Der 100. Psalm
Der 100. Psalm | |
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Choral composition by Jena University | |
Performed | |
Published | 1909 Leipzig by : Peters |
Movements | 4 |
Scoring |
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Der 100. Psalm (The 100th Psalm),
Reger structured the text in four movements, as a
In 1922, the biographer Eugen Segnitz noted that this work, of intense expression, was unique in the sacred music of its period, with its convincing musical interpretation of the biblical text and manifold shades of emotion.
Background
Born in Bavaria in 1873, Reger studied at the
History
Reger wrote the first part of the work for the 350th anniversary of
"Die Hörer des Psalms müssen nachher als 'Relief‘ an der Wand kleben; ich will, dass der Psalm eine niederschmetternde Wirkung bekommt! Also sei so gut und besorge das!"[4][5] After it’s over the listeners must be stuck to the wall like a relief; I want the psalm to be earth-shaking in its impact! So please be so kind and make it happen![6]
Reger completed the composition of the psalm by adding three more movements from May to August 1909.
"Noch unter dem Eindruck des Gehörten, des Miterlebten stehend, ist es mir unsagbar schwer, all das Tiefempfundene, das Erhabene und Göttliche jener Stunde hier zum Ausdruck zu bringen. Man war tief erschüttert, als die gewaltige Doppelfuge verklungen war, hatte etwas Unvergessliches erlebt." Still under the impression of what we heard and experienced, it is unspeakably difficult for me to express here all the deeply experienced, the sublime and divine of that hour. One was deeply shaken, when the gigantic double fugue ended, knowing that one had experienced something unforgettable.[4]
Psalm 100 and settings
The text is Psalm 100, also known as the Jubilate Deo,[8] in the translation by Martin Luther. The rather short psalm calls one to rejoice in the Lord, serve him with gladness, come before his countenance with joy, realize that he made us, and go enter his gates, because he is friendly (Psalms 100).
Luther | Literal translation |
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Jauchzet dem Herrn alle Welt. |
Rejoice to the Lord, all world. |
The call to rejoice leads to music that is especially suitable for festive occasions. The psalm has been set to music many times, mostly for liturgical use, for example by
Ralph Vaughan Williams, who in 1928 had written an arrangement of the traditional tune associated with the psalm, Old 100th ("All people that on earth do dwell"), arranged it for congregation, organ, and orchestra for the coronation of Elizabeth II in 1953; it became ubiquitous at festive occasions in the Anglophone world.[17] Reger's setting had not been intended for church use; it was written initially for a secular occasion and then for the concert hall.[6]
Structure and scoring
Reger structured the text of the psalm in four movements as a
No. | Text | Verse | Vocal | Marking | Key | Time |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jauchzet | 1,2 | SATB | Maestoso (animato) | D major | |
2 | Erkennet | 3 | SSAATTBB | Andante sostenuto | ||
3 | Gehet zu seinen Toren ein | 4 | SSAATTBB | Allegretto con grazia | F-sharp major – C major | 3/4 |
4 | Denn der Herr ist freundlich | 5 | SATB | Maestoso | D major |
The work is scored for a four-part choir, with often divided voices, and an orchestra of two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, three timpani and more percussion, organ, and strings. In the final movement, an additional brass ensemble of four trumpets and four trombones plays the
All movements are written in D major, but Reger often modulates.[4] The movements follow each other without a break.[20] A short instrumental introduction, marked andante sostenuto, leads into the fourth movement.[4] Reger achieves a unity of form by including material (both text and music) from the first movement in the later ones.[8]
Jauchzet
The first movement corresponds to the opening movement of a symphony, which is often in sonata form. The movement sets the first two verses of the psalm, which call for three actions: "jauchzet" (rejoice), "dienet" (serve), and "kommt" (come). The three topics match two contrasting
A timpani roll on C of two measures leads to an orchestral D major chord in the third measure, marked ff (
The following verse begins with "Dienet" (Serve), the second topic. It is quiet, marked sostenuto and pp (
Erkennet
The second movement begins with a soft instrumental introduction of thirteen measures. Horns and trombones play the same note three times in unison, which is later sung with the word "Erkennet" ("Realize" or Recognize"). Kirshnit writes that the movement begins "mysteriously, almost spectrally".
