Bruckner Remembered (London: Faber and Faber Limited, 1998), 3. 5 Derek Watson, Bruckner: The Master Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie, 2nd ed. (New York: Schirmer Books, 1996), 2. 6

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Michael and Franz Joseph Haydn. St. Florian and the Linz Music Association also held secular concerts featuring the music of Rossini, Beethoven, and Mendelssohn.6

After leaving St. Florian, Bruckner returned to Linz to prepare to become a teacher. The courses he took there included musical training. During this time he continued his musical studies with Johann August Dürrnberger. Dürrnberger was the author of a music theory text that Bruckner later used in his own teaching at the

Vienna Conservatory.7 During Bruckner’s studies Dürrnberger exposed him to the works of Bach and the fugues of Albrechtsberger.8 In 1841, Bruckner completed his studies and was appointed an assistant teacher in the small village of Windhagg.

Unfortunately, Bruckner found his supervisor to be a difficult person with whom to work, and as a result Bruckner was transferred to Kronstorf in early 1843. At

Kronstorf Bruckner sang in an all-male choir and composed his first piece for men’s chorus, Am dem Feste (WAB 59). He dedicated this work to his predecessor at

Kronstorf, Hans Schläger, who would go on to become the conductor of the Vienna

Male Choral Society.9 In September 1845, Bruckner returned to St. Florian as an assistant schoolteacher and deputy organist.

Bruckner never settled into his teaching positions. He seemed to be dissatisfied with each position and attempted to find other vocational paths. During the revolution in 1848, Bruckner enlisted in the National Guard and took part in military exercises.

6 Watson, 4-5. 7 Ibid., 4. 8 Johann Albrechtsberger was a renowned Austrian composer, organist and music theorist. He was also one of the teachers of Beethoven. 9 Albrecht, 11. 7

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However when the organist at St. Florian was transferred, Bruckner was forced to become the provisional organist. Bruckner also unsuccessfully attempted to become a clerk in the civil service and was often chastised by his colleagues for spending too much time working in music and not in preparing lessons.10

In 1855, Robert Führer, an influential organist from Prague, visited Bruckner, heard him improvise at the organ, and viewed his Missa Solemnis. Führer urged

Bruckner to study harmony and counterpoint with Simon Sechter and provided him with a letter of testimony as to his skills. Sechter, the court organist and professor of composition in Vienna who was, according to Andrea Harrandt, “the most celebrated theorist of his time,” accepted Bruckner as a pupil.11 According to Watson, “Bruckner thoroughly mastered Sechter’s rigorous system…and it is possible that this found a practical outlet in the harmonic clarity, advanced modulations, and striking tonal contrasts of his mature works.”12 The importance of Bruckner’s time with the strict taskmaster Sechter must not be underappreciated, for it had a lasting impact on

Bruckner the composer. During this time with Sechter, Bruckner composed almost no original compositions. Watson states:

In any sphere it is not uncommon for something to work itself to an extreme pitch, fall away exhausted, and give way to something new and fresh. It is the pattern of many steps in musical history and it suggests that Bruckner’s years with Simon Sechter formed an important bridge to the awakening in his art—a bridge that no other composer had crossed in quite the same way.13

10 Watson, 8-10. 11 Andrea Harrandt, “Musical life in Upper Austria in the mid-nineteenth century,” in The Cambridge Companion to Bruckner, ed. and trans. John Williamson (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2004), 19. 12 Watson, 11-12. 13 Ibid., 12. 8

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Robert Simpson adds, “Sechter unknowingly brought about Bruckner's originality by insisting that it be suppressed until it could no longer be contained.”14 Bruckner studied with Sechter until 1861.

In November, 1885, the position of Cathedral Organist came open in Linz. On the day of the auditions, Bruckner was at St. Florian, and the organ tuner convinced

Bruckner to travel to Linz in order to be considered for the position. When he arrived at Linz, Bruckner had not decided yet if he would audition, but Dürrnberger convinced him to audition. Watson comments, “Bruckner then sat at the organ and improvised with such skill and contrapuntal mastery that the result of the competition was obvious.”15 The Prior gave Bruckner his blessing to accept the position at Linz.

In Linz, Bruckner was now thirty-two years old and finally working as a professional musician, not as a schoolteacher. He became a member of Liedertafel

Frohsinn and continued to work up to seven hours a day on Sechter’s exercises that he submitted via correspondence. Twice a year during Lent and Advent,16 he traveled to

Vienna to work with Sechter. Bruckner was an almost obsessive student. Sechter once wrote to him:

I really must implore you to take more care of yourself and to allow yourself sufficient relaxation. I can assure you that I am fully convinced of your thoroughness and eagerness and I do not want your health to suffer under too great a mental strain. I feel I have to tell you that I have never had a more dedicated pupil.17

14 Robert Simpson, The Essence of Bruckner; an Essay toward the Understanding of His Music (New York: Chilton, 1967), 15. 15 Watson, 13. 16 During the liturgical seasons of Lent and Advent, the organ would not be used in services. 17 Simon Sechter, Letter of Jan. 1860, quoted in Watson, 14. 9

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Bruckner brought this same zeal to his membership in Liedertafel Frohsinn, and his fellow members elected him as assistant librarian in 1856. Bruckner left the organization in the fall of 1858 due to conflicts with his work and studies. He rejoined the group early in the next year. In November 1860 he was appointed to the post of

Chormeister of Frohsinn. According to Theodore Albrecht, “He put a great deal of energy into his new position. In rehearsals he was very exacting. Rehearsing each part individually, Bruckner placed much importance on enunciation, correct breathing, and, above all, on the achievement of a delicate pianissimo.”18 At one rehearsal Bruckner kept working on a short section of a piece by Schumann that he wanted performed at an even quieter piano dynamic. He kept saying, “It still sounds like a trumpet!” The members of the chorus decided that at the next rehearsal they would stop singing at that point in the music. According to Hans-Hubert Schönzeler, “Bruckner, hearing the music in his inner ear, went on conducting, smiling blissfully and saying: ‘Now it’s right!’”19 Frohsinn’s performances were met with praise from the press, with one writer stating, “In him we recognize a man who can lead [the Frohsinn] to fame and honor.”20 He raised the performance level of this group to the point that they could participate in major choral festivals such as the ones in Krems and Nürnberg.21

Bruckner conducted Frohsinn until September 1861, when he resigned as the response to a prank played on him by members of his chorus. While in Nürnberg at a

18 Albrecht, 12. 19 Hans-Hubert Schönzeler, Bruckner (New York: Grossman Publishers, 1970) 42. 20 Auer Max, Sein Leben und Werk (Leipzig, 1942) 110-112, quoted in Albrecht, 12. 21 Schönzeler, 41. 10

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choral festival, Bruckner had become enamored with a waitress at a local restaurant that Bruckner and his choristers would often patronize.22 One night the singers, perhaps encouraged by an excess of wine, placed Bruckner into an empty room and sent the young waitress to join him. Upon seeing the waitress in her seductive attire,

Bruckner stormed out of the room and immediately resigned from the Liedertafel.23

Bruckner was humiliated: “owing to the purity of his entire character and the firmness of his religious beliefs any connection with a member of the opposite sex outside marriage was out of the question with him.”24 Evidently Bruckner forgave the members of Frohsinn for their prank, for he composed two pieces for them during the next year. Then later in January 1868, Bruckner once again became the conductor of

Frohsinn. However, this was only to be a short appointment that ended when Bruckner moved to Vienna the following summer.

In October 1861 Bruckner applied to become a Teacher of Harmony and

Counterpoint at the Vienna Conservatory, and again on November 22, he appeared before an examination board to display his improvisational skills at the organ. The committee consisted of Joseph Hellmesberger, Johann Herbeck, Simon Sechter, Otto

Dessoff, and a school inspector named Becker. Each committee member was asked to contribute to an original theme:

First Herbeck asked Sechter to write down a theme. He wrote four bars, which Herbeck then passed to Dessoff requesting him to add to them. When Dessoff

22 Bruckner never succeeded in his attempts at romance. Throughout his life he would become infatuated with a woman, usually much younger than he, and she would not return the favor of his advances. 23 Schönzeler, 42. 24 Ibid., 40. 11

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refused, considering the theme to be quite long enough, Herbeck himself added a further four bars, at which Dessoff exclaimed: “How cruel!” The theme was given to Bruckner, who spent a few minutes meditating over it. This was interpreted as evidence of inability by the exanimating committee and led to some amusement, but then Bruckner began with an introduction based on fragments of the theme, led into a fugue which began with a statement of the entire theme in the bass and brought it to an immense climax, culminating on a pedal point. The effect on the exanimating committee was overwhelming and their reaction spontaneous, and Herbeck summed up the result in the famous words: “He should have examined us!”25

Perceiving a need to improve his knowledge of orchestration and musical form, Bruckner turned turned to Otto Kitzler, a cellist in the Linz municipal theater. In addition to books on analysis and orchestration, Kitzler used the music of Beethoven and Mendelssohn as his texts. Kitzler, who was to give the first performance of

Tannhäuser in Linz, introduced Bruckner to the music of Richard Wagner. According to Max Auer, “Tannhäuser freed Bruckner from the shackles of Sechter’s strict teaching and gave him the license to use those chromatic harmonies and enharmonic changes against which Sechter had fought with such acerbity.”26 Schönzeler is quick to point out that by the time Bruckner first encountered Wagner’s music, Bruckner

“the composer” was already established. This contact with Wagner “enriched something which was already essentially established. Wagner provided the stimulus which allowed ideas that were latent within Bruckner himself to pour forth.”27 Watson agrees and adds:

25 Schönzeler, 42-43. 26 Max Auer, quoted in Schönzeler, 43. 27 Schönzeler, 43.

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Undoubtedly the works of Wagner which he heard in the 1860’s had a tremendous effect upon him, opening up new concepts of harmony, orchestration and time-scale. Yet he was thirty-eight and his musical foundations were already securely laid: the baroque composers whom he had sung at St Florian, mastered at the organ, and studied with Sechter; the German Gothic tradition; and the early romantics---Schubert, Weber, and Mendelssohn. Furthermore he was no mean contrapuntist, as is shown by accounts of his improvisation and by a work such as the Missa Solemnis of 1854, and no stranger to the skills of subtle harmonic effects: many pieces containing ‘Wagnerian’ harmony date from years before he was spellbound by turning the pages of the score of Tannhäuser.28

Due to Wagner’s influence on his orchestral compositions, Bruckner is known as a

“Wagner of the Symphony.”29 Again, it must be understood that Bruckner, for all his admiration of Wagner, had little use for Wagner’s ideas about literature, art, or drama.

