Vor Arneths Grab, WAB 53


Vor Arneths Grab, WAB 53, is an elegy composed by Anton Bruckner in 1854, for men's voices and three trombones.

History

Bruckner composed the elegy Vor Arneths Grab, WAB 53, for the funeral of Michael Arneth, the prior of the St. Florian Abbey. The work, which was written together with the Libera me, WAB 22, was performed on 28 March 1854 at the cemetery of the abbey.
The elegy was performed a second time for the funeral of Magistrate Wilhelm Schiedermayr on 23 September 1855.
The original manuscript of the elegy is stored in the archive of Wels. The work, which was first published in band II/2, pp. 184–188 of the Göllerich/Auer biography, is put in Band XXIII/2, No. 9 of the Gesamtausgabe.
Am Grabe is a revised a cappella setting of the elegy, was performed on the funeral of Josephine Hafferl.

Text

The elegy uses a text by Ernst von Marinelli.

Music

The 28-bar-long work in F minor is scored for [TTBB|] choir and 3 trombones. The setting of the first two strophes is identical. It is followed by the setting of the third strophe, and, after two instrumental bars, ends with the setting of the last strophe.
Although it is a funeral song, it displays little of the mournful character one might expect. The text and the music, with largely diatonic harmony and a predominance of major sonorities, focus instead on confidence about resurrection and salvation. Like the concomitant Libera me, the work contains portents of Bruckner's mature style and has thus a significant place in Bruckner's musical development.

Discography

There are three recordings of Vor Arneths Grab: