| Ein' feste Burg ist unser Gott | |
|---|---|
| Chorale fantasia by Max Reger | |
 Reger in 1901 | |
| Opus | 27 |
| Based on | " Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott " |
| Composed | 1898 |
| Dedication | Karl Straube |
| Published | 1899 |
Ein' feste Burg ist unser Gott ("A Mighty Fortress Is Our God"), Op. 27, is a chorale fantasia for organ by Max Reger. He composed it in 1898 on Luther's hymn " Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott ". The full title is Phantasie über den Choral "Ein' feste Burg ist unser Gott".
Reger was raised Catholic but was fascinated by the variety of melodies of Protestant hymns, and used quotations from them throughout his life. He composed seven chorale fantasias in Weiden between 1898 and 1900, inspired by a fantasia on "Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern", Op. 25 (1895) of his teacher Heinrich Reimann. [1] Reger's fantasias follow Reimann's model of setting individual stanzas, connected by interludes. [2] Reger wrote the works for Karl Straube, whom he met in April 1898 when he played concerts at the Frankfurt Paulskirche, including parts of Reger's Suite for organ, Op. 16. Straube believed in Reger as a composer and premiered several of his works from manuscript. [3]
The text of the hymn was written by Martin Luther, published in 1529. Reger composed the fantasia in Weiden in August and September 1898, and dedicated it to Karl Straube, who played the first performance in Wesel on 20 September 1898. [4] It was the first work written for Straube, and the first work by Reger to find success with the public, [3] regarded as his breakthrough as a composer. [5]
The fantasia was published by Rob. Forberg in Leipzig in March 1899. [4] Reger had planned it as his Op. 27a, with Op. 27b a fantasia on "Freu’ dich sehr, o meine Seele". The second work was published by Jos. Aibl Verlag as Op. 30. [6] Ein' feste Burg ist unser Gott, as other chorale fantasias by Reger, is more often performed in concert than in liturgical church services, because of its dimensions. [5] Reger commented the alleged difficulty of his organ works in 1900 to his friend the organist Gusav Beckmann: "Meine Orgelsachen sind schwer, es gehört ein über die Technik souverän herrschender geistvoller Spieler dazu" (My organ pieces are difficult; they need a skillful player who masters the technique). [7] The organist Alfred Sittard first recorded this work by Reger on shellac in 1908 on the Sauer organ of the Berlin Garnison Church.
"A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" is one of the best known hymns by the Protestant Reformer Martin Luther, a prolific hymnwriter. Luther wrote the words and composed the hymn tune between 1527 and 1529. It has been translated into English at least seventy times and also into many other languages. The words are mostly original, although the first line paraphrases that of Psalm 46.
Montgomery Rufus Karl Siegfried Straube was a German church musician, organist, and choral conductor, famous above all for championing the abundant organ music of Max Reger.
Chorale fantasia is a type of large composition based on a chorale melody, both works for organ, and vocal settings, for example the opening movements of Bach's chorale cantatas, with the chorale melody as a cantus firmus.
Adolf Friedrich Hesse was a German organist and composer.
Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott, BWV 80, is a chorale cantata for Reformation Day by Johann Sebastian Bach. He reworked it from one of his Weimar cantatas, Alles, was von Gott geboren, BWV 80a. The first Leipzig version of the church cantata, BWV 80b, may have been composed as early as 1723, some five months after Bach had moved to Leipzig. Some years later he reworked the cantata one more time, writing an extended chorale fantasia as its opening movement. The text of the BWV 80a version was written by Salomon Franck and contained one stanza of Martin Luther's hymn "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott"; for his chorale cantata versions, BWV 80b and 80, Bach added the complete text of this Lutheran hymn.
Johann Ernst Bach was a German composer of the Classical Period. He was the son of Johann Bernhard Bach.
Alles, was von Gott geboren, BWV 80.1, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in Weimar for Oculi, the third Sunday in Lent, and first performed it on 24 March 1715 or 15 March 1716. The music is lost, but Bach expanded on it in about 1730 to create his chorale cantata for Reformation Day, Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott, BWV 80.
Der 100. Psalm, Op. 106, is a composition in four movements by Max Reger in D major for mixed choir and orchestra, a late Romantic setting of Psalm 100. Reger began composing the work in 1908 for the 350th anniversary of Jena University. The occasion was celebrated that year with the premiere of Part I, conducted by Fritz Stein on 31 July. Reger completed the composition in 1909. It was published that year and premiered simultaneously on 23 February 1910 in Chemnitz, conducted by the composer, and in Breslau, conducted by Georg Dohrn.
Three chorale fantasias, Op. 52, are chorale fantasias for organ by Max Reger. He composed the fantasias on three chorales in September 1900: Phantasie über den Choral "Alle Menschen müssen sterben", Phantasie über den Choral "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme" and Phantasie über den Choral "Halleluja! Gott zu loben bleibe meine Seelenfreud". They were all first performed individually by Reger's friend Karl Straube, and were first published by Breitkopf & Härtel.
Zwei Choralphantasien, Op. 40, are fantasias for organ by Max Reger. He composed the fantasias in 1899 on two chorales: "Wie schön leucht't uns der Morgenstern" and "Straf mich nicht in deinem Zorn" They were published by Musikverlag Josef Aibl in Munich in May 1900.
Zwölf Stücke, Op. 65, is a group of twelve pieces for organ by Max Reger, composed in Munich in 1902. They were published by C. F. Peters in Leipzig in August of that year, in two books (Heft) of six pieces each.
Zwölf Stücke, Op. 80, is a group of twelve pieces for organ by Max Reger. He composed them in Munich in 1902 and 1904. They were published by C. F. Peters in Leipzig in September 1904.
Sieben Stücke für Orgel, Op. 145, is a collection of seven compositions for organ by Max Reger. He composed the work in three groups in 1915 and 1916. The titles of seven individual character pieces reflect aspects of World War I and Christian feasts. The compositions are based on traditional German hymns, sometimes combining several in one piece. Reger's last work for organ, it was published, again in three installments, in 1915 and 1916.
52 chorale preludes, Op. 67, is a collection of 52 settings of popular Protestant hymns for organ by Max Reger, composed between 1900 and 1902. Originally published in three volumes between 1900 and 1903 with the cover title "52 Choralvorspiele für Orgel", the full title of the collection was "Zweiundfünfzig leicht ausführbare Vorspiele zu den gebräuchlichsten evangelischen Chorälen".
Chorale is the name of several related musical forms originating in the music genre of the Lutheran chorale:
Introduction, Passacaglia and Fugue in E minor, Op. 127, is an extended composition for organ by Max Reger, composed in 1913 and dedicated to Karl Straube who played the premiere in Breslau on 24 September. It was published in November that year in Berlin by Bote & Bock.
Martin Welzel is a German organist, musicologist, and pedagogue.
Martin Karl Woldemar Hasse was a German university lecturer, composer and music writer.
Georg Philipp Telemann composed the motet Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott, TWV 8:7, setting Luther's hymn in German, "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott", for a four-part choir and continuo. The motet was first published around 1780. A modern edition was published by Carus-Verlag.
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