Schönzeler states:

It is interesting to note that Bruckner used a piano score without text [Author’s italics] to study Tristan, proof that his only interest was the actual music and that the dramatic content of the work was of no concern to him. This is also borne out by a later incident, when he went to hear Die Walküre. He is reported to have asked someone after the performance: ‘Tell me, why did they burn the woman at the end?’ Surely no one who so completely and utterly misses the dramatic point of Wagner’s Gesamtkunstwerk can ever be termed a ‘Wagnerian’ in the true sense of the word!30

Wagner and Bruckner continued their relationship until Wagner’s death in

1883. Bruckner was invited to take part in the funeral for Wagner’s wife, Cosima. For the occasion, Bruckner improvised on the organ using themes from Wagner’s opera

28 Watson, 16. 29 “Anton Bruckner,” The Musical Times and Singing Class Circular 37, no. 645 (November 1, 1896): 742, accessed July 7, 2018, http://www.jstor.org/stable/3367987. 30 Schönzeler, 46. 13

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Parsifal.31 Some authors describe this relationship as a friendship. However, Watson comments that this relationship was rather one-sided:

Since Bruckner’s real interest in the dramatic content of Wagner’s music dramas appears to have been slight and Wagner’s real interest in Bruckner’s symphonies was nil, this is a state of affairs sad to contemplate. That Wagner never helped Bruckner personally is explicable…He could, however, have encouraged other conductors in his circle to take up Bruckner’s works; or he could have used his influence with publishers to have Bruckner’s scores printed…He did none of these and thus appears to have been merely condescending to Bruckner… [he] may have found his extreme adoration and obsequiousness somewhat fulsome.32

Bruckner ended his studies with Kitzler in July 1863. Later that year the composer

Ignaz Dorn introduced Bruckner to the compositions of Berlioz and Liszt’s Faust

Symphony.

Between 1864 and 1868, Bruckner would write some of his most notable choral works: Mass in D minor (1864), Mass in E minor (1866), and the Mass in F minor (1868). Due to his training with Kitzler and his exposure to the music of

Wagner, Berlioz, and Liszt, Bruckner’s D minor mass reveals a more expressive

Bruckner. It seems that Bruckner was finally able to put his grandest musical ideas, often heard in his organ improvisations, on the staff. Robert Simpson comments:

The more we consider the supposed abrupt emergence of Bruckner as a creative genius, the clearer does it become that it was not a lack of ideas that caused the delay, but difficulty in recording them. (It would be wonderful to have tape recordings of Bruckner’s organ extemporizations; on the other hand, we should perhaps be thankful that such devices did not exist in his day, for he might never have bothered to write anything down).33

31 Watson, 39. 32 Ibid., 29. 33 Simpson, 16. 14

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Near the end of this highly creative period, Bruckner suffered from a nervous breakdown. For treatment he spent several months during 1867 at a sanatorium in Bad

Kreuzen.

Simon Sechter died in September 1867, and in the spring of 1868 Bruckner moved to Vienna in order to succeed him as professor of harmony and counterpoint at the Conservatory. Bruckner’s time in Vienna could be called his “Symphonic

Period”—for all of his nine symphonies were written there. In Vienna, he composed only two major sacred choral works, Te Deum (1884) and Psalm 150 (1892).

The musical elite in Vienna often treated Bruckner very poorly in regards to his symphonies. At the premier of his Third Symphony in 1887, with Bruckner conducting the Vienna Philharmonic, most in the audience left during the performance. Eduard Hanslick, an influential critic in Vienna who was usually negative when it came to Bruckner’s compositions, wrote the following:34

We do not enjoy upsetting the composer, whom we seriously respect as both a person and an artist, and who is certainly serious about art, however little he may have to do with it. [italics added] For this reason, instead of criticizing him we would rather make the modest confession that we did not understand his gigantic symphony. His poetic intentions were not clear to us – perhaps a vision of Beethoven’s Ninth befriends Wagner’s Walküre and ends by being trampled under her horses’ hoofs. Nor were we able to comprehend the purely musical coherence of the piece. The composer, who took on the conducting himself, was greeted with applause, and when the concert was over the small fraction of the audience that had stuck it out until the end clapped energetically in order to console him for the flight of the others.

34 Eduard Hanslick, “Concert Review,” Neue Freie Presse, December 18, 1877, quoted in Johnson, Bruckner Remembered, 112. 15

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It certainly did not help matters that the orchestra was rather uncooperative with

Bruckner or that Bruckner was not a skilled orchestral conductor. Theodore Rättig, the publisher of Bruckner’s Third Symphony, attended rehearsals and recorded the following:35

It was a pitiful and scandalous spectacle to see how the young players in the orchestra made fun of the old man’s incompetent conducting. He had no real idea how to conduct properly and had to limit himself to giving the tempo and the style of a marionette. For this reason the composition itself seemed all the more impressive to me, and it awoke in me the conviction that one of the most powerful musical geniuses of all time was about to tread the thorny path which is customary, one is tempted to say, prescribed for such great individuals. The performance completely confirmed my opinion.

Rättig was not alone in his appreciation of Bruckner’s symphony. He was greeted by a group of young people after the concert who expressed their approval of the work, including the seventeen-year-old Gustav Mahler.36 Despite the encouragement from this small group of admirers, Bruckner was deeply troubled by the disaster and composed nothing for a year. This also led to extensive revisions of his Third and

Fourth Symphonies as well as some alterations to his Fifth.37

Bruckner also enjoyed the support of critics Ludwig Speidel and Theodor

Helm, and Hugo Wolf once declared “one single cymbal crash by Bruckner is worth all the four symphonies of Brahms with the serenades thrown in.”38 Because of

Bruckner’s Austrian heritage, his music was later championed by the Third Reich and

35 Theodore Rättig, quoted in Johnson, 115. 36 Ibid., 112. 37 Watson, 33. 38 Hugo Wolf, quoted in Watson, 51. 16

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Adolf Hitler, who like Bruckner was educated at Linz. This may unfortunately contribute to Brucknerian and Wagnerian stigmas that endure to the present day.

Bruckner’s Seventh Symphony premiered in March of 1886 to an enthusiastic audience. Again, Hanslick and other critics lambasted Bruckner’s composition.

Hanslick said the work was “unnatural, bombastic, sickly and decadent.” “It comes from the Nibelungen and goes to the devil,” said Brahms’ biographer, Max Kalbeck.39

In Vienna there were two opposing camps, Bruckner’s and Brahms’, who felt that their chosen composer should be the heir to Beethoven as the great Germanic symphonist. Brahms and Bruckner did meet in Vienna at one point. They shared a meal together and chatted politely with each other. Despite this meeting, both men displayed their distaste for each other’s compositions. Brahms once referred to

Bruckner’s symphonies as “symphonic boa constrictors” and Bruckner once stated that he “preferred a Johann Strauss waltz to a Brahms symphony.40 Reconciliation between the two composers may have been slightly achieved in 1893, when Brahms, at a performance of the F minor Mass, was greeted by Bruckner who shared his appreciation for Brahms’ “warm applause.”41

In 1890 Bruckner was having health problems and his mental state was deteriorating. As a result he was relieved from his post as organ professor at the

Conservatory and wrote only one work, Traümen und Wachen [Dream and Awake],

39 Watson, 39. 40 Ibid., 40. 41 Ibid., 42. 17

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for men’s choir.42 However in the following year, Bruckner enjoyed a triumphant success with the performance of his Te Deum in Berlin. He also fell in love with a hotel chambermaid who wanted to marry him. Bruckner had never been successful in romantic relationships, and this relationship ended when he discovered that she would not convert to Catholicism.43 Later that year, while attending the Mozart festival at

Salzburg, he proposed to Minna Reischl, a young lady whose parents would not give their consent for the marriage.44

In November of that year, Bruckner was granted an honorary doctorate from the University of Vienna. At the ceremony he was almost unable to speak and ended his remarks with “I cannot find words to thank you as I wish, but if there was an organ here I could tell you.”45 In December 1892 Bruckner experienced another success. His

Eighth Symphony was performed and hailed by most as a triumph. However, Hanslick again panned Bruckner’s work, this time describing it is as “dream-disturbed, cat’s misery style.”46

By the time Bruckner was seventy, has was in failing health. He attended his last concert in January 1896. On this concert he heard Wagner’s Das Liebesmahl der

Apostel and his own Te Deum.47 At times he was so ill that he could not carry on intelligent conversations. When experiencing moments of clarity, he would work on finishing his Symphony No. 9. Brukner dedicated this work to God, and it was left

42 Ibid., 41. 43 Ibid. 44 Ibid. 45 Ibid.

47 The programming of Bruckner’s Te Deum on this concert was suggested by Brahms. 18

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unfinished at the time of his death in 1896. He passed away on Sunday, October 11 following a walk through the gardens around his home. Hugo Wolf, a close friend of

Bruckner’s, and Brahms, a once musical nemesis, were both unable to gain entry into the church for the funeral.48 Bruckner’s remains were laid to rest under the great organ in the Stiftskirche at St. Florian. Today the organ is known as the “Bruckner Organ.”

48 Watson, 44. 19

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CHAPTER THREE

BRUCKNER AND THE LIEDERTAFEL TRADITION

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, male choral societies made up of middle-class men began forming throughout Germany. These groups, often known as

Liedertafel [Song table], fulfilled members’ needs to socialize; served to foster the feeling of nationalism in Germany following the period of Napoleonic rule; and built unity between the German speaking countries in Europe.49 Franz Gehringer describes

Liedertafel groups as “a society of men who met together on fixed evenings for the practice of vocal music in four parts, drinking forming part of the entertainment.”50 In

Berlin in 1809, Karl Friderich Zelter formed the first men’s choir, the Singakademie.

At the same time, similar groups were formed in Switzerland and southern Germany.

In Austria however, Chancellor Klemens von Metternich would not allow the formation of singing societies, for he feared that they would lead to uprising and revolt.51 The Wiener Männergesangverein was the first Austrian choral society and was formed in 1843. Soon thereafter, the Liedertafel “Frohsinn” was organized in

Linz, Bruckner’s birthplace.