As a first link to the first movements, the line "He has made us, and not we ourselves, his people" is repeated with the music used for "Dienet dem Herrn mit Freuden",[8] connecting both the musical form and the content of being created God's people and serving him with gladness. The movement closes with a reprise of the first topic, this time ending pianissimo.[4]
Gehet zu seinen Toren ein
The key of F-sharp minor and a triple meter are introduced by the orchestra. The divided female voices express in homophony and "dolcissimo": "Gehet zu seinen Toren ein" (Go enter his gates), with the measure most often divided in a halfnote and a quarter. The male voices answer "Gehet" (Go), and then the female voices repeat their line in a new version. The play is repeated, this time beginning with the male voices. The subsequent text appears in growing density and intensity, modulating constantly, ending in C major.[4]
Denn der Herr ist freundlich
A short instrumental prelude reprises the orchestral motifs of the beginning of movement 1.[8] Simultaneously, soprano and tenor sing the two themes of a double fugue on the text "Denn der Herr ist freundlich" (For the Lord is friendly). Both themes are lively, but have their fastest movement at different times. The melody of the soprano begins with the turn-motiv from the first movement, while the tenors sing mostly a rising broken D major chord, with fast motion in the second measure. The alto takes the tenor melody, and the bass the soprano melody in their following entry. After an instrumental interlude from measure 77, the themes appear in measure 91 in bass and soprano, while the melody of Luther's "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott" is played by brass in unison. The work ends, slowing down majestically, with the text "und seine Wahrheit für und für" (and his truth forever and ever).[4]
Evaluation
The biographer Eugen Segnitz wrote in 1922 that the work was not only unique in the composer's work, but in the sacred music of its period, with a rare intense power of expression ("intensive Ausdruckskraft") and a convincing musical exegesis of the biblical text, as well as its turns and manifold shades of emotion ("überzeugende musikalische Auslegung des biblischen Textes, wie auch seiner Wendungen und mannigfaltigen Gefühlsschattierungen").[21]
A reviewer of a recording noted the work's "quasi-symphonic sequence" and its "balanced overall shape which brings musical satisfaction even though the choral-orchestral presentation is at times somewhat unrelenting".[22] Eidenbenz noted that Reger achieved a direct expressivity of the smallest entities of material ("unmittelbare Expressivität kleinster Materialteile"), and saw in this "atomization" and relentless modulation a modern radicality ("moderne Radikalität").[19] He then wrote:
Expressivität statt Verstehbarkeit, die Intention einer 'Druckwelle', die das Publikum zum Relief macht, die unaufhörliche Modulation, die äusserliche Opulenz und die innere kalkulierte Logik, die naive und unhinterfragte Selbstverständlichkeit seiner Musik, Expressivity instead of understandability, the intention of a shock wave making the audience a relief, relentless modulation, external opulence and inner calculated logic, the naïve and unquestioned naturalness of his music ..."[19]
Eidenbenz noted how these elements also characterize Reger's life.[19]
Versions
In 1955, Paul Hindemith revised the work to achieve more clarity.[6][18] According to Wolfgang Rathert, Hindemith "sought to moderate Reger's 'uncontrolled invention'",[23] while Kirshnit described Reger's original scoring as "gloriously polychromatic".[18] Hindemith "thinned" the orchestra, especially the horns. In Reger's scoring, the organ reinforced the voices throughout the piece, resulting in a lack of clarity for the polyphonic passages. Hindemith used the organ only for climaxes. In the double fugue, he assigned one theme to a voice, but the other simultaneous theme to the orchestra.[24] Hindemith's approach, which enables more analytical listening,[25] seems justified by Reger's own scoring of later compositions which were more refined and focused. It is probably due to his version that Der 100. Psalm enjoyed continuous presence in concert halls, while other works by Reger were neglected.[24]
François Callebout wrote an organ version that was published in 2004 by
Hanns-Friedrich Kaiser, KMD (director of church music) in Weiden, where Reger grew up, wrote a version for choir and organ, which he conducted at the opening of the festival Reger-Tage at the church St. Michael on 16 September 2012, with organist Michael Schöch.[28]
Reger Year
In 2016, a Reger Year reflecting the
On 13 May, the
Recordings
Title | Conductor / Choir / Orchestra | Soloists | Label | Year |
---|---|---|---|---|
Max Reger – Der 100. Psalm (Präludium und Fuge, Op. 59)[35]
|
Nürnberger Symphoniker
|
Werner Jacob (organ) | SABA | 1967 |
Bamberger Symphoniker
|
Fritz Walter-Lingquist (organ) | Koch Schwann
|
1995 | |
Max Reger: Der 100. Psalm; Der Einsiedler; Requiem (Hebbel)[39] | Klaus Uwe LudwigBachchor WiesbadenBachorchester Wiesbaden | Wolf Kalipp | Melisma (recorded live in the Lutherkirche, Wiesbaden) | 2000 |
Reger: Psalm 100, etc.[25][22][40] (Hindemith arrangement) |
Chandos | 2002 | ||
Der 100. Psalm[41] (organ version) |
Gabriel DessauerReger-Chor | Ignace Michiels (organ) | live recording of the premiere | 2003 |
Reger - Timm: 100th Psalm - Jazzmesse[40] | Gewandhausorchester
|
Querstand | 2014
|
Citations
- ^ a b c Biography 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g Institute 2016.
