' (''Night Song'')
Op. 138, No. 3, is a sacred
motet
In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the pre-eminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to Margar ...
for unaccompanied mixed choir by
Max Reger
Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger (19 March 187311 May 1916) was a German composer, pianist, organist, conductor, and academic teacher. He worked as a concert pianist, as a musical director at the Paulinerkirche, Leipzig, Leipzig University ...
. The German text is a poem by Petrus Herbert, beginning "Die Nacht ist kommen" (The night has come).
The piece is in
B minor and scored for five voices
SATBB. Composed in
Meiningen
Meiningen () is a town in the southern part of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in the region of Franconia and has a population of around 25,000 (2021). in 1914, it was published in 1916 after Reger's death as the third of ' (Eight Sacred Songs).
History
Reger composed the motets of Op. 138 in
Meiningen
Meiningen () is a town in the southern part of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in the region of Franconia and has a population of around 25,000 (2021). in 1914,
at the beginning of World War I, when he also worked on
Requiem projects in Latin and German. He composed in "new simplicity" eight motets forming ''Acht geistliche Gesänge'' (Eight Sacred Songs), Op. 138.
He died before finishing to check the ''Korrekturbögen'' (
proofs
Proof most often refers to:
* Proof (truth), argument or sufficient evidence for the truth of a proposition
* Alcohol proof, a measure of an alcoholic drink's strength
Proof may also refer to:
Mathematics and formal logic
* Formal proof, a co ...
) from the publisher.
''Nachtlied'' was published by
N. Simrock
N. Simrock (in German Musikverlag N. Simrock, Simrock Verlag, or simply Simrock) was a German music publisher founded by Nikolaus Simrock which published many 19th-century German classical music composers. It was acquired in 1929 by Anton Benjamin ...
in 1916 as the third of ''Acht geistliche Gesänge''.
# ''
Der Mensch lebt und bestehet
', Op. 138, No. 1, is a sacred motet for unaccompanied mixed choir by Max Reger. The German text is a poem by Matthias Claudius, beginning with "" (Man liveth and endureth but a short time). The piece is in A minor and scored for eight voices in t ...
'' (
Matthias Claudius)
# ''Morgengesang'' (Johannes Zwick)
# ''Nachtlied'' ()
# ''
Unser lieben Frauen Traum
' (Our dear Lady's dream, ''Our Lady's Vision'') Op. 138, No. 4, is a sacred motet for unaccompanied mixed choir by Max Reger. The German text is a poem by an anonymous poet, derived from a Volkslied. The piece is in F major and scored for up to ...
'' (anonymous)
# ''Kreuzfahrerlied'' (anonymous)
# ''Das Agnus Dei'' (
Nikolaus Decius
Nikolaus Decius (also ''Degius'', ''Deeg'', ''Tech a Curia'', and ''Nickel von Hof''; c. 1485 – 21 March 1541 (others say 1546) was a German monk, hymn-writer, Protestant reformer and composer.
He was probably born in Hof in Upper Franconia, B ...
)
# ''Schlachtgesang'' (anonymous)
# ''Wir glauben an einen Gott'' (anonymous)
Text and music
The German text is a poem in three stanzas of seven lines each by Petrus Herbert.
The poem with a rhyming scheme of ABABCCC reflects in the first stanza that night has come as a time to rest in peace, protected and blessed by the Christian God. The second stanza addresses God, praying for keeping away unclean spirits and protection for both body and soul by a
guardian angel. The third stanza expects joyful rising the next morning, dedication all work and thoughts to God's praise. Reger set the motet for five voices (with divided
bass
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range:
** Bass (instrument), including:
** Acoustic bass gui ...
) in
B minor in common time, marked "Ziemlich langsam" (Rather slowly), mostly in
homophony, reminiscent of
chorales by
Johann Sebastian Bach.
All three stanzas are set differently, with subtle dynamic changes to follow the meaning of the text. The first stanza is mostly quiet, illustrating the rest at night. The second stanza begins ''forte'' with a prayer for protection from evil spirits. A call to send "dein Engel" (your angel) is again softer. The third stanza reflects ''pianissimo'' "Let us fall asleep with good thoughts", then stronger "awake happily", finally, ever broadening, the prayer that all we do may be to God's praise.
Selected recordings
The motet has been recorded as part of the complete motets Op. 138, for example by the
NDR Chor conducted by
Hans-Christoph Rademann
Hans-Christoph Rademann (born 5 August 1965 in Dresden) is a German choral conductor, currently the director of the Dresdner Kammerchor and the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart.
Career
Born in Dresden, Rademann grew up in Schwarzenberg an ...
.
It appears in a 1995 collection, combining Reger's Eight Sacred Songs with Six Sacred Songs by
Hugo Wolf
Hugo Philipp Jacob Wolf (13 March 1860 – 22 February 1903) was an Austrian composer of Slovene origin, particularly noted for his art songs, or Lieder. He brought to this form a concentrated expressive intensity which was unique in late Ro ...
, Regers ''O Tod, wie bitter bist du'' from
Op. 110, and
Anton Webern's ''Entflieht auf leichten Kähnen'', Op. 2, performed by the
KammerChor Saarbrücken KammerChor Saarbrücken is a chamber choir based in Saarbrücken, Saarland, Germany. It was established in 1990 by conductor Georg Grün
Georg Grün is a German conductor. He studied church and school music, conducting, Catholic theology and musi ...
, conducted by
Georg Grün
Georg Grün is a German conductor. He studied church and school music, conducting, Catholic theology and musicology at the Musikhochschule Saarbrücken and the University of Saarland, and studied organ improvisation under Jean-Pierre Leguay in Pa ...
.
The song was chosen for a 2008 collection ''The Best of
The King's Singers''.
References
External links
*
*
Nachtlied (Night Song: "Die Nacht ist kommen"), sacred song for chorus, Op. 138/3 AllMusic
Reger – Nachtlied, from 'Acht geistlichen Gesängen, op. 138' BBC
{{Authority control
Motets by Max Reger
1914 compositions