Bruckner’s association with men’s choir began during his short time in

Kronstorf. While a teacher there, Bruckner wrote “Am dem Feste” for men’s choir and

49 Albrecht, 10. 50 Franz Gehringer, quoted in Chester L. Alwes, A History of Western Choral Music, vol. 2 (New York: Oxford University Press, 2016), 39. 51 Metternich served as Chancellor of Austria from 1821 until the revolution in 1848. 20

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dedicated it to Hans Schläger.52 Bruckner continued his involvement with men’s choirs, as either performer, conductor, or composer, for the rest of his life.53 Theodore

Albrecht credits the Liedertafel movement as having a profound influence on

Bruckner’s life and music. He writes:

In connection with his Liedertafel activities, he met for the first time such influential men as Franz Liszt, Johann Herbeck, Eduard Hanslick, and Rudolf Wienwurm, the last-named serving as a link for the significant association between Bruckner and Simon Sechter. Indeed, one could well pose the question, “Without his Liedertafel connections, would Bruckner ever have studied with Sechter or moved to Vienna and taken up the studies that proved so important for his future?” His social life improved and his horizons broadened during his years with the Linz Frohsinn, and with them he made his first extensive travels, to Salzburg, Krems, Pest, and Nürnberg, which foreshadowed his later tours to France and England as well as preparing the provincial Bruckner for the cosmopolitan city life of Vienna, the capital of European music.54

In 1856, Bruckner joined Liedertafel “Frohsinn” when he returned to Linz.

Following rehearsals, he and other members would go to local watering holes to drink and socialize. In the fall of that year, Bruckner was elected to serve as the assistant librarian of Frohsinn, a very active and accomplished group. The ensemble often traveled throughout Germany and Austria to participate in numerous singing competitions. While on one such trip to Salzburg, Bruckner met Rudolf Weinwurm, the founder of the Academic Choral Society (Akademischer Gesangverein) in

September, 1856. Bruckner resigned from Frohsinn due to time constrictions, only to

52 Schläger would later become the conductor of the Vienna Male Choral Society. 53 Bruckner sang baritone in a quartet while living at St. Florian, and later, sang Tenor II in Frohsinn. 54 Albrecht, 19. 21

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rejoin early in the next year. In 1860, Frohsinn’s conductor, Anton Storch, moved to

Vienna, and Bruckner was elected as Chormeister on November 7, 1860.

As a choral conductor, Bruckner was exacting and meticulous in the preparation of the choir.55 The press praised the choir under Bruckner’s leadership. In

1861 at the first German-Austrian Sängerfest held at Krems, Bruckner led a performance of Anton Storch’s “Waldeinsamkeit” that garnered very positive reviews.

Albrecht states that, “One report placed their achievement even above that of the powerful Vienna Male Choral Society, under Johann Herbeck.”56 In addition to being a painstaking taskmaster, Bruckner enjoyed sharing his sense of humor with the group.

For comic effect, Bruckner appeared at the podium dressed as Napoleon Bonaparte III for a performance.57

Despite the praise Bruckner received for his meticulous preparation of the choir, he often experienced bouts of self-doubt. In July 1861, Bruckner and forty-eight singers from Frohsinn traveled to Nürnberg in order to perform at the Deutsches

Sängerfest. Bruckner and the choir were overcome with stage fright before taking the stage. Bruckner decided that the choir should not perform “Wachet Auf” by Küchen as originally planned, but instead, perform “Waldeisamkeit,” a piece that was less difficult and that had proven successful at previous competitions. However, the president of the choir would not allow the change. The performance was almost a disaster. During the performance the solo bass went sharp during the opening phrases,

55 According to Albrecht, the choir at one time had around eighty members. 56 Albrecht, 19. 57 Ibid. 22

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that drove the tenors to sing higher than their notated high C’s. Remarkably, the audience interrupted the group several times, and at the end, the audience erupted with a “stormy ovation.”58 Following the performance, Johann Herbeck, the conductor of the Vienna Male Choral Society and later a champion for Bruckner’s music, rushed up to congratulate the nervous conductor for the performance, saying, “I cannot prepare a better chorus than that.”59 Bruckner resigned as conductor of Frohsinn in 1861.60

In 1863 Bruckner submitted his secular, patriotic cantata, Germanenzug, scored for men’s chorus and four French horns, to a competition hosted by the Upper

Austrian Association of Choruses. Bruckner considered Germanenzug his first

“mature composition.”61 For Germanenzug he was awarded second prize and was given the opportunity to conduct six hundred singers and brass ensemble in a performance of his work at the Upper Austrian Sängerfest in Linz. The Viennese critic

Eduard Hanslick heard the performance and presented Bruckner with an autographed picture of himself. Unfortunately for Bruckner, this was one of the few positive interactions between Hanslick and Bruckner. Hanslick would become a source of great anxiety for the composer.62 As aforementioned, Bruckner’s association with men’s choral music also allowed him to meet composer and pianist Franz Liszt. While traveling with Frohsinn to the Hungarian Music Festival in Pest, Bruckner introduced

58 Albrecht,13. 59 Ibid. 60 See Nelson, page 10 for more information regarding Bruckner’s resignation. 61 Albrecht, 14. 62 Watson, 50. 23

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himself to Liszt after the premier of Liszt’s oratorio, Die Legende von der Heiligen

Elisabeth.

Bruckner once again became the conductor of the Liedertafel “Frohsinn” in

January, 1868. While planning for an upcoming anniversary concert, he approached

Richard Wagner for suggestions for suitable repertoire. Wagner suggested that

Bruckner combine Frohsinn with a local women’s chorus and orchestra to perform the final scene of his yet unproduced opera Die Meistersinger. This concert on April 4,

1868, including music from Die Meistersinger, Tannhäuser, and Bruckner’s

“Vaterlandslied,” was Bruckner’s “greatest success as a conductor of the Frohsinn,” and one of his last appearances with the ensemble.63 Bruckner moved to Vienna soon after the anniversary of Frohsinn and joined the Male Choral Society Währing. The following spring, he was made an honorary member of the Liedertafel Wels.

Bruckner composed Helgoland, an extended work for men’s chorus and orchestra, as the result of a commission by the Vienna Male Choral Society in 1893.

Albrecht describes Helgoland as “One of the most difficult and important works in the male chorus literature,” and goes on to say that it was “the only one of his secular vocal compositions that Bruckner considered artistically worthy of being included among the scores he willed to the National Library.”64 Helgoland premiered on

October 8, 1893, with the Vienna Male Choral Society and Vienna Philharmonic

Orchestra under the baton of Eduard Kremser.

63 Albrecht, 15. 64 Ibid., 18. 24

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Bruckner’s compositional output for men’s chorus includes twenty-four unaccompanied part-songs, ten accompanied part-songs, two part-songs for quartet, and the aforementioned Helgoland for men’s chorus and orchestra.65 His compositions for Liedertafel fall into the following categories: festive songs, nature songs, and fatherland songs. Composers such as Franz Schubert and Felix Mendelssohn also wrote men’s choral music on similar themes, and these pieces were standards in the

Liedertafel repertoire.66 Bruckner’s works, however, are strikingly different than those by other composers writing for men’s chorus.67 According to Chester Alwes,

“Bruckner’s use of vocal soli, idiomatic instrumental accompaniment, and poems of greater literary quality signal his progression beyond typical Liedertafel fare.”68

65 Alwes, 54. 66 Harrandt, “Bruckner and the Liedertafel Traditions,” 16-18. 67 Bruckner’s “Abendzauber” (WAB 57) is scored for three female yodelers, tenor or baritone soloist, men’s choir, and four horns. 68 Alwes, 54. 25

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CHAPTER FOUR

“MITTERNACHT” (WAB 80)

Anton Bruckner’s “Mitternacht” (WAB 80) for TTBB chorus, tenor solo, and piano, was composed in 1869 for Liedertafel “Frohsinn’s” anniversary celebration in

May 1870.69 Using a text by Joseph Mendelssohn, this song depicts the wonder, mystery, and beauty of midnight.

Poem and Poet

Die Blumen glüh’n im Mondenlicht The flowers glow in the moonlight Der märchenschönen Mitternacht, Of the fairytale-beautiful midnight Im Baume unten, blütendicht, In the tree below, bloom-dense, Der Sterne Glanz sich flimmernd bricht, The stars’ sheen shimmering breaks, Sie kosen mit der Blätterpracht They caress the leafy splendor Im süßen Zauber der Mitternacht. In the sweet enchantment of midnight.

Die Lüfte geh’n so weich, so hehr The breeze blows so softly, so sublime Wie ferner Dome Glockenklang; Like distant cathedrals’ pealing bells; Mir ist das Herz so andachtschwer, To me is the heart so prayer-heavy, Es rauscht um mich wie Gotteslehr’, It roars around me like theosophy, Wie Orgelton und Feiersang Like organ sound and festive song Im süßen Zauber der Mitternacht. In the sweet enchantment of midnight.70

The text to “Mitternacht” was written by Joseph Mendelssohn (1770-1848), a member of the Moses Mendelssohn family; a family that also includes celebrated musicians Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn.71 Mendelssohn’s words describe an idyllic

69 A. Crawford Howie, “Bruckner and secular vocal music,” in The Cambridge Companion to Bruckner, ed. John Williamson (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2004), 70. 70 All word-for-word translations in this document are by Dr. Alec Cattell, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Practice, Humanities, and Applied Linguistics at Texas Tech University. 71 Shmuel Feiner. Moses Mendelssohn: Sage of Modernity (Yale University Press, 2011), 71, ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ttu/detail.action?docID=3420904. 26

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scene in nature, and are set in iambic tetrameter excepting the final line of each stanza.72 Moonlight casts a glow on all surfaces, glimmering stars can be seen through the thick canopy of the trees, and cathedral bells can be heard in the distance. The references to cathedral bells, organs, and “Gotteslehr” [God’s teachings] adds an element of religious wonder or devotion. Each stanza ends with the phrase “Im süßen

Zauber der Mitternacht” [In the sweet enchantment of midnight]. There is a shift in tone in the poem that occurs in stanza 2, line 3. The shift is from a description of the external scene to a description of the narrator’s mental and emotional state.

