' (Evening magic),
WAB 57, is a
song
A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...
composed by
Anton Bruckner
Joseph Anton Bruckner (; ; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer and organist best known for his Symphonies by Anton Bruckner, symphonies and sacred music, which includes List of masses by Anton Bruckner, Masses, Te Deum (Br ...
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 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 an Austrian classical music publishing firm. Founded in 1901 in Vienna, it originally intended to provide the core classical works and educational works to the Austrian market. The firm soon expanded to become one of t ...
.
[C. van Zwol, p. 728] It was very popular with Austrian choirs during the
interbellum
In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...
.
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 long work in G-flat major
G-flat major is a major scale based on G♭ (musical note), G, consisting of the pitches G, A♭ (musical note), A, B♭ (musical note), B, C♭ (musical note), C, D♭ (musical note), D, E♭ (musical note), E, and F (musical note), F. Its key si ...
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 Alphorn
The alphorn (; ; ) is a traditional lip-reed wind instrument. It consists of a very long straight wooden natural horn, with a length of , a conical bore and a wooden cup-shaped mouthpiece. Traditionally the alphorn was made in one piece from ...
s, and a ''Ferngesang'' (chant from a distance) of female voices is figuring yodelers.[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, ''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 a ...
(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
Uwe Harten (born 16 August 1944) is a German musicologist, who works in Austria.
Life
Born in , Harten grew up in Hamburg, where he was a boy soprano at the Staatsoper. He took over the roles of a child. In Hamburg he also began his studies of ...
, ''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