- ^ Leipzig 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Score 2004.
- ^ Stein 1927.
- ^ a b c d e Schaarwächter 2014.
- ^ Peters 1992.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Eidenbenz 2016, p. 45.
- ^ Palestrina 2016.
- ^ Lully 2016.
- ^ Range 2007.
- ^ Melamed 1995.
- ^ Bach Digital 2016.
- ^ Spitta 1880.
- ^ Rathey 2016.
- ^ Dürr & Jones 2005.
- ^ Musical Times 1953.
- ^ a b c d e f Kirshnit 2006.
- ^ a b c d e Eidenbenz 2016, p. 44.
- ^ Eidenbenz 2016.
- ^ Segnitz 1922.
- ^ a b Barfoot 2009.
- ^ Luttmann 2013.
- ^ a b Eidenbenz 2016, pp. 46–47.
- ^ a b Gramophone 2002.
- ^ Organ version 2004.
- ^ Kurier 2003.
- ^ Weiden 2012.
- ^ Reger in Leipzig 2016.
- ^ a b Leipziger Universitätschor 2016.
- ^ Centenary 2016.
- ^ Dresden 2016.
- ^ Weiden 2016.
- ^ Wenda 2016.
- ^ Röhrig 1967.
- ^ Gramophone 1996.
- ^ Stanford 2016.
- ^ Koch 1995.
- ^ Ludwig 2000.
- ^ a b Prestoclassical 2016.
- ^ Michiels 2016.
Sources
Scores
- Psalm 100, Op.106 (Reger, Max): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- 100. Psalm: op. 106 : für SATB und Orgel (in German). Bonn: Dr. J. Butz. 2004.
- Reger, Max (1992). Der 100. Psalm: für gemischten Chor, Orchester und Orgel ; opus 106 (in German). Edition Peters.
- Reger, Max; Dessauer, Gabriel (2004). Max Reger / 1873–1916 / Der 100. Psalm (vocal score) (in German). Bonn: Dr. J. Butz.
Max-Reger-Institut
- "Curriculum vitae". Max-Reger-Institute. Archived from the original on 28 September 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2010.
- "Der 100. Psalm Op. 106" (in German). Max-Reger-Institute. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
Books
- ISBN 978-0-19-816707-5.
- Luttmann, Stephen (2013). Paul Hindemith: A Research and Information Guide (2, revised, annotated ed.). ISBN 978-1-13-584841-5.
- Melamed, Daniel R. (1995). J. S. Bach and the German Motet. Cambridge University Press. pp. 89–97. ISBN 978-0-52-141864-5.
- Rathey, Markus (2016). "Dichotomy (Part I)". Johann Sebastian Bach's Christmas Oratorio: Music, Theology, Culture. ISBN 978-0-19-027526-6.
- Schaarwächter, Jürgen (2014). Reger, Max / Der 100. Psalm Op. 106, Original version for chorus, orchestra and organ (Vocal Score / German & English text). repertoire-explorer.musikmph.de. pp. preface.
- Segnitz, Eugen (1922). Max Reger (in German). BoD – Books on Demand. p. 101. ISBN 978-3-86-267670-5.