Bruckner, unlike many artists of his time, was not a connoisseur of great literature. According to Alphons Silbermann, in a collection of lectures delivered at the N. S. W. Conservatory of Music in Sydney, “He [Bruckner] was not particularly well-read, nor was he influenced by the literary movements of the day.”73 Werner

Wolff, who as a boy met Bruckner when the composer visited his family’s home, states:

They [Bruckner’s choices of texts] are not equal to the music. . . His lack of interest in all matters of general culture except music left his since of discrimination undeveloped. So he selected texts which not only were inferior to his own level but did not kindle his imagination to the same extent as did religious subjects.74

Despite Wolf’s conclusion that secular texts did not excite Bruckner, in “Mitternacht”

Bruckner displays an uncanny ability to interpret poetic text as musical sound by

72 The final line of each stanza is in an irregular pattern: “Im SÜßen ZAUber der MITterNACHT.” 73 Alphons Silbermann,…of musical things (Sydney: Grahame Book Company, 1952), 65. 74 Werner Wolff, Anton Bruckner: Rustic Genius (New York: E. P. Dutton and Company, Inc, 1942), 255. 27

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manipulating the formal structure, avoiding the confirmation of the tonic, using deceptive cadences, using plagal cadences to link this time of night to a time of sacredness, and by using unison singing that expands into four-part harmonies as the text warrants.

Formal Structure

A Stanza 1 mm. 1-46 Stanza 2 Lines 1 and 2 B Stanza 2 mm. 47-End Lines 3-6

Figure 4.1 “Mitternacht,” Formal Structure

Bruckner’s composition deviates from the form of the two stanzas of

Mendelssohn’s poem. At m. 47, Bruckner breaks the musical form by a change of texture in the accompaniment and the addition of a tenor soloist. This break in form is mirrored in the text, with stanza one and the first two lines of stanza two describing the scene, and then in the third line, the text shifts to describing the narrator’s emotional and mental state:

Mir ist das Herz so andachtschwer To me is the heart so prayer heavy, Es rauscht um mich wie Gotteslehr’, It roars around me like theosophy, Wie Orgelton und Feiersang Like organ sound and festive song Im süßen Zauber der Mitternacht. In the sweet enchantment of midnight.

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Harmonic Analysis

At first glance, Brucker’s setting of this text appears to be extremely complicated and without form. While highly chromatic, this work centers around the following tonal centers (See Table 4.1).

Table 4.1 “Mitternacht,” Tonal Centers A m. 1 A-flat Major I m. 14 G-flat Major

♭VII

m. 24 G Major

VII

m. 39 A-flat Major

B m. 47 A-flat Major

m. 55 G-flat Major

♭VII

m. 74 A-flat Major

These tonal centers create a form wherein both A and B are similar in tonal progression. Bruckner’s use of tonality, and at times obfuscation of the tonality, adds much to the atmosphere of wonder and uncertainty described in the poem.

Set in the key of A-flat major, Bruckner evades confirming this tonality through the use of a typical V-I cadence. In mm. 1-13, which is primarily centered around E-flat, there is never a confirming cadence in the key of A-flat major. Instead

Bruckner, uses the dominant (E-flat) in such a way that E-flat could be heard as the

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tonic. Another way Bruckner obfuscates tonality is by frequently modulating to other tonal areas. Mm. 1-14 modulates from A-flat major to G-flat major, mm. 15-24 modulate from G-flat major to A major, and mm. 33-46 modulate from G major back to the tonic of A-flat major.

Bruckner often employs chord progressions based upon common-tone shifts that result in a chromatic mediant relationship between chords. One example of this is contained in mm. 17 to 22. Each bar contains one chord and results in the following sequence: e♭m7 –C7–A6–F4/3–D6/4–G. This harmonic sequence is used to set the text,

“Im Baume unten, blütendicht, / Der Sterne Glanz sich flimmernd bricht, / Sie kosen mit der Blätterpracht” [In the tree below, bloom-dense, / The stars’ sheen shimmering breaks, / They caress the leafy splendor]. As the progression occurs, the brightening of the keys progressing from G-flat major to G major musically depicts the visual imagery of “shimmering stars caressing the leaves of the trees.”

Chromatic mediant cadences are also used to highlight specific words in

“Mitternacht.” In mm. 9 and 10, and again in mm. 59 and 60, a chromatic mediant is employed to highlight the words “Monderlicht” [moonlight] and “Feiersang” [festive song]. In both instances, the progression is E-flat major to C major and creates a non- conclusive cadence.

Bruckner also uses deceptive cadences to increase the dramatic impact of the text and to create uncertainty of tonality. The climax of “Mitternacht” is at mm. 70-74.

Beginning at m. 66, the harmonic movement ending at m. 70 on a F7 suggests a cadence ending on a B-flat minor chord. Bruckner, however, stretches this cadence

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and ends it on A-flat (See Figure 4.2). He adds to this dramatic moment by having voices sing unaccompanied at very soft dynamics, adding to the aural image of the

Figure 4.2 “Mitternacht,” mm. 64-74, Harmonic Reduction

beauty of this scene: “Im süßen Zauber der Mitternacht” [In the sweet enchantment of midnight]. The final ten measures of “Mitternacht” are harmonized with an A-flat major harmony and serves as a cadential extension that verifies the A-flat tonality of the piece and adds to the quality of stillness and introspective nature of the work.

Bruckner, a very devout Catholic, also uses harmony relate the sacred nature the night. To set the words “Dome Glockenklang” [cathedral’s pealing bells], in mm.

45 and 46, he employs the use of a plagal cadence. Due to the association of the plagal cadence with sacred music, Bruckner’s use of a plagal cadence in mm. 45 and 46 alludes to the sacred nature of night.

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Linear Analysis

In “Mitternacht” Bruckner has created a through-composed work that rarely reuses melodic material. To provide continuity, Bruckner utilizes a rhythmic motive at the ends of certain phrases (See Figure 4.3). This rhythmic figure is sometimes seen in

Figure 4.3 “Mitternacht,” Rhythmic Figure

augmentation, as in mm. 79 and 80 (See Figure 4.4). Another motive used to add continuity is the dotted-quarter note followed by an eighth note.

Figure 4.4 “Mitternacht,” Augmented Rhythmic Figure

Melodically, Bruckner rarely repeats material, allowing the harmonic content of “Mitternacht” to take precedence. This lack of repeated musical material allows

Bruckner to focus on harmonic movement in order to create the mystical aural landscape for Mendelssohn’s text.

Bruckner’s use of unison or singing at the octave in “Mitternacht” create some of its most beautiful movements. Bruckner sets the first two phrases of the song in

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unison “Die Blumen glüh’n im Mondenlicht / Der märchenschönen Mitternacht” [The flowers glow in the moonlight / Of the fairytale-beautiful midnight]. However, when repeating these lyrics Bruckner, begins the phrase in the tonic key of A-flat major, and ends the phrase in the new tonality of G-flat major. This second reiteration of the text begins unison, but blooms into four-part harmony on “Der märchenschönen

Mitternacht” [Of the fairytale-beautiful midnight]. It is as if, in the move to the key of

G-flat major, Bruckner has created a “fairytale” world and allowed us to enter into this new reality with the narrator as we continue our journey through the forest with only the moonlight illuminate our path.

The A section of “Mitternacht” contains an accompaniment that is characterized by repeated eighth notes that call to mind the gentle twinkling of the stars. This accompaniment figure serves as a pedal point. However, in the B section, beginning at measure 47, Bruckner employs a running sixteenth-note accompaniment that occurs in octaves within and above the treble staff. This accompaniment weaves in and around the harmonic background provided by the choir and is reminiscent of the bells from the distant cathedral. At measure 74, which has been previously described as a cadential extension or codetta, Bruckner combines both accompaniment motives from the A and B sections.

Conclusion

In this piece for men’s choir and tenor soloist, Bruckner has taken

Mendelssohn’s text, and through the use of an advanced harmonic language, deceptive

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cadences, and shifting tonalities, illuminated the beauty and mystery of the text. With an accompaniment that supports the vocal lines, this piece would be suitable for most collegiate men’s choirs. Bruckner has created through musical sounds a world that is beautiful, and much like midnight, somewhat uncertain and almost sacred.

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CHAPTER FIVE

“TRÄUMEN UND WACHEN” (WAB 87)

“Träumen und Wachen” [Dreaming and being awake] is scored for TTBB choir and tenor soloist and was composed in 1890 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Austrian author Franz Grillparzer’s (1791-1872) birth. During this time, Bruckner was experiencing worsening physical and mental health issues and was busy revising many of his earlier symphonies. “Träumen und Wachen” is the only new composition that Bruckner wrote between 1887 and 1891. It would also be one of his last small-scale compositions for men’s choir. Bruckner conducted the piece at the

University of Vienna’s celebration of Grillparzer’s birth on January 15, 1891.

Poem and Poet

Schatten sind des Lebens Güter, Shadows are life’s commodities, Schatten seiner Freuden Schar, Shadows of its flock of joys, Schatten Worte, Wünsche, Taten; Shadows words, wishes, deeds; Die Gedanken nur sind wahr. Thoughts only are true.

Und die Liebe, die du fühlest, And love, that you feel, Und das Gute, das du tust, And the good, that you do, Und kein Wachen als im Schlafe, And no waking as in the sleep, Wenn du einst im Grabe ruhst. When you once in the grave are resting.

This text, written in iambic tetrameter, appears at the end of Act I of Franz

Grillparzer’s drama Der Traum ein Leben [A Dream, a life]. Written between 1817 and 1834, Grillparzer’s drama tells the story of Rustan, a Persian peasant, who in a dream, or at least a dream-like state, hears the words that Bruckner would later set as

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“Träumen und Wachen.” Rustan encounters an old man, known as “old twanger,” who sings the words. Lee B. Jennings offers the following thoughts on the meaning of the

“old twanger’s” words:

To be sure, the Dervish’s [old twanger’s] message is not entirely clear. That earthly goods and pleasures are mere shadows is a view consistent with what we expect of holy men – at least Christian ones. That “words, wishes, and deeds” are also shadows is less easy to accept, especially since only “thoughts” are said to be “true,” hence real, and it is now clear how “wishes,” for instance, differ from “thoughts.” It might be claimed that “Gedanken” [thoughts] represent eternal verities, whereas “wishes” are mere projection of desire. However, in the second stanza, “the love that you feel and the good that you do” (obviously wishes and deeds) seem to be included among the “true” things, though the syntax permits a less likely but more consistent reading: that love and good deeds belong to the world of “shadows,” in which case the apparent idealistic slant of the poem is thoroughly undermined.…Perhaps the point is…that there is no conscious thought that is not tainted by desire. In any case, the only true “awakening” is in death.75

As previously discussed, Bruckner was not a collector of great literature. Despite this, he is adept at interpreting poetry through music. Constantin Floros states:

Study of the relationship between word and music in Bruckner’s vocal works…enables one to draw conclusions regarding his great intelligence, his rich imagination, and his ability to transform poetic into musical images. Bruckner was able to interpret the text with the same degree of subtlety in his sacred and secular works.76

In “Träumen und Wachen” Bruckner demonstrates this deft ability to musically interpret poetry by altering the form of the poem, using the repetition of text in several

75 Lee B. Jennings, “Life, a Death: Grillparzer’s Der Traum ein Leben,” Modern Austrian Literature 28, no. 3/4 (1995): 80. 76 Constantin Floros, “On unity between Bruckner’s personality and production,” in Perspectives on Anton Bruckner, edited by Crawford Howie, Paul Hawkshaw, and Timothy Jackson (Burlington, Vermont: Ashgate Publishing Company, 2001), 290. 36

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different keys, using text painting, and by using the Bruckner rhythm to create metrical dissonance.

