' (Evening magic),
WAB 57, is a
song composed by
Anton Bruckner
Josef Anton Bruckner (; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer, organist, and music theorist best known for his symphonies, masses, Te Deum and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-Germ ...
in 1878.
History
Bruckner composed the song on a text of Heinrich von der Mattig on 13 January 1878. He dedicated it to Carl Almeroth. The piece was not performed during the composer's life, because of its performance difficulties (
humming voices). It was first performed in 1911 by
Viktor Keldorfer Viktor Josef Keldorfer (14 April 1873 – 28 January 1959) was an Austrian conductor of male voice choirs, in particular from 1922 to 1954 of the ''Wiener Schubertbund'', and was a chairman of choir associations.
Life
Keldorfer was born in Salzbur ...
with the ''
Wiener Männergesang-Verein
The Wiener Männergesang-Verein ("Vienna Men's Choral Society" or "Vienna Male Voice Choir") is a men's choir in Vienna, Austria, founded in 1843. The choir has regularly appeared with the Vienna Philharmonic, and has performed worldwide. Notable ...
'' (Vienna men's choral association), and was thereafter published by the
Universal Edition
Universal Edition (UE) is a classical music publishing firm. Founded in 1901 in Vienna, they originally intended to provide the core classical works and educational works to the Austrian market (which had until then been dominated by Leipzig-base ...
.
[C. van Zwol, p. 728] It was very popular with Austrian choirs during the
interbellum.
The work, of which the original manuscript is stored in the archive of the ''Wiener Männergesang-Verein'',
is issued in Band XXIII/2, No. 29 of the '.
[Gesamtausgabe – Weltliche Chöre](_blank)
/ref>
Text
''Abendzauber'' uses a text by Heinrich von der Mattig.
Music
The 82-bar
Bar or BAR may refer to:
Food and drink
* Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages
* Candy bar
* Chocolate bar
Science and technology
* Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment
* Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud
* Bar (u ...
long work in G-flat major is scored for choir, tenor or baritone soloist. Similarly to ''Das hohe Lied'', the first part (58 bars) is sung by the soloist with an accompaniment of humming voices. From "''Wer könnte je vergessen''", the melody is taken over by the choir. In addition, four horns are figuring Alphorns, and a ''Ferngesang'' (chant from a distance) of female voices is figuring yodeler
Yodeling (also jodeling) is a form of singing which involves repeated and rapid changes of pitch between the low-pitch chest register (or "chest voice") and the high-pitch head register or falsetto. The English word ''yodel'' is derived from ...
s.[U. Harten, p. 42] Bruckner's specialist Ernst Kurth considers this original, somewhat odd piece as one Bruckner's most romantic works.
Selected discography
The first recording of ''Abendzauber'' was by Bryan Fairfax, with Alfred Orda (tenor), the BBC Chorus and the horns of the London Symphony Orchestra, ''Szymanowski - Bruckner - Schumann. A Choral Anthology'' – CD: Symposium Records 1423 (4 September 1960)
A selection of the few other recordings:
* Rolf Beck, Markus Krause (baritone), Süddeutsches Vokalensemble and horn ensemble Marie Luise Neunecker
Marie Luise Neunecker (born 17 July 1955) is a German horn player and professor at the Hochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler".
Professional career
Neunecker was born in Erbes-Büdesheim. She studied musicology and German studies. She completed h ...
, ''Romantische Chormusik'' – CD:Koch Schwann 3 1398-2 H1, 1994
* Timothy Seelig, Timothy Jenkins (tenor), Turtle Creek Chorale and Fort Worth Symphony Brass, ''Times of the Day'' – CD: Reference Recordings RR-67, 1995
* Jan Schumacher, Christoph Prégardien
Christoph Prégardien (born 18 January 1956) is a German lyric tenor whose career is closely associated with the roles in Mozart operas, as well as performances of Lieder, oratorio roles, and Baroque music. He is well known for his performances an ...
(Tenor), Camerata Musica Limburg, ''Serenade. Songs of night and love'' – CD: Genuin GEN 12224, 2011 - with male "yodelers"
References
Sources
* ''Anton Bruckner – Sämtliche Werke, Band XXIII/2: Weltliche Chorwerke (1843–1893)'', Musikwissenschaftlicher Verlag der Internationalen Bruckner-Gesellschaft, Angela Pachovsky and Anton Reinthaler (Editor), Vienna, 1989
* Cornelis van Zwol, ''Anton Bruckner 1824–1896 – Leven en werken'', uitg. Thoth, Bussum, Netherlands, 2012.
* Uwe Harten, ''Anton Bruckner. Ein Handbuch''. , Salzburg, 1996. .
External links
*
*
''Abendzauber'' Ges-Dur, WAB 57
– Critical discography by Hans Roelofs
* The following performances of ''Abendzauber'' can be heard on YouTube:
**Byung-Moo Yoo with the Korea Male Choir and the Ebangel Female Choir (2001)
Anton Bruckner - ''Abendzauber''
**Josef Böck with Johannes Gissen (baritone), the Wiener Staatsopernchor, the Wiener Vokalisten and the Hornensemble der Wiener Symphoniker
Bruckner ''Abenzauner''
**Josef Böck with Dritan Luca (tenor) and the same other performers (2007)
''Abendzauber''
{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Abendzauber'', WAB 57
Weltliche Chorwerke by Anton Bruckner
1878 compositions
Compositions in G-flat major