Crossroads of Cultural Conflict: Religion and Country in the Stabat maters of Josef Gabriel Rheinberger A thesis submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Music in the Division of Composition, Musicology, and Theory at the College-Conservatory of Music by Rhianna Nissen B.M. Shenandoah Conservatory of Shenandoah University, 2013 July 2017 Committee Chair: Jonathan Kregor, Ph.D. Abstract In the three years between 1869 and 1871, two seismic events created a seemingly irreconcilable cultural conflict in South Germany. 1869 saw Pope Pius’s decree of papal infallibility, reasserting papal supremacy over the power of secular rulers. 1871 saw Bismarck’s triumph over the French in the Franco-Prussian War, and the long-awaited political unification of much of German-speaking central Europe. Munich, the cosmopolitan heart of Catholic Bavaria, acutely experienced these changes, and the conflicts inherent in growing dogmatism on both secular and religious fronts. The pull between German nationalism and Catholic identity— always a complicated relationship—grew increasingly polarized, exacerbated by Bismarck’s anti-Catholic Kulturkampf, the Döllinger affair, and the schism between “old” and “new” Catholics in South Germany. Musically, these conflicting identities are apparent in the works of Josef Gabriel Rheinberger. A Lichtenstein-born composer living and working in Munich, Rheinberger consciously sought to align himself with the great pantheon of German composers extolled in the German musical press, while at the same time responsive to the demands of his various sacred music positions, his own relationship to the Catholic faith, and the musical dogmatism of the Caeciliens at Regensburg. This thesis compares Rheinberger’s two settings of the Catholic Stabat mater poem, Opp. 16 and 138, in evaluating the comparative pull of German and Catholic musical traditions in late nineteenth-century Munich. Written twenty years apart (1864 and 1884, respectively) the two works are musical snapshots of distinctive periods in Munich and Rheinberger’s histories, existing at the crossroads of German and Catholic identity, and revealing the cultural conflicts and compromises inherent therein. ii Acknowledgements There are many people without whom this project would have had no chance at completion. To Dr. Matthew Peattie, and his endless wealth of information on sacred music and Caeciliens; Dr. Stephen Meyer, for countless hours of mentorship and advice; and Dr. Jonathan Kregor, for agreeing to chair this committee, and for his patience, feedback, and good humor on a project that at times felt as though inching towards an ever-evasive horizon. I would also like to extend my thanks to the many denizens of the AMS-L who lent their Kurrentschrift expertise, especially Geoff Chew, Valerie Goertzen, and Rex Levang, for their assistance in transcribing. To our Cincinnati cohort: Taylor, Dan, Stephen, and Laikin—we have since dispersed in various directions, but we started this journey together, and it was through sharing in your passion, inspiration, and commitment to this study of musicology, that my own passion and commitment grew. To friends near and far, whose support I could never do without, and whose honesty and love give me strength to press on. To my parents, Linda and Rob, and my sister, Meredith, who many not always understand exactly what it is I do or why I do it, but love that I do it, just the same. Lastly, to Isabel the dog, who has torn through boxes of treats and at least half a dozen squeaky lamb toys while waiting for me to finish whatever is on the computer and take her for a walk. iii Table of Contents Introduction……………………………………………………………………………… 1 Chapter 1: Rheinberger’s Position in a German Musical Lineage…………………… 6 Putting the “German” in “German Music”………………………………………… 6 Rheinberger’s Early Musical Background………………………………………… 9 Munich at Midcentury…………………………………………………………….... 11 Rheinberger at the Munich Conservatory………………………………………….. 15 Chapter 2: Sacred Music in Munich at Midcentury…………………………………… 18 Sacred Music Reform Efforts……………………………………………………… 19 The South German Palestrina Revival and Caecilien Movement………………… 22 The Müncher Oratorioverein……………………………………………………… 26 Chapter 3: The First Stabat mater, Op. 16 (1864/8)…………………………………….. 32 The Stabat mater Text………………………………………………………………34 Analysis of Op. 16…….…………………………………………………………… 37 Chapter 4: Munich and Regensburg 1864-1884…………………………………………45 Pius IX and Papal Infallibility……………………………………………………… 45 Bismarck’s Kulturkampf…………………………………………………………… 48 The Allgemeine Caecilienverein…………………………………………………… 52 Chapter 5: The Second Stabat mater at the Crossroads of German and Catholic Identity…………………………………59 Politics and Piety of the Rheinbergers……………………………………………... 