Formal Analysis

A Stanza 1 mm. 1-25

B Stanza 2 mm. 26-50 A Stanza 1 (Repeat) mm. 1-25 (Fine)

Figure 5.1 “Träumen und Wachen,” Formal Structure

Bruckner sets the two-stanza text to “Träumen und Wachen” in an ABA form by repeating the first stanza (As shown in Figure 5.1). This repeated A section allows us to focus not on the finality of the grave, but the importance of thoughts: thoughts lead to wishes, and wishes lead to deeds or actions. The B section is characterized by the addition of a tenor soloist accompanied by a chorus of humming voices.

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Harmonic Analysis

Bruckner’s setting of this text moves through many tonal centers, (See Table

5.1) and his use of harmony demonstrates how sensitively he set Grillparzer’s text.

Table 5.1 “Träumen und Wachen,” Tonal Centers

A m. 1 A-flat Major m. 8 C Major

m. 9 A-flat Major/f minor (lack of

tonal clarity) Section with m. 15 A-flat Major

the most m. 17 D Major chromatic m. 18 B-flat Minor activity m. 19 G-flat Major m. 21 A-flat Major B m. 26 D-flat Major m. 31 B-flat Major m. 35 E-flat Major m. 39 A-flat Major m. 40-50 D-flat Major

The shift to C major in mm. 5-8 is a prime example of Bruckner’s attention to text and its meaning. Instead of continuing the phrase in A-flat major, Bruckner completes the phrase in C major, adding a great lift to the text “Schatten seiner Freuden Schar”

[Shadows of its (life’s) flocks of joy]. Bruckner sets the word “Freuden” [Joy] using an e6 chord. This minor chord, in the progression of A♭-C-e6-G7-C, retains a joyful sound that is colored by a bit of sadness. This twinge of melancholy depicts the ephemeral nature of joy. Another example of Bruckner’s expertise in text setting is contained in mm. 9-14. Representing the hollowness or obscurity of shadows,

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Bruckner repeats “Schatten” [Shadows] three times and sets these repetitions of either unisons or open fifths.

The passage at mm. 15-25 is the most chromatically active. Bruckner repeats

“die Dedanken nur” [thoughts only] nine times using a high level of chromatic shifting between tonal centers (See Figure 5.2 for a harmonic reduction of this section). By repeating this short phrase in several different key centers. Bruckner, who suffered from mental illness, including depression and an obsessive counting of objects, is painting his own struggle with thoughts. According to Watson, “His numeromania is reflected in his scores…in obsessive and frenzied repetitions of motifs.”77 The harmonic complexity begins to relax at m. 21, with the harmonies becoming diatonic and the harmonic rhythm slowing. The phrase’s text is finally completed on the tonic

Figure 5.2 “Träumen und Wachen,” mm. 15-25, Harmonic Reduction

77 Watson, 48. 39

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chord—“die Gedanke nur sind wahr” [thoughts only are true]. The shift from A-flat to

D in mm. 16 and 17 is the most unrelated and does not contain a common tone. This shift is accomplished by the use of the Gr+6 that sounds like a V7 that will lead us to E- flat. This unexpected shift to D is symbolic of the swirling of troubling thoughts

Bruckner must have dealt with as his mental health deteriorated. As this section progresses, however, it seems that Bruckner is struggling to get his thoughts under control. This struggle is symbolized by the shift in tonalities, all third relationships, from D-b♭-G♭-E♭. The E-flat allows a return to A-flat, and represents Bruckner’s thoughts coming to a resolution. This was written at a time when the composer’s health and mental state were worsening, and perhaps thoughts of his own mortality and contributions to the world were very present in his mind.

In the B section, which utilizes choral humming and a tenor soloist, Bruckner uses cadences to interpret the words. The ending of the first phrase of text “Und die

Liebe du fühlest” [and love, that you feel] is harmonized with an e♭-B♭-B♭7 progression. Bruckner choses to use a C♭ chord to begin the next phrase, instead of the expected e♭, creating a deceptive shift in tonality. Bruckner, who was never successful in romantic relationships, is showing that we cannot trust love to bring us joy. The next phrase “und das Gute, das du tust” [and the good that you do], beginning in C♭, sounds brighter and on a different plane of reality than the previous phrase. Again,

Bruckner is using harmony to show that “the good we do” is much more important

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than the “love we feel.” He also uses plagal cadences at mm. 34 and 35, and again mm. 38 and 39, to draw an allusion between the “good that you do” and his Catholic faith. The plagal cadence is often known as the “Amen” cadence due to the number of scared works that end with a IV-I cadence.78

Linear Analysis

“Träumen und Wachen” contains two instances of a rhythmic figure that has come to be known as the “Bruckner rhythm.”79 This rhythm, created by the use of a triplet in the second half of the bar, can be easily seen in Figure 5.3, an

65 66 67 68

Figure 5.3 Bruckner Symphony No. 4, Mvmt. I, mm. 65-68, “Bruckner Rhythm”

excerpt of Bruckner’s Symphony No. 4, Movement I, mm. 65-68. In “Träumen und

Wachen” this figure appears at m. 7 (Figure 5.4) and in an augmented form at mm. 48 and 49 (Figure 5.5).

78 Jason Terry, “A History of the Plagal-Amen Cadence,” (DMA diss., University of South Carolina, 2016), 1, accessed Feb. 24, 2019, https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi? article=4442&context=etd. 79 Donald N. Ferguson, Masterworks of the Orchestral Repertoire: A Guide of Listeners, (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1954), 181, accessed February 8, 2019, ProQuest Ebook Central. 41

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Figure 5.4 “Träumen und Wachen,” mm. 7-8, “Bruckner Rhythm”

Figure 5.5 “Träumen und Wachen,” mm. 48-50, “Bruckner Rhythm”

This piece rarely reuses melodic material. The most interesting melodic aspect of “Träumen und Wachen” is Bruckner’s use of non-chord tones, often appearing as chromatic links between chords. These non-chord tones add interest and color the melodic line with angst. See Figure 5.6 for examples of Bruckner’s use of non-chord tones.

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Figure 5.6 “Träumen und Wachen,” mm. 1-4, Non-chord Tones

Bruckner also employs an example of text-painting in “Träumen und Wachen.”

In setting the text “Wenn du eisnt im Grabe ruhst” [When you once in the grave are resting], mm. 44–50, the bass line paints the words by its overall descent of an octave

(See Figure 5.7).

Figure 5.7 “Traumen und Wachen,” mm. 44-50, Bass II Line

Conclusion

In “Träumen und Wachen” Bruckner has taken a text by Austrian author Franz

Grillparzer, and using harmony and form, demonstrated his ability to interpret text and to use these same musical devices to create an aural image of his interpretation.

Bruckner, who was in declining health as he composed WAB 87 and well-aware of his own mortality, uses this text and his music to express his belief that the thoughts we 43

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have are important. These thoughts lead to our deeds, and those deeds, especially the good that we do during our lives, are of the greatest of importance. This piece is unaccompanied and harmonically challenging, and therefore is appropriate for men’s choirs with considerable ability or time enough to prepare this work.

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CHAPTER SIX

“UM MITTERNACHT” (WAB 89 AND 90)

Bruckner set this text by Robert Prutz for men’s choir twice. The first setting

(WAB 89) was written in 1864 for the Linz ensemble Sängerbund. This accompanied piece includes an alto solo, and it premiered on December 11, 1864, with Bruckner conducting.80 The second setting (WAB 90) was written in 1886 for a Bruckner concert performed by Frohsinn. This later setting is unaccompanied and includes a tenor solo. Both settings demonstrate Bruckner’s ability to interpret a text as musical sound by employing frequent shifts in tonal centers, a high level of chromaticism, and the textural element of a soloist. Written more than twenty years apart, these settings show Bruckner at different emotional states as evidenced by his focus on different poetic elements.

Poem and Poet

Um Mitternacht, in ernster Stunde, At midnight, in the first hour Tönt oft ein wundersamer Klang. Resounds often a wondrous tone. ’Sist wie aus liebem Muttermunde ‘Tis like out of dear Mother’s mouth Ein freundlich tröstender Gesang. A friendly comforting song.

In süßen, unbelauschten Tränen In sweet, un-overheard tears Löst er des Herzens bange Pein, Releases it the heart’s fearful anguish, Und alles unmutvolle Sehnen And all discontented longing Und allen Kummer wiegt er ein. And all sorrow weighs it in.

Als käm’ der Mai des Lebens wieder, As if would come the May of life again, Regt sich’s im Herzen wunderbar: Stirs it in the heart wonderfully: Da quillen Töne, keimen Lieder, There pour out tones, germinate songs, Da wird die Seele jung und klar. There becomes the soul young and lucid.

80 Sängerbund was the rival ensemble to Frohsinn. 45

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So tönet oft das stille Läuten, Thus resounds often that quiet ringing, Doch ich versteh’ die Weise nie, Yet I understand the manner never, Und nur mitunter möcht’ ich’s deuten, And only now and again would I it interpret, Als wär’s der Kindheit Melodie. As if it were childhood’s melody.

The German poet, professor, and literary historian Robert Eduard Prutz (1816-

1872), creates a scene filled with significant melancholy juxtaposed with comfort and rebirth.81 In this poem of four stanzas in iambic tetrameter, Prutz’s text describes a

“wondrous tone” that is from a “dear Mother’s mouth/A friendly comforting song.”

