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.
Trauungschor ("Wedding chorus"), WAB 49, is a wedding
song composed by Anton Bruckner on 8 January 1865. He
composed the setting for the wedding ceremony of his
friend Karl Kerschbaum, chairman of the Liedertafel
Frohsinn, with Maria Schimatschek, a concert singer and
daughter of Franz Schimatschek. The sacred piece was
performed by Frohsinn, with Bruckner at the organ, on 5
February 1865 during the celebration of the wedding in
the Linzer Stadtpfarrkirche (Linz Parish Church). The
original manuscript is stored in the Frohsinn-archive
of the Linzer Singakademie. After this single
performance the music fell into oblivion. It was first
published in band III/2, pp. 219–224 of the
Göllerich/Auer biography. It is put in Band XXIII/2,
No. 18 of the Gesamtausgabe.
The in total 55-bar long work in F major is scored for
TTBB choir, voice quartet, and organ. The setting of
the first strophe (bars 1 to 17) is sung by the choir.
The setting of the second strophe (bars 18 to 38) is
sung by the vocal quartet. Thereafter the setting of
the first strophe is repeated da capo. In the newspaper
Linzer Zeitung of 8 February 1865 the work was praised
as a unique product of a creative spirit (originelle
Geistesschöpfung).
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trauungschor,_WAB_49).
Although originally created for Male Chorus (TTBB) &
Organ, I created this Interpretation of "Trauungschor"
("Wedding Chorus" WAB 49) in F Major for Winds (Flute,
Oboe, French Horn & Bassoon) & Strings (2 Violins,
Viola & Cello).