Die Weihe der Nacht

Die Weihe der Nacht (The Consecration of the Night),[1] Op. 119, is a choral composition for alto, men's choir and orchestra by Max Reger, setting a poem by Friedrich Hebbel. He composed it in Leipzig in 1911 and dedicated it to Gertrud Fischer-Maretzki, the soloist in the first performance. It was published by Ed. Bote & G. Bock in Berlin the same year.

Die Weihe der Nacht
Choral composition by Max Reger
The composer in 1910
CatalogueOp. 119
LanguageGerman
Composed1911 (1911)
DedicationGertrud Fischer-Maretzki
Published1911: Berlin
Scoring
  • alto
  • men's choir
  • orchestra

History

Reger composed the work in Leipzig in 1911,[2][3] where he worked as a professor at the conservatory.[1] During this period he also composed Eine Lustspielouvertüre, Op. 120, the String Quartet in F-sharp minor, Op. 121, and the Violin Sonata, Op. 122, among others.[1] It was published the same year by Ed. Bote & G. Bock in Berlin, the vocal score in July, the parts in September.[2] The work was first performed in Berlin on 12 October 1911 by Gertrud Fischer-Maretzki, members of the Domchor Berlin and the Berliner Philharmonisches Orchester, conducted by Leonid Kreutzer.[2][4]

Gertrud Fischer-Maretzki (1886–1929) was among the contraltos who inspired Reger, along with Anna Erler-Schnaudt. He met her first in 1905, and wrote about her in 1910: "Die Dame hat [...] stets durch ihre prachtvolle Stimme u. tiefdurchdachten, echt musikalischen Vortrag die vollste Anerkennung bei Publikum u. Kritik gefunden." (The lady always found complete recognition of audience and critics by her magnificent voice and her deeply reasoned and genuinely musical performance.)[5]

Reger set another poem by Hebbel, "Requiem", which he had considered in 1910 already, in 1912 for men's choir a cappella, in 1915 for soloist, mixed choir and orchestra, the Hebbel Requiem.[6] The poem "Die Weihe der Nacht" was also set by composers such as Harald Genzmer, Walter Rein and Hilding Rosenberg.[1]

Music

Reger scored the composition for an (alto soloist, a men's choir (TTBB), and an orchestra of two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, trombone, three timpani and strings,[2] a scoring similar to that chosen by Brahms for his Alto Rhapsody.[7] The poem begins with the lines "Nächtliche Stille! Heilige Fülle" (Nocturnal silence! Holy fulness).[8] The composition is initially marked Adagio and opens with a slow orchestral passage. Reger uses in his setting chromaticism, ambiguous harmonies, and word painting. The rendering of daybreak has been compared to that in the Alpine Symphony by Richard Strauss.[1] Die Weihe der Nacht thus foreshadows Reger's program music such as Vier Tondichtungen nach A. Böcklin, Op. 128.[1]

The work was recorded in 1995 by the Bamberger Symphoniker and their choir, conducted by Horst Stein and with Lioba Braun as the soloist and Fritz Walter-Lingquist as the organist, along with Reger's Der 100. Psalm and Weihegesang.[1][9]

gollark: My main nation has great civil rights and political freedom but also somehow 90% taxes.
gollark: It also has politicky stuff because of the WA and region system.
gollark: It's an online game where you control a simulated (ish) nation by answering issues.
gollark: Great!
gollark: That's probably most insects, so let's just round it up to all of them for convenience.

References
  1. Grim 2004.
  2. Institute 2017.
  3. Biography 2012.
  4. Boosey.
  5. IMRG 2003, pp. 5–6.
  6. Eckle 2016.
  7. IMRG 2003, p. 5.
  8. Spiegel 2017.
  9. Bamberger 1996.

Bibliography
  • Eckle, Georg-Albrecht (2016). "Aus dem Reich der Toten / Max Reger und "sein" Requiem" (in German). Bayerischer Rundfunk. Retrieved 11 May 2016.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Grim, William (2004). "Die Weihe der Nacht für Altsolo, Männerchor und Orchester, Op. 119 / (The Consecration of the Night for Alto Solo, Male Choir and Orchestra, Op. 119) / Preface" (in German). repertoire-explorer.musikmph.de. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  • "Max Reger / Die Weihe Der Nacht / Psalm 100 / Weihegesang". musik-sammler.de. Retrieved 11 May 2011.
  • "Max Reger Curriculum vitae". Max-Reger-Institute. Retrieved 2 October 2012.
  • "Reger, Max: Die Weihe der Nacht op. 119 16' / for alto, male chorus and orchestra". Boosey & Hawkes. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  • "Reger und die Altstimme" (PDF). Mitteilungen No. 7 (in German). Internationale Max Reger Gesellschaft. 2003. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  • "An die Hoffnung Op. 124 / für Alt, 2 Fl, 2 Ob, 2 Kl, 2 Fg, 4 Hr, 2 Trp, 3 Pk, Streicher" (in German). Max-Reger-Institute. 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  • "Die Weihe der Nacht" (in German). Der Spiegel. 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
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