According to the poet, this song has the power to remove anguish and to return joy to life, much like to the return of spring creates new life in nature. The restoration of joy, much like the return of the warm sunshine of spring, sprouts new joys and rejuvenates the weary soul. However, the poet does not entirely understand the song, this

“wondrous tone,” and can only interpret it as if it were a song from his childhood and with child-like faith. The first and last stanzas describe the “wondrous tone” while the inner stanzas describe the effect the tone has on those who hear it.

81 Richard R. Ruppel, Gottfried Keller and His Critics: A Case Study in Scholarly Criticism, (Columbia, SC: Camden House, 1998), 33. 46

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WAB 89

Formal Analysis

Table 6.1 “Um Mitternacht” (WAB 89), Formal Analysis and Key Centers Measure Key German Text English Translation Center Stanza One A 1 F minor Um Mitternacht, in ernster At midnight, in the first hour Stunde, 7 Transition Tönt oft ein wundersamer Resounds often a wondrous to A-flat Klang. tone. major 11 A-flat ’Sist wie aus liebem Tis like out of dear Mother’s major Muttermunde mouth 14 E-flat Ein freundlich tröstender A friendly comforting song. major Gesang. Stanza Two B 19 E major In süßen, unbelauschten In sweet, un-overheard tears Tränen 20 E major Löst er des Herzens bange Releases it the heart’s fearful Pein, anguish, 23 E major Und alles unmutvolle Sehnen And all discontented longing 24 Transition Und allen Kummer wiegt er And all sorrow weighs it in. to F major ein. Stanza Three B’ 27 F major Als käm’ der Mai des Lebens As if would come the May of wieder, life again, 29 F major Regt sich’s im Herzen Stirs it in the heart wunderbar: wonderfully: 31 A major Da quillen Töne, keimen There pour out tones, Lieder, germinate songs, 33 A major Da wird die Seele jung und There becomes the soul klar. young and lucid. Stanza Four A’ 35 F major So tönet oft das stille Läuten, Thus resounds often that quiet ringing, 41 Transition Doch ich versteh’ die Weise Yet I understand the manner to A-flat nie, never major 47 A-flat Und nur mitunter möcht’ And only now and again major ich’s deuten, would I it interpret, 49 F major Als wär’s der Kindheit As if it were childhood’s Melodie. melody.

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Bruckner set Prutz’s text as a three-part form (ABA’), wherein the two A sections (Stanzas One and Four) serve as bookends for an extended B section. The B section utilizes an alto soloist, a “Schubertian piano arpeggio accompaniment,” and an unexpected shift to E major.82 The combination of these elements adds emphasis to this section. It is interesting that in this setting for TTBB choir, Bruckner has chosen to use a female soloist. Since Prutz describes the “wondrous tone” as if it comes “out of a dear mother’s mouth,” Bruckner uses the alto solo to be the voice of a mother, if not his own mother. Bruckner had a very close relationship with his mother, and she was reputed to be a talented singer.83 Bruckner adds yet another layer of emphasis to

Stanza Three by setting the entire stanza as unaccompanied. In this composition

Bruckner has honored Prutz’s poetic form, with the outer stanzas (A and A’ sections) describing the tone, while the inner stanzas (B and B’ sections) describe the

“wondrous tone’s” effect on the listener.

Harmonic Analysis

“Um Mitternacht” moves through several tonal centers (See Table 6.1), and these harmonic shifts are closely related to the text. The A section begins in F minor, and the A’ section begins and ends in the parallel major, F major. The use of the parallel keys in the A and A’ section helps to distinguish them from the B section, that

82 Howie, 69. 83 H. F. Redlich, Bruckner and Mahler: The Master Musicians, ed. Eric Blom, (London: J. M. Dent and Sons, Limited, 1955), 3. Bruckner’s mother, Theresia, died in 1860, and he was greatly troubled by her death. 48

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begins in E major, provides harmonic bookends for the B section, and honors the poem’s structure wherein the first and last stanzas are related. The shift between m.

18, in E♭ major, and m. 19, in E major, is an unexpected one. Bruckner employs a very conclusive perfect authentic cadence (PAC) in the choir (m. 16 and 17) that affirms the key of E♭ major. The PAC occurs again, this time in the piano score (m. 17 and 18), and reaffirms the key of E-flat major. So, the shift to E major is unexpected and gives the listener aural indications that they are in a new place, both tonally and mentally. The semi-tone shift, sometimes referred to as a Phrygian shift, to E major occurs at the end of the first stanza. This stanza describes the poem’s setting and the

“wondrous tone.” The Phrygian shift is facilitated by a descending stepwise movement in m. 18. The expected A-flat that ends this descent is respelled as G-sharp and becomes the 3 of the new and unexpected tonic chord, E. The move from E-flat to E symbolizes a shift into a new section in poetic narrative that serves to describe the effect of the “wonderous tone” and also the musical transportation of the poet into a new realm where healing can occur.

Bruckner also uses tonal ambiguity in two phrases to illuminate the text’s meaning. Both harmonic progressions are identical, alluding to the nature of the text.

The first phrase, from Stanza One describes the “wondrous tone,” and Bruckner uses this progression to provide the aural “wonder” (See Figure 6.1). The harmonies in mm. 8-10 provide a brief moment of tonal ambiguity, adding a feeling of awe to this

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Figure 6.1 “Um Mitternacht” (WAB 89), mm. 7-12, Harmonic Reduction

Figure 6.2 “Um Mitternacht” (WAB 89), mm. 41-46, Harmonic Reduction

text. In mm. 41-46 (See Figure 6.2) Bruckner uses the same harmonic progression to set the words “Doch ich versteh’ die Weise nie” [Yet I understand the manner never].

Bruckner is using tonic instability to illustrate Prutz’s words, for the poet does not understand the manner of the healing song, and likewise, the singer cannot identify the tonic. This progression functions due to the stepwise nature of the bass voice as well as the chromatic shifts in the other voices. In other words, this progression depends on the linear resolution of tones through voice leading and not traditional harmonic function. The majority of tonal shifts in this work demonstrate a more traditional relationship between tonal centers: third-relationships (as in the shift between F and

A-flat the fourth stanza) or relationships built on tonic/dominant functions (as seen in

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the shift from A-flat to E-flat in the first stanza). Thus, in the context of this song, the semitone shift from E-flat to E is indeed a special occurrence.

The setting of the final two lines of the poem (mm. 47-56),“Und nur mitunter möcht’ ich’s deuten, / Als wär’s das Keindheit Melodie” [And only now and again would I it interpret / As if it were childhood’s melody], becomes more diatonic and less chromatically altered, resembling the simplicity of a childhood song. This section confirms the key of F major with its use of repeated tonic chords in mm. 53-56 and the use of the authentic cadence in mm. 52 and 53 (viio4/2—I). By confirming the key of F major, the parallel key of F minor, we see the poet coming full circle, delivered from pain and melancholy to peace and contentment.

Linear Analysis

In “Um Mitternacht” Bruckner repeats the A section for the setting of the fourth stanza of poetry, reusing much melodic material. The A section returns as F major instead of F minor. This modal shift from minor to major suggests that midnight, which can be seen as a metaphor for those times in life that seem dark or confusing, has past.

Bruckner also uses the singing range of the choir to interpret the text. In mm.

13 and 14, Bruckner uses a high range for the Tenor I when setting the text, “‘Sist wie aus liebem Muttermunde / Ein Freundlich tröstender Gesang” [Tis like out of dear

Mother’s mouth / A friendly comforting song]. The Tenor I part is in the alto range, and the highest note of the phrase, G4, is used on “Muttermunde” and “tröstender”:

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mother and comfort—an association Bruckner understood.84 Bruckner is using both pitch and range, by having the tenors sing in a range that a mother would most likely use to sing a lullaby to a child, to connect these words together. Bruckner does a very similar thing in mm. 47-50 in setting “Und nur mitunter möcht’ ich’s deuten / Als wär’s der Kinheit Melodie” [And only now and again would I it interpret / as if it were childhood’s melody].

Bruckner uses non-chord tones, primarily passing tones, in the accompaniment of the A and A’ sections (See Figure 6.3). The use of these non-chord tones in Stanza

One is aurally descriptive of the angst felt at the beginning of the song,

Figure 6.3 “Um Mitternacht” (WAB 89), mm. 1-7, Non-chord tones

84 One might argue that Bruckner’s relationship with his mother was the most important relationship he ever had with a member of the opposite sex. 52

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during the metaphorical “midnight.” The return of these non-chord tones in the A’ section, Stanza Four, is different. Due to the shift in the modality of the A material from F minor into F major, these non-chord tones are not as dramatic as they once were and suggest that even though there has been healing, the scars of pain never fully completely fade.

The texture of this piece also demonstrates Bruckner’s interpretation of

Prutz’s words. In the first stanza the texture consists of three layers: bass line (often in pedal tones), moving eighth-note accompaniment, and unison choral writing. The B section, beginning at m. 19, uses the addition of the alto soloist, “Schubertian” accompaniment, and unison choral writing. The alto soloist presents the text, and the choir responds using the same text, depicting the mother offering the song, the soul hearing the song, and finally, processing the “sweet, un-overheard tones.” Finally in the B’ section, beginning at m. 27, Bruckner expands the texture to include four-part choral writing with an alto soloist who is responding to the text the choir sings. We hear the blooming of spring and the renewal of life through this expansion of sound.

The only time prior to m. 27 that Bruckner utilizes four-part writing is in mm. 13-17—

"‘Sist wie aus liebem Muttermunde / Ein Freundlich tröstender Gesang” [Tis like out of dear Mother’s mouth / A friendly comforting song]. This prior four-part writing foreshadows the expansion offered at m.27, where the text describes the rejuvenation generated by the song, and again, connects it to the song that the mother offers.

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WAB 90

Formal Analysis

Bruckner’s second setting of “Um Mitternacht” (WAB 90) is also in a three- part form (ABA’) (See Figure 6.4). WAB 90 contains almost twice the number of measures as WAB 89, and in this later setting the A and A’ sections are expanded and the B section is condensed. The expansion is created by the repetition of selected texts and the use of more tonal shifts in the B section. The A section repeats two verses of the first stanza “ein wundersamer klang” [wonderful tone] and “ein Freundlich tröstender Gesang” [a friendly comforting song]. The A’ section, the longest of the piece, focuses on the repetition of the text “der Kindheit Melodie” [childhood’s melody]. By expanding A and A’ by the use of these repetitions, Bruckner, is much more focused on the “tone” and the “friendly comfort” this “childhood melody” will bring. In the first setting (WAB 89), Bruckner was much more focused on the B section (Stanzas 2 and 3) and the healing the song will bring.