59 The Stabat mater Poetic Inscription………………………………………………...66 Analysis of Op. 138………………………………………………………………... 70 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………… 86 Bibliography………………………………………………………………………………. 89 Appendix: Stabat mater Texts and Translations………………………………………... 95 iv List of Figures Figure 1: Op. 16 Mvmt. 1, mm. 1-8 (Choir only)…………………………...……………... 38 Figure 2: Op. 16 Mvmt. 1, mm. 14-18 (Choir only)……………………………..………… 39 Figure 3: Op. 16 Mvmt. 5, mm. 46-53 (Choir only)…………………………...………...... 40 Figure 4: Op. 16 Mvmt. 3, mm. 37-44 (Tenor, Choir, Organ, Strings)………...………….. 42 Figure 5a: Op. 138 Mvmt. 2, mm. 20-23 (Autograph Manuscript)…………...…………… 72 Figure 5b: Op. 138 Mvmt. 2, mm. 20-23 (Engraver’s Copy)…………………...…………. 73 Figure 6: Op. 138 Mvmt. 1, mm. 26-34 (Choir)…………………………………………… 74 Figure 7: Op. 138 Mvmt. 4, mm. 180-186 (Fugue theme, Bass)……………...………….... 75 Figure 8: Op. 138 Mvmt. 4, mm. 224-230 (Full Score)……………………………………. 76 Figure 9: Op. 138 Mvmt. 2, mm. 62-71 (Full Score)……………………...……………….. 78 Figure 10: Op. 138 Mvmt. 3, mm. 87-90 (Full Score)……………………………………... 79 Figure 11a: Op. 138 Mvmt. 4, mm. 135-139 (Choir only)………………………………….81 Figure 11b: Op. 138 Mvmt. 4, mm. 148-155 (Choir only)………………………………… 81 Figure 12a: Op. 138 Mvmt. 1, mm 1-7 (Choir only)………………………………………. 82 Figure 12b: Op. 138 Mvmt. 3, mm. 81-85 (Choir only)…………………………………… 82 Figure 13a: Op. 138 Mvmt. 1, mm. 1-7 (Original manuscript conception)………………... 84 Figure 13b: Op. 138 Mvmt 2 and Introduction Insert ……………………………………... 84 v Introduction In the three years between 1869 and 1871, two seismic events created a seemingly irreconcilable cultural conflict in South Germany. In 1869, Pope Pius IX called the First Vatican Council to counter growing secularism across Europe and ultimately reestablish papal supremacy with the decree of papal infallibility in 1870. That same year, the outbreak of the Franco- Prussian war signaled to all of German-speaking Europe that true political unification would soon follow—which it did, in 1871. Despite the Pan-German movement having taken hold of German-speaking Europe for the better part of the century, religious conflict between Bavarian Catholicism and German Protestantism complicated the aspirations of cultural cohesion. Between the decree of Papal Infallibility on the one hand, and new political allegiance to the other, two cultural identities of Roman Catholic and German National were explicitly incompatible. Fault lines erupted between the two influences in the form of Bismarck’s Kulturkampf of 1871-76 and the split of the Neue- and Altekatholiken in South Germany namely, those who did and did not accept Papal supremacy over the political authority of Wilhelm and the newly-unified German state. And while these conflicts of identity and allegiance would never amount to a full-scale conflict—even Bismarck’s Kulturkampf would quickly fail in its quest to stem Catholic influence—the newly apparent contradiction between what it meant to be German and what it meant to be a true Catholic was an urgent question in South German culture. This cultural conflict between Pan-Germanicism and Papal Catholicism was born out over existing lines: rural versus urban, the clergy versus intelligentsia, and, musically, between the Caecilien reformers and Romanticists. The Caecilien movement under Franz Xaver Witt was a strict musical orthodoxy that sought to deliver sacred music from the corrupting theatrical and Romantic influence, much as the decree of Papal Infallibility and Neuekatholizismus sought to 1 deliver the Faith from the corrupting force of secularization. The parallels between the Caecilien movement and Neuekatholizismus were strong—they were both most powerful outside of Munich and in rural regions of Bavaria, both were officially sanctioned by Pope Pius IX, and both were similarly absolutist: it was impossible to be neuekatholisch without accepting Papal Infallibility and it was impossible to compose music in the Caecilien style without appealing to the aesthetic authority of Franz Xaver Witt. Josef Gabriel Rheinberger, a Catholic pan-Germanicist composer from Lichtenstein, spent most of his life in Munich. Despite having enjoyed a successful career and relative fame during his lifetime, most of his compositional output quickly fell into obscurity after his death in 1901. Today, he is remembered primarily for his virtuosic organ works, which have held a consistent place in the repertory. His choral “Abendlied” also enjoys regular performance and his Wallenstein Symphony can be heard on occasion, but the vast majority of his compositions remain silent. Although an academic conference on Rheinberger declared that a revival of his repertoire