Three Chorale Fantasias, Op. 52

Three chorale fantasias (''Drei Choralphantasien''), Op. 52, are chorale fantasias for organ by Max Reger. He composed the fantasias on three chorales in September 1900: ', ' and '. They were all first performed individually by Reger's friend Karl Straube, and were first published by Breitkopf & Härtel.

Straube and others regarded especially No. 2 highly, Straube called it "" (most extraordinary achievement).

History

Reger composed the works in September 1900 in Weiden in der Oberpfalz. He dated No. 2 on 15 September 1900, and sent the works to the publisher on 22 October 1900. Reger wrote dedications:
* No. 1: (Most respectfully dedicated to the Very Reverend Professor Dr Julius Smend)
* No. 2: (Dedicated to my friend Karl Straube, with cordial gratitude)
* No. 3: (Most respectfully dedicated to Mr Friedrich L. Schnackenberg)

No. 1 was first performed by Karl Straube in the summer of 1901 at the Sauer organ of the in Wesel. No. 2 was first performed by Straube at that organ on 28 April 1901, and repeated on 12 May 1901 at the in Berlin. No. 3 was first performed by Straube on 9 November 1901 at the Walcker organ of the Kaim-Saal in Munich.

The duration is given as 16–17 min. for No. 1, 17–19 min. for No. 2, 15–17 min for No. 3.

No. 1

The text of the chorale "''Alle Menschen müssen sterben''" was written by Johann Georg Albinus in 1652. The melody was probably composed by (1678):

The fantasia is structured in six sections, based on four of the seven stanzas of the hymn.
#
# Strophe I ("All men must die")
# Interlude
# Strophe III ("Jesus died for me")
# Strophe VI ("O Jerusalem the lovely")
# Strophe VII ("Ah, mine eyes have truly seen")

Unlike other chorale fantasias, this work ends not with a fugue. It alternates stanzas with relation to the chorale tune with free stanzas. The introduction () presents several motifs, including a large leap downward as a (motif of death), and a downward sequence of chords as an (motif of resurrection).

Reger wrote a copy for Straube and added the dedication: "" ("Quite heartfelt pleasure, dear Carl! In case of deaths when listening to this 'crime', I will assume the costs of the funerals. Best greeting, your old organist, Max Reger").

No. 2

The fantasia is based on Philipp Nicolai's hymn in three stanzas "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme", published in 1599.

Reger uses the last lines as they still appeared in the ''Evangelisches Kirchengesangbuch'' (EKG) of 1950:

The fantasia is structured in four parts, an introduction and one four each stanza, the last one as a fugue:
#
# Strophe I
# Strophe II
# Fuge und Strophe III

The introduction is marked ''grave assai''. Form and rhythm of the beginning, marked ''pppp'', appear undecided. The sombre atmosphere is interrupted only by two forceful entries (marked ''fff'') which have been characterized as "niedersausende Blitze" (striking lightning). Martin Weyer regarded the section as contrasting quiet night and commencing judgement".

The chorale tune appears first in measure 11, in ''"sehr lichte Registrierung"'' (very light registration). The lines of the poem are interrupted by interludes. Reger establishes a contrast of ''"himmlische Herrlichkeit"'' (heavenly glory) and ''"irdische Finsternis"'' (earthly darkness). traube notes:

No. 3

The text of the chorale "Halleluja! Gott zu loben" was written by as a paraphrase of Psalm 146">traube notes:

No. 3

The text of the chorale "Halleluja! Gott zu loben" was written by as a paraphrase of Psalm 146. The melody is by Johann Georg Bätzler.

The fantasie is structured in an introduction, marked ''vivace assai – vivacissimo'', and seven chorale stanzas, concluded by a coda:
# Introducion
# Strophe I
# Strophe II
# Strophe III
# Strophe IV
# Strophen V and VI
# Fugue and Strophe VII

In the coda, the first two lines of the chorale melody as a Canon (music)">canon in soprano and bass.

Editions

*
*
*
*

Selected recordings

On organs from Reger's era:
* Christoph Bossert: ''Max Reger. Drei Choralfantasien Op. 52.'' recorded in 1990 at the Link organ of the Protestant Church in Giengen an der Brenz
* Christoph Bossert: ''Max Reger. Drei Choralphantasien Op. 52.'' recorded in 2006 at the Link organ
* Martin Sander: ''Max Reger. Orgelwerke Vol. 2.'' (organ of the Riga Cathedral; Op. 52 No. 2)
* Balázs Szabó: ''Max Reger. Die 7 Choralfantasien'', SACD No. 2: Op. 52, recorded in 2015 at the Kuhn organ (1914) of St. Anton in Zurich

On modern organs:
* Jean-Baptiste Dupont: ''Max Reger. Sämtliche Orgelwerke Vol. 1.'' (organ of the Magdeburg Cathedral; Op. 52 Nos. 1–3)
* Kari Vuola: ''Max Reger: Orgelwerke. Drei Phantasien für Orgel Op. 52.'' (organ of the Tampere Cathedral;, Op. 52 Nos. 1–3)

References

Sources

*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

Further reading

*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

External links

*
*
*
*

{{Authority control

Organ compositions by Max Reger
1900 compositions
Fantasias (music)
Music with dedications