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Iam lucis orto sidere, WAB 18

' (Now that the daylight fills the sky), WAB 18, is a motet composed by Anton Bruckner in 1868. The work is also known as In S. Angelum custodem (In the custody of the holy angel). Bruckner revised the composition in 1886.

History

Bruckner composed this motet in the summer of 1868 for the ' ("Guardian angel confraternity") of Wilhering Abbey. Bruckner dedicated it to Adolf Dorfer, the abbot of the abbey. Bruckner set the music on the text written by Robert Riepl, one of the priests working at the abbey. The motet was performed in the same year in the abbey.

Riepl's text is an adaptation of the text used by Orlande de Lassus. Bruckner's original manuscript, which was stored in the abbey, is lost. A copy of it is stored in the archive of the Kremsmünster Abbey and two other copies are found in the Austrian National Library. The motet was published in 1868 by the Wilhering Abbey.

In 1886, Bruckner made a new version of the motet for men's choir, which was published in the journal ', volume 1, no. 8, p. 240, F. Mamroth, Vienna.

The ' includes two settings of the 1868 version in volume XXI/24, and the 1886 setting in volume XXI/35.

Music

The first version in Phrygian mode, which Bruckner composed in 1868, is 24-bar long. Two settings are extant: a first with all eight verses of Riepl's text for choir a cappella, and a second with only one verse of a different text for choir and organ. The motet is a simple, modally inspired piece and homophonic throughout.

A new version of the motet in G minor, which Bruckner composed in 1886, uses verses 1, 2, 7 and 8 of Riepl's text and is set for choir a cappella.

Text of the first setting (Robert Riepl)

Text of the second setting

Note: In addition to the Latin text, there is also a German version based on a text by Margarete Hemleben entitled Du Herr der Herren, in a presumably Protestant-oriented hymnal.

A performance can be heard on YouTube: Choir Nomen Nescio Arnhem – Du Herr der Herren

Selected discography

The first recording occurred in 1976:

1868 version

First setting

A few other recordings, all with deviations from the score:

  • Balduin Sulzer, Chor des Musikgymnasiums Linz, Musik aus der Stifterstraße – LP: Extempore AD-80.01/2, 1980 (verses 1, 2 & 3)
  • Robert Jones, Choir of St. Bride's Church, Bruckner: Motets – CD: Naxos 8.550956, 1994 (all 8 verses)
  • Lionel Sow, Choeur de Filles Caecilia & Maîtrise des Petits Chanteurs de Saint-Christophe de Javel, Johannes Brahms – Anton Bruckner Jardins secrets – CD: Studio SM Collection Blanche D3029, 2004 (verses 1, 2 & 3)

Second setting

Only one recording :

  • Balduin Sulzer, Mozart Chor Linz, Bruckner – CD: AtemMusik Records ATMU 97001, 1997 (with brass accompaniment)

1886 version

There are two recordings of this version:

  • Duncan Ferguson, Choir of St. Mary's Cathedral of Edinburgh, Bruckner: Motets – CD: Delphian Records DCD34071, 2010
  • Matthias Giesen, Schola Floriana, Kirchenmusik im Bruckner-Ort Ansfelden – CD: Weinberg Records SW 010497-2, 2016 (strophes 1 & 2)

References

Sources

  • Anton Bruckner – Sämtliche Werke, Band XXI: Kleine Kirchenmusikwerke, Musikwissenschaftlicher Verlag der Internationalen Bruckner-Gesellschaft, Hans Bauernfeind and Leopold Nowak (Editor), Vienna, 1984/2001
  • Cornelis van Zwol, Anton Bruckner 1824–1896 – Leven en werken, uitg. Thoth, Bussum, Netherlands, 2012.
  • Crawford Howie, Anton Bruckner – A documentary biography, online revised edition

External links