Josef Anton Bruckner (1824 – 1896) was an Austrian
composer and organist best known for his symphonies and
sacred music, which includes Masses, Te Deum and
motets. The symphonies are considered emblematic of the
final stage of Austro-German Romanticism because of
their rich harmonic language, strongly polyphonic
character, and considerable length. His compositions
helped to define contemporary musical radicalism, owing
to their dissonances, unprepared modulations, and
roving harmonies.
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Josef Anton Bruckner (1824 – 1896) was an Austrian
composer and organist best known for his symphonies and
sacred music, which includes Masses, Te Deum and
motets. The symphonies are considered emblematic of the
final stage of Austro-German Romanticism because of
their rich harmonic language, strongly polyphonic
character, and considerable length. His compositions
helped to define contemporary musical radicalism, owing
to their dissonances, unprepared modulations, and
roving harmonies.
Unlike other musical radicals such as Richard Wagner
and Hugo Wolf, Bruckner showed respect, even humility,
before other famous musicians, Wagner in particular.
This apparent dichotomy between Bruckner the man and
Bruckner the composer hampers efforts to describe his
life in a way that gives a straightforward context for
his music. Hans von Bülow described him as "half
genius, half simpleton". Bruckner was critical of his
own work and often reworked his compositions. There are
several versions of many of his works.
His works, the symphonies in particular, had
detractors, most notably the influential Austrian
critic Eduard Hanslick and other supporters of Johannes
Brahms, who pointed to their large size and use of
repetition, as well as to Bruckner's propensity for
revising many of his works, often with the assistance
of colleagues, and his apparent indecision about which
versions he preferred. On the other hand, Bruckner was
greatly admired by subsequent composers, including his
friend Gustav Mahler.
Salvum fac populum tuum ("O Lord, save thy people"),
WAB 40, is a motet composed by Anton Bruckner in 1884.
The motet, based on a few verses of the Te Deum, was
composed on 14 November 1884, presumably on request of
Franz Xaver Witt for the Cecilian society. The
manuscript is archived at the Österreichische
Nationalbibliothek. The motet was first published in
band IV/2, pp. 496–497 of the Göllerich/Auer
biography. It is put in Band XXI/31 of the
Gesamtausgabe.
The 57-bar motet in F major for choir a cappella, is
based on the verses "Salvum fac populum tuum" till
"Quem ad modum speravimus in te." of the Te Deum. This,
for Bruckner a quite unique composition, which uses the
same verses as part 4 of his Te Deum, alternates
passages in unison, in Falsobordone and in
polyphony.
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvum_fac_populum_tuum,
_WAB_40).
Although originally created for Chorus (SATB), I
created this Interpretation of the "Salvum fac populum
tuum" (O Lord, save thy people WAB 40) for French Horn
& Strings (2 Violins, Viola & Cello).