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Table 6.2 “Um Mitternacht” (WAB 90), Formal Analysis and Key Centers

Measure Key German Text English Translation Center Stanza One A 1 F minor Um Mitternacht, in ernster At midnight, in the first hour Stunde, 5 G-flat Tönt oft ein wundersamer Resounds often a wondrous major Klang. tone. 12 G major wundersamer wondrous 13 E-flat wundersamer wondrous major 14 D major wundersamer Klang wondrous tone 15 B-flat wundersamer Klang wondrous tone major 18 F major wundersamer Klang wondrous tone 21 D-flat ’Sist wie aus liebem Tis like out of dear Mother’s major Muttermunde/Ein freundlich mouth/A friendly comforting tröstender Gesang. song. B Stanza Two 31 A-flat In süßen, unbelauschten In sweet, un-overheard major Tränen/Löst er des Herzens tears/Releases is the heart’s bange Pein, fearful anguish, 39 B-flat Und alles unmutvolle And all discontented major Sehnen/Und allen Kummer longing/And all sorrow wiegt er ein. weighs it in. Stanza Three 47 C major Als käm der Mai des Lebens As if would come the May of wieder/Regt sich’s im Herzen life again,/Stirs in the heart wunderbar: wonderfully: 50 C# minor Da quillen Töne, keimen There pour out tones, Lieder,/Da Wird die Seele germinate songs,/There jung und klar becomes the soul young and lucid. A’ Stanza Four 58 F major So tönet oft das stille Läuten, Thus resounds often that quiet ringing, 63 G-flat Doch ich versteh’ die Weise Yet I understand the manner major nie./Und nur mitunter möcht’ never./And only now and ich’s deuten,/Als wär’s der again would I it interpret,/As Kindheit if it were childhood’s 70 G major der Kindheit childhood’s 71 E-flat der Kindheit childhood’s major 72 D major der Kindheit Melodie. childhood’s melody. 73 B-flat Als wär’s der Kindheit, As if it were childhood’s major 75 F major der Kindheit Melodie. childhood’s melody.

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The settings of the first and fourth stanzas are each approximately twenty measures in length. The entire B section, containing the second and third stanzas, is only around twenty measures. Therefore, Bruckner is condensing the B section and expanding the A sections. For this setting Bruckner utilizes a tenor soloist to deliver

Prutz’s text in the B section as the choir hums with closed mouths (Brummstimme).

Unlike WAB 89, the soloist does not continue into the A’ section, and does not, because of the choice of the tenor voice for the soloist, overtly represent a mother-like figure. In this setting, the tenor voice represents the song that brings healing while the choir provides humming accompaniment, adding an ethereal nature to the B section.

Harmonic Analysis

WAB 90, like WAB 89, begins in F minor and ends in F major, and Bruckner again employs harmonic shifts to illustrate the text. One example of his use of a harmonic shift is the shift from f minor to G-flat, the key of the Neapolitan, in mm. 4 and 5. This semi-tone shift, into a major key, is the aural equivalent of seeing color for the first time in MGM’s classic film from 1939, The Wizard of Oz. Throughout the beginning of the film we see nothing but shades of grey, and then as Dorothy opens the old farmhouse door after the tornado has dropped the old house into Oz, she finds herself in a world saturated with color. Just as Dorothy finds herself in a new and strange world, Bruckner, through the shift to G♭, achieved through the use of downward stepwise movement in the Bass I part, creates a new tonal world wherein we can experience the “wondrous tone.”

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Another point of harmonic interest occurs in mm. 11-16. In this short section,

Bruckner deceives the ear by using both common tone shifts (mm. 11-12 and mm. 13-

14) as well as deceptive cadences (mm. 12-13 and mm. 14-15) (See Figure 6.4). In the

Figure 6.4 “Um Mitternacht,” (WAB 90), mm. 11-16, Melodic and Harmonic Shifts

melodic line, Bruckner uses an expected 5-1 relationship. However, Bruckner harmonizes the expected tonic note in a new key, creating a deceptive harmonic and melodic shift as the 1 becomes the 3 of a new chord, in a new key. These shifts illuminate the mystery of the “wundersamer Klang” [wondrous tone]. The relationship between these tonal centers also creates a feeling of wonder and unsteadiness (See

Figure 6.5). By alternating between a semitone shift and a shift between keys having

Figure 6.5 “Um Mitternacht,” (WAB 90), mm. 11-16, Key Relationships

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a third relationship, the effect is one of uneven shifting, much like walking up a set of stairs when there is an inconsistent rise between steps. Bruckner uses an identical progression in mm. 69-74 to depict the playfulness of a childhood melody, “Als wär’s der Kindheit melodie” [As if it were childhood’s melody], through the use of the same alternating semitone and chromatic-mediant shifts. These shifts in tonality also link the idea of the “wondrous tone” with “childhood.” Perhaps Bruckner feels that only as children can we experience and understand the “wondrous” tone, and this tone becomes harder to hear as we age. The return of the tone brings new life, new energy, and restoration, much like the rejuvenation that comes with the return of Spring.

Linear Analysis

Bruckner’s second setting of “Um Mitternacht” is similar to the first setting in many ways. Both settings use non-chord tones such as chromatic passing tones and common tones between chordal shifts. However, in WAB 90, Bruckner uses melodic material to build sequential and reiterative passages that serve to illustrate the text.

In mm. 50-58, Bruckner uses a melodic sequence to set the text “da quillen

Töne, keimen Lieder” [There pour out tones, germinate songs]. This illustrate the words by allowing the melody to ascend with each iteration (See Figure 6.6). The

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Figure 6.6 “Um Mitternacht,” (WAB 90), mm. 50-57, Melodic Sequence

repeated ascent depicts a plant growing towards the sun and, finally, blooming as the phrase ends on the text “da wird die Seele jung und klar” [There becomes the soul young and lucid].

In one example, found in mm. 11-14 in the Tenor I part, Bruckner twice uses a sequential descending pattern (See Figure 6.7) to set the word “wundersamer”

[wonderful]. The first seven notes are in this pattern of whole and half-steps: H-W-H-

H-W-W. However, the second set of seven notes are in a different pattern: W-W-H-H-

W-W. This difference of descending scalar patterns, in addition to the previously discussed harmonic shifts in this section, reinforces the feeling of uncertainty as the line descends and adds to the feeling of “wonder.” Bruckner repeats these four

Figure 6.7 “Um Mitternacht,” mm. 11-14, Linear Analysis

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measures again in the A’ section (mm. 69-72) when setting the word “Kindheit”

[childhood], adding to the feeling of child-like playfulness in this section.

In Alexander Reuter’s edition of WAB 90, he has included the following note regarding the Tenor II part in m.91, “Different notes in manuscripts: D and D♭.”85 In his music secular male chorus, Bruckner compositional style becomes much more predictable and diatonic when approaching final cadences. The use of D-natural would also allow m. 91 to have the same pattern of intervals as m. 92. The Tenor II motive in mm. 91 and 92 is taken from the Tenor I part, m. 77 (See Figure 6.8). Therefore, it is

Figure 6.8 “Um Mitternacht,” (WAB 80), mm. 77-85, Tenor I, Motive

85 Bruckner, Anton, “Um Mitternacht WAB 90,” ed. Alexander Reuter, 2016, accessed February 6, 2019, International Music Scores Library Project, http://ks.imslp.net/files/imglnks/usimg/5 /5f/IMSLP427611-PMLP426246-WAB_90_Um_Mitternacht-Bruckner.pdf. 60

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this author’s opinion that the D-flat is not what Bruckner intended because its use would break the pattern established by the motive in the Tenor I part.86

Conclusion

In Bruckner’s two settings of Robert Prutz’s words, the composer uses harmonic and melodic devices to illustrate the text and provide focus on certain phrases. Both settings are three-parts forms; however, in WAB 89 Bruckner draws the focus on the extended B section, with its rather unexpected shift to E major from F minor, and the healing and rebirth that this mystical song can bring. He also focuses on the idea of the mother by using an alto soloist to deliver a song that comes “from a dear mother’s mouth.” In contrast, WAB 90 shows Bruckner focusing more on extended A sections that describe this mystical music.

When considering why this shift of focus may have occurred, it may be prudent to consider that more than twenty years had passed since his first setting of this text and the second. Bruckner first set Prutz’s poem in 1864, only four years after his mother’s death. According to Watson, “He [Bruckner] was greatly upset by her death and regretted that she had never joined him in Linz as he had frequently urged.”87 When composing the first setting, Bruckner was thus still grieving the loss of

86 It should be noted that all the editions on IMSLP show, with the exception of Reuter’s and a manuscript that is not in Bruckner’s hand, show a D-natural at m. 91 in the Tenor II part. This score may be viewed at: http://ks.imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/3/30/IMSLP433149-PMLP426246- brucknerUmMitternachtWAB90manuscript_A-SF20-72.pdf. D-natural is sung in the recording listed in the next chapter. 87 Watson, 15. 61

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his mother. When he approached the same text in 1886, the pain of loss was not as present as before, allowing him to interpret the text differently.

Both settings of Prutz’s text demonstrate the mastery of poetic interpretation that Bruckner possessed. These settings also illustrate his uncanny ability to use musical elements such as form, harmony, and melody to create aural tapestries that inform both listeners and performers as to his interpretation of the text.

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CHAPTER SEVEN

PUBLICATIONS, PERFORMANCE RECOMMENDATIONS,

AND CONCLUSIONS

Publications

At present time there are no commercially available editions produced by major publishing companies of Bruckner’s secular male part-songs. However, many of the scores are available online at International Music Score Library Project

(www.imslp.org) and Choral Public Domain Library (www.cpdl.org).88

There are a few commercial recordings, available on most streaming services, of the works included in this project. Thomas Kerbl and the Männerchorvereinigung of the Anton Bruckner Private University in Linz have produced two volumes of recordings of Bruckner’s male part-songs. Volume One entitled, Anton Bruckner:

Männerchöre, contains “Um Mitternacht” (WAB 89) and “Mitternacht” (WAB 80).

This album was released in 2012. The album Bruckner: Männerchöre, Vol. 2 (Live), released in 2014, contains recordings of “Träumen und Wachen” (WAB 87) and “Um

Mitternacht” (WAB 90).

