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{{Infobox musical composition |
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| name = ''Locus iste'' |
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| composer = [[Anton Bruckner]] |
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| image = Linz Neuer Dom Innen Kapelle.JPG |
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| image_size = 260px |
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| key = [[C major]] |
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| catalogue = [[Werkverzeichnis Anton Bruckner|WAB]] 23 |
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| genre = [[Gebrauchsmusik]] for the dedication of the chapel |
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| form = [[Motet]] |
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| dedication = Oddo Loidol |
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| text = [[Locus iste]] |
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| language = [[Latin]] |
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| performed = {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1869|10|29|df=y}}|location=[[Linz]]}} |
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| scoring = [[SATB|{{abbr|SATB|soprano, alto, tenor and bass}}]] choir |
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}} |
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'''''{{Lang|la|Locus iste}}''''' (This place), [[Werkverzeichnis Anton Bruckners|WAB]] 23, is a sacred [[motet]] by the Austrian composer [[Anton Bruckner]]. The text is the [[Latin]] [[gradual]] [[Locus iste]] for the annual celebration of a church's dedication. The [[incipit]], {{Lang|la|Locus iste a Deo factus est}}, translates to "This place was made by God".<ref name="Emmanuel">{{cite web|url=http://emmanuelmusic.org/notes_translations/translations_motets/t_bruckner_locus_iste.htm|title=Motet Translations / Anton Bruckner: Locus Iste|publisher=[[Emmanuel Music]]|accessdate=26 September 2014}}</ref> Bruckner set it for four unaccompanied voices, intended for the dedication of the ''{{Lang|de|Votivkapelle}}'' (votive chapel) at the [[New Cathedral, Linz|New Cathedral]] in [[Linz]], Austria. |
'''''{{Lang|la|Locus iste}}''''' (This place), [[Werkverzeichnis Anton Bruckners|WAB]] 23, is a sacred [[motet]] by the Austrian composer [[Anton Bruckner]]. The text is the [[Latin]] [[gradual]] [[Locus iste]] for the annual celebration of a church's dedication. The [[incipit]], {{Lang|la|Locus iste a Deo factus est}}, translates to "This place was made by God".<ref name="Emmanuel">{{cite web|url=http://emmanuelmusic.org/notes_translations/translations_motets/t_bruckner_locus_iste.htm|title=Motet Translations / Anton Bruckner: Locus Iste|publisher=[[Emmanuel Music]]|accessdate=26 September 2014}}</ref> Bruckner set it for four unaccompanied voices, intended for the dedication of the ''{{Lang|de|Votivkapelle}}'' (votive chapel) at the [[New Cathedral, Linz|New Cathedral]] in [[Linz]], Austria. |
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Revision as of 15:17, 5 October 2014
Locus iste (This place), WAB 23, is a sacred motet by the Austrian composer Anton Bruckner. The text is the Latin gradual Locus