| Virga Jesse | |
|---|---|
| Motet by Anton Bruckner | |
 Immaculate Conception (Wintershouse) | |
| Key | E minor |
| Catalogue | WAB 52 |
| Form | Gradual |
| Text | Virga Jesse floruit |
| Language | Latin |
| Dedication | 100th anniversary of the Linz diocese |
| Performed | 8 December 1885: Vienna |
| Published | 1896: Vienna |
| Vocal | SATB choir |
Virga Jesse (The branch from Jesse), WAB 52, is a motet by the Austrian composer Anton Bruckner. It sets the gradual Virga Jesse floruit for unaccompanied mixed choir.
The work was completed on 3 September 1885 and may have been intended for the celebration of the one-hundredth anniversary of the Linz diocese; however, like the Ecce sacerdos magnus that Bruckner composed A.M.D.G. for that event, it was not performed there. [1] [2] It was performed on 8 December 1885 in the Wiener Hofmusikkapelle for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. [1]
The original manuscript is archived at the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek , and transcriptions of it at the Hofmusikkapelle and the Abbey of Kremsmünster. [3] The motet was edited together with three other graduals ( Locus iste WAB 23, Christus factus est WAB 11, and Os justi WAB 30), by Theodor Rättig, Vienna in 1886. [1] The motet is put in Band XXI/34 of the Gesamtausgabe. [4]
This 91-bar gradual in E minor is for mixed choir a cappella. In the first part on the verse Virga jesse floruit (bars 1-20) Bruckner used twice the Dresdner Amen on the word floruit (bars 7-9 and 17-19). [1] The last part (bars 63-91) consists, as in the earlier Inveni David WAB 19, of an Alleluja , for which Bruckner drew his inspiration from the Hallelujah of Händel's Messiah , on which he often improvised on organ. [5] The motet ends in pianissimo by the tenor voice on a pedal point. [6]
Max Auer regards it as the most accomplished and magnificent a cappella motet of the composer. [6] The Bruckner biographer Howie also calls this work "one of Bruckner's finest motets". [2]
The first recording of Bruckner's Vexilla regis occurred in 1931:
A selection among the about 80 recordings:
The Messe für den Gründonnerstag, WAB 9, is a missa brevis composed by Anton Bruckner in 1844.
Ecce sacerdos magnus, WAB 13, is an 1885 sacred motet by the Austrian composer Anton Bruckner. It is a musical setting of the antiphon of the same title.
Afferentur regi, WAB 1, is a motet, which Anton Bruckner composed on 7 November 1861 on the text of the Offertorium of the Missa pro Virgine et Martyre.
Vexilla regis, WAB 51, is the final motet written by the Austrian composer Anton Bruckner.
Tota pulchra es, WAB 46, is a sacred motet by the Austrian composer Anton Bruckner.
Locus iste, WAB 23, is a sacred motet composed by Anton Bruckner in 1869. The text is the Latin gradual Locus iste for the annual celebration of a church's dedication. The incipit, Locus iste a Deo factus est, translates to "This place was made by God". Bruckner set it for four unaccompanied voices, intended for the dedication of the Votivkapelle at the New Cathedral in Linz, Austria, where Bruckner had been a cathedral organist. It was the first motet that Bruckner composed in Vienna. It was published in 1886, together with three other gradual motets.
Ave Maria, WAB 5, is a setting of the Latin prayer Ave Maria by Anton Bruckner.
Christus factus est, WAB 11, is a sacred motet by Anton Bruckner, his third setting of the Latin gradual Christus factus est, composed in 1884. Before, Bruckner composed in 1844 a first piece on the same text as gradual of the Messe für den Gründonnerstag, and in 1873 a motet for eight-part mixed choir, three trombones, and string instruments ad libitum. The motet is an expressive setting of the gradual, influenced by Wagner's music.
Christus factus est, WAB 10, is a sacred motet by Anton Bruckner, his second setting of the Latin gradual Christus factus est, written in 1873. Several decades earlier, in 1844, he had composed another piece on the same text as gradual for the Messe für den Gründonnerstag. In 1884, Bruckner composed a third, better known setting for choir a cappella.
Os justi, WAB 30, is a sacred motet composed by Anton Bruckner in 1879. Os Justi is a Gregorian chant used as gradual of the Commune Doctorum, and as introit I and gradual II of the Commune Confessoris non Pontificis.
Libera me, WAB 21, is the first of two settings of the absoute Libera me, composed by Anton Bruckner in c. 1843.
Libera me, WAB 22, is the second of two settings of the absoute Libera me, composed by Anton Bruckner in 1854.
Tantum ergo, WAB 32, is the first of eight settings of the hymn Tantum ergo composed by Anton Bruckner in 1845.
Tantum ergo, WAB 42, is a setting of the hymn Tantum ergo composed by Anton Bruckner in 1846.
Tantum ergo, WAB 44, is the last of eight settings of the hymn Tantum ergo composed by Anton Bruckner in c. 1854.
The two Totenlieder, WAB 47/1 & 47/2, are elegies composed by Anton Bruckner in 1852.
Salvum fac populum tuum, WAB 40, is a motet composed by Anton Bruckner in 1884.
Inveni David, WAB 19, is a sacred motet composed by Anton Bruckner in 1868.
Iam lucis orto sidere, WAB 18, is a motet composed by Anton Bruckner in 1868. The work is also known as In S. Angelum custodem. Bruckner revised the composition in 1886.
Du bist wie eine Blume, WAB 64, is a song, which Anton Bruckner composed in 1861.
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