88 For this project WAB 80, WAB 87, and WAB 90 were edited by Alexander Reuter and found on IMSLP in PDF format. WAB 89, also available in IMSLP, is a scan of the Universal Edition from 1911. 63

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Performance Recommendations

Bruckner’s male part-songs are varied in their level of difficulty. In this study,

WAB 80 and WAB 89 would prove to be the most appropriate for most university level men’s choirs. These pieces utilize much more unison singing and supportive piano accompaniment. WAB 80 requires a tenor soloist who can easily navigate A♭4.

WAB 89 requires an alto who is comfortable in the lower part of her voice.

WAB 87, which is unaccompanied, would be appropriate for an auditioned male chorus. Much like WAB 80, this piece requires a tenor soloist who has access to

A♭4. This piece also requires the Tenor I section to sing up to B♭4. With its lack of instrumental support, highly chromatic writings, and shifts in tonal center, WAB 90 would be appropriate for professional men’s ensembles or choirs with the time and ability needed to prepare this difficult piece.89

Regardless of which choral work by Bruckner we find ourselves preparing as either chorister or conductor, we must honor his devotion to dynamics, articulations, and clarity. As a choral conductor Bruckner was held in high esteem by both his singers and the press. Therefore, we must take the information from score markings, dynamic markings, and articulation markings that he offers in his compositions.90

89 When preparing for the premier of WAB 90, the conductor requested that Bruckner allow the piece to be accompanied by harp due to the difficulty the ensemble was having with tuning. Bruckner agreed to the request. 90 For more regarding Bruckner as the choral conductor, see Nelson, page 20. 64

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Conclusion

Anton Bruckner’s contribution to Romantic Period men’s chorus repertoire has, at least in the United States, been overlooked and overshadowed by other Austro-

Germanic composers of the Romantic Period. In Germanic countries, in contrast, his men’s chorus literature is still performed by local men’s choirs. In these short pieces,

Bruckner displays his ability to connect poetic texts with his virtuosic abilities to shift between tonalities and harmonies. In these four pieces, all centered on the theme of night, Bruckner uses his compositional abilities to paint aural landscapes that are full of mystery, surprise, beauty, sacred mysticism and personal reflection. Furthermore, these short works captivate the beauty and meanings in the text in a most imaginative manner. In these pieces one can hear the influence of Viennese Classicism, Germanic

Romanticism, Sechter’s strict teachings regarding counterpoint and voice leading, and

Wagner’s daring harmonic gestures. One may wonder if in these short pieces we may hear glimpses of what the audiences who sat listening to his famous organ improvisations so many years ago may have heard. These pieces deserve to be performed and studied by men’s choirs and to be heard by audiences that may be more accustomed to the German male part-songs of Schubert, Schumann, and Mendelssohn.

Future research into Bruckner’s secular male-chorus repertoire could lead to the production of scholarly editions of Bruckner’s part-songs, a comprehensive catalogue of his secular works that offers guidance as to the difficulty level of each work, and research regarding the effect of the so-called “Bruckner Problem” on his

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secular choral writing.91 Perhaps these pieces cross traditional lines of genre: indeed, these part-songs could be construed as “secular motets!” For Bruckner, perhaps, there was no difference between that which is sacred and that which is secular. Regardless of how we label these part-songs, they are worthy of the time and effort required to perform them successfully.

91 The “Bruckner Problem” refers to the issue created by the number of versions of each of his symphonies. Bruckner would constantly revise works, even after they were published. 66

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Albrecht, Timothy. “Anton Bruckner and the Liedertafel Movement.” The Choral Journal 22, No. 1 (1980): 10-19.

Alwes, Chester L. A History of Western Choral Music. Vol. 2, Oxford University Press, 2016.

“Anton Bruckner.” The Musical Times and Singing Class Circular 37. No. 645 (November 1, 1896): 742. Accessed July 7, 2018. http://www.jstor.org/stable /3367987.

Feiner, Shmuel. Moses Mendelssohn: Sage of Modernity. Yale University Press, 2011. Accessed December 20, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ttu/detail.action?docID=3420904.

Ferguson, Donald N. Masterworks of the Orchestral Repertoire: A Guide for Listeners. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1954.

Floros, Constantin. Anton Bruckner: the man and the work. Translated by Ernest Bernhardt-Kabisch. New York: Peter Lang, 2011.

_____. Brahms and Bruckner as Artistic Antipodes. Translated by Ernest Bernhardt-Kabisch. Frankfurt: P.L. Academic Research, 2015.

_____. “On unity between Bruckner’s personality and production.” In Perspectives on Anton Bruckner, edited by Crawford Howie, Paul Hawkshaw, and Timothy Jackson. 285-298. Burlington, Vermont: Ashgate Publishing Company, 2001.

Harrandt, Andrea. “Bruckner and the Liedertafel Traditions: His Secular Music for Male Voices.” The Choral Journal 37. No. 5 (December 1996): 15-21.

_____. “Musical life in Upper Austria in the mid-nineteenth century.” in The Cambridge Companion to Bruckner, ed. and trans. John Williamson. 15-25. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2004.

Howie, A. Crawford. “Bruckner and secular vocal music.” in The Cambridge Companion to Bruckner. ed. John Williamson. 64-76. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2004.

Jennings, Lee B. “Life, a Death: Grillparzer’s Der Traum ein Leben.” Modern Austrian Literature 28. No. 3/4 (1995):79-89.

Johnson, Stephen. Bruckner Remembered. London: Faber and Faber, Unlimited, 1998. 67

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Redlich, H. F. Bruckner and Mahler. Edited by Eric Blom. New York: Farrar, Straus and Cudaby, Inc., 1955.

Ruppel, Richard R. Gottfried Keller and His Critics: A Case Study in Scholarly Criticism. Columbia, SC: Camden House, 1998.

Schönzeler, Hans-Hubert. Bruckner. New York: Grossman Publishers, 1970.

Silbermann, Alphons.…of musical things. Sydney: Grahame Book Company, 1952.

Simpson, Robert. The Essence of Bruckner: An essay towards the understanding of his music. New York: Chilton Book Company, 1968.

Terry, Jason. “A History of the Plagal-Amen Cadence.” DMA diss. University of South Carolina, 2016.

Watson, Derek. Bruckner: The Master Musicians. Edited by Stanley Sadie. New York: Schirmer Books, 1996.

Wolff, Werner. Anton Bruckner: Rustic Genius. New York: E. P. Dutton and Company, Inc., 1942.

Scores

Bruckner, Anton. “Mitternacht WAB 80.” Edited by Alexander Reuter. Accessed February 6, 2018. International Music Scores Library Project. http://ks4.imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/d/de/ IMSLP425470-PMLP690847-WAB_80_Mitternacht-Bruckner.pdf.

_____. “Träumen und Wachen WAB 87.” Edited by Alexander Reuter. Accessed December 10, 2018. International Music Scores Library Project. http://ks4.imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/a/a5/ IMSLP425769-PMLP691337-WAB_87_Träumen_und_Wachen- Bruckner.pdf.

_____. “Um Mitternacht WAB 89.” Leipzig: Universal Edition, 1911. Accessed December 10, 2018. International Music Scores Library Project. http://ks.imslp.net/files/imglnks/usimg/3/38/IMSLP433016-PMLP703840- brucknerUmMitternachtWAB89score_Universal_Edition.pdf.

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_____. “Um Mitternacht WAB 90.” Edited by Alexander Reuter. Accessed December 10, 2018. International Music Scores Library Project. http://ks.imslp.net/files/imglnks/usimg/5/5f/IMSLP427611-PMLP426246- WAB_90_Um_Mitternacht-Bruckner.pdf.

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APPENDIX A

Listing of Bruckner Male Part-songs—Listed by Chronology

WAB Voicing/ No. Title Instrumentation Year

59 An dem Feste TTBB/a cappella 1843

78 Das Lied vom deutschen Vaterland TTBB/a cappella c. 1845

84 Ständchen TTBB/a cappella c. 1846

67 Festlied (Re-texting of WAB 59) TTBB/a cappella c. 1846

77 Der Lehrerstand TTBB/a cappella c. 1847

85 Sternschnuppen TTBB/a cappella c. 1848

83 Zwei Sängersprüche TTBB/a cappella 1851

65 Das elde Herz TTBB/a cappella c. 1851

69 Die Geburt TTBB/a cappella 1851

53 Vor Arneths Grab TTBB/3 trombones 1854

76 Lasst Jubelklänge laut erklingen TTBB/2 horns/2 1854 trumpets/4 trombones

62 Des Dankes Wort sei mir gegönnt T and B soli/5 part 1855 Male chorus/a cappella

2 Am Grabe TTBB/a cappella 1861

16 Preiset den Herrn Bari. solo/TTBB/ 1862 woodwinds/brass/timpani

55 Der Abendhimmel I TTBB/a cappella 1862

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70 Germanenzug TTBB/Male Quartet/3 1863 horns/4 trumpets/2 cornets/3 trombones/ euphonium/tuba

73 Herbstlied 2 Sopranos/TTBB/piano 1864

89 Um Mitternacht I Alto/TTBB/piano 1864

56 Der Abendhimmell II TTBB/a cappella 1866

92 O könnt ich dich beglücken 2 Bari. soli/TTBB 1866 a cappella

91 Vaterländisches Weinlied TTBB/a cappella 1866

95 Wahlspruch für die Liedertafel TTBB/a cappella 1868 Sierning

148 Motto und Begrüssung TTBB/a cappella 1869

80 Mitternacht Tenor/TTBB/piano 1870

148 Motto TTBB/a cappella 1874

74a Das hohe Lied TTB soli/TTBB/a cappella 1876

74b Das hohe Lied TTB soli/TTBB/strings/ 1879 Brass

88 Trösterin Musik TTBB/organ 1877

81 Nachruf TTBB/organ 1877

57 Abendzauber Bari. solo/3 yodelers/ 1878 4 horns

82 Sängerbund TTBB/a cappella 1882

90 Um Mitternacht II Tenor/TTBB/a cappella 1886

87 Träumen und Wachen Tenor/TTBB/a cappella 1890

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63 Das deutsche Lied TTBB/4 horns/3 trumpets/ 1892 3 trombones/tuba

86 Tafellied (Re-texting of WAB 59) TTBB/a cappella 1893

71 Helgoland TTBB/full orchestra 1893