' (Our dear Lady's dream, ''Our Lady's Vision'') Op. 138, No. 4, 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 an anonymous poet, derived from a

Volkslied Volkslied (literally: folk song) is a genre of popular songs in German which are traditionally sung. While many of them were first passed orally, several collections were published from the late 18th century. Later, some popular songs were also ...

. The piece is in

F major F major (or the key of F) is a major scale based on F, with the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative minor is D minor and its parallel minor is F minor F minor is a minor scale based on F, consis ...

and scored for up to six voices, SSATBB. 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 fourth of ' (Eight Sacred Songs). It is often performed in

Advent Advent is a Christian season of preparation for the Nativity of Christ at Christmas. It is the beginning of the liturgical year in Western Christianity. The name was adopted from Latin "coming; arrival", translating Greek ''parousia''. In ...

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. Inspired by Bach's motets, he had composed "extended a cappella choral settings", such as ''Geistliche Gesänge'', Op. 110, dedicated to the Thomanerchor, with challenging

double fugue In music, a fugue () is a contrapuntal compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject (a musical theme) that is introduced at the beginning in imitation (repetition at different pitches) and which recurs frequently in the c ...

s. In great contrast, he composed eight motets forming ''Acht geistliche Gesänge'' (Eight Sacred Songs), Op. 138, as a master of "new simplicity". 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. ''Unser lieben Frauen Traum'' was published in 1916 as the fourth of ''Acht geistliche Gesänge'' (Eight Sacred Songs). # ''

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 Matthias Claudius (15 August 1740 – 21 January 1815) was a German poet and journalist, otherwise known by the pen name of “Asmus”. Life Claudius was born at Reinfeld, Holstein, Reinfeld, near Lübeck, and studied at Jena. He spent the gre ...

) # ''Morgengesang'' (Johannes Zwick) # '' Nachtlied'' (Petrus Herbert) # ''Unser lieben Frauen Traum'' (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 consists of three short stanzas by an anonymous poet, derived from a religious folk song, that was first printed in 1602 in a Catholic hymnal edited by Nicolaus Beuttner.''Und unser lieben Frauen''
Liederprojekt The topic is a dream of

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

, "our dear Lady", of a tree growing under her heart, providing shadow over all land, called Jesus Christ the Saviour. The final stanza says that he is "our salvation and consolation", who freed us by his bitter martyrdom. A sermon held in the

Thomaskirche , native_name_lang = , image = Leipzig Thomaskirche.jpg , imagelink = , imagealt = , caption = , pushpin map = , pushpin label position = , pushpin map alt ...

where the motet was performed by the

Thomanerchor The Thomanerchor (English: St. Thomas Choir of Leipzig) is a boys' choir in Leipzig, Germany. The choir was founded in 1212. The choir comprises about 90 boys from 9 to 18 years of age. The members, called ''Thomaner'', reside in a boarding scho ...

pointed out that the growing tree refers to the wood of the cross on which Jesus suffered. Related to a dream about pregnancy, the piece is often performed in

. A free English translation of the poem was provided by

Catherine Winkworth Catherine Winkworth (13 September 1827 – 1 July 1878) was an English hymnwriter and educator. She translated the German chorale tradition of church hymns for English speakers, for which she is recognized in the calendar of the Evangelical Lut ...

, "Our Lady lay a-sleeping". A translation to be sung was written by Jean Lunn, published by

Carus Marcus Aurelius Carus (c. 222 – July or August 283) was Roman emperor from 282 to 283. During his short reign, Carus fought the Germanic tribes and Sarmatians along the Danube frontier with success. He died while campaigning against th ...

: "And to our blessed lady". Max Reger produced an altogether new composition, not making use of the existing folk tune. The piece is in

and scored for up to six voices, SSATBB. It is marked "Zart bewegt", roughly: "in tender motion". The first two stanzas of the poem are set the same, in time for four vocal parts,

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

alto The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: ''altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In 4-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in choruses by ...

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

and

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 ...

. The second stanza has different dynamics for the same notes. As a climax, the third stanza is in

common time The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

and set for six parts by division of the soprano and bass. It begins with a forceful acclamation "" (Lord Jesus Christ), followed by the first rest in the whole motet. The last line about salvation for "us all" ("") reaches high tension, in terms of both harmony and

fortissimo In music, the dynamics of a piece is the variation in loudness between notes or phrases. Dynamics are indicated by specific musical notation, often in some detail. However, dynamics markings still require interpretation by the performer dependi ...

on "all", which is released within only two beats to

pianissimo In music, the dynamics of a piece is the variation in loudness between notes or phrases. Dynamics are indicated by specific musical notation, often in some detail. However, dynamics markings still require interpretation by the performer dependin ...

, then the last half line is repeated, beginning softly and fading away.

Recording

The motet has been recorded in programs for Advent and Christmas, such as a collection by the chamber choir ars antiqua Aschaffenburg, and in recordings 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 ...

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Motets by Max Reger 1914 compositions