- Spitta, Philipp (1880). "Weihnachts-Oratorium". Johann Sebastian Bach. Eine Biografie in zwei Bänden (in German). Vol. 2. Severus. pp. 403–405. ISBN 978-3-86-347906-0.
- Stein, Fritz (1927). Zur Entstehungsgeschichte des 100. Psalms von Max Reger: Persönl. Erinnergn (in German). Böhme.
Journals
- "Max Reger Choral Works". Gramophone. 1996. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
- "Reger Psalm 100, Op 106; Variations on a Theme of Mozart / A fine introduction to Reger's unjustly neglected works for choir and orchestra". Gramophone. 2002. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
- "Music for the Coronation". The Musical Times. 94 (1325). Bach Digital: 305–307. 1953. JSTOR 933633.
Newspapers
- "'Niederschmetternd' / Eine Reger-Uraufführung in St. Bonifatius" (in German). Wiesbadener Kurier. 8 September 2003.
- Wenda, Manuel (5 September 2016). "Mit epischer, druckvoller Wucht – Regerchor-International singt in St.Bonifatius zum 100. Todesjahr von Max Reger" (in German). Wiesbadener Tagblatt. Archived from the original on 6 September 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
Online sources
- Barfoot, Terry (2009). "Max Reger (1873–1916) / Four Tone Poems after Böcklin, Op. 128". musicweb-international.com. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
- Eidenbenz, Michael Eidenbenz. "M. Reger: / 100. Psalm" (PDF). Zürcher Bach Chor (in German). pp. 42–47. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 October 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
- Kirshnit, Fred (2006). "Max Reger, Psalm 100, Op. 106". American Symphony Orchestra. Archived from the original on 4 June 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
- Range, Matthias (2007). "Schütz – the "Final Work"". Mundoclasico. Archived from the original on 2014-02-03. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
- "Jauchzet dem Herrn alle Welt BWV Anh. 160; TWV 8:10; 1:1066; BC C 7; BNB II/T/7 / Motet". Bach Digital. 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
- "Leipziger Universitätschor gedenkt Max Regers mit Festkonzert". Leipzig (in German). 4 May 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
- "Max Reger: Der 100. Psalm op.106 / Aufzeichnung aus der Kreuzkirche Dresden 1984". MDR (in German). Archived from the original on 16 June 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
- "Die Weihe der Nacht, Op. 119 / Der 100. Psalm / Nachtgesang". archive.org. 1995. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
- "Max Reger in Leipzig". leipzig-lese.de (in German). 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
- "Leipziger Universitätschor gedenkt Max Regers mit Festkonzert". Leipziger Universitätschor (in German). 3 May 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
- "Reger: The 100th Psalm, Der Einsieder, Requiem / Ludwig, Etc". arkivmusic.com. 2000. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
- Jubilate Deo . LWV 77/16 / motet (in French). 1660. Retrieved 2 September 2016 – via French National Library.
- "Discography". Ignace Michiels. 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
- "Don Fernando de Las Infantas, teólogo y músico. Estudio crítico biobibliográfico". archive.org (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 March 2016.
- "Reger: Psalm 100". prestoclassical.co. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
- "Festkonzert zum 100. Todestag von Max Reger". reger-in-leipzig.de. 2016. Archived from the original on 16 July 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- "Max Reger – Der 100. Psalm". discogs.com. 1967. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
- "Max Reger – Der 100. Psalm". searchworks.stanford.edu. 2016. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
- "Eröffnungskonzert". maxregertage.de (in German). 16 September 2012. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
- "Max-Reger-Jahr 2016". www.dekanat-weiden-evangelisch.de (in German). 3 June 2016. Archived from the original on 2017-11-18. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
External links
- Max Reger: Der 100. Psalm; Der Einsiedler; Requiem (Hebbel) AllMusic
- Die St. Lucaskirche historisches-chemnitz.de
- Max Reger: Der 100. Psalm (German) musikfoerdern.de
- Max Reger: Der 100. Psalm / Chorkonzert der Hauptkirche St. Petri Archived 2016-09-14 at the Wayback Machine (German) Elbphilharmonie
- Max Reger / 19. März 1873 - 11. Mai 1916 Reformation und Musik, EKD
- Max Reger: Psalm 100 / St. Stefanus, Ghent, 5 November 2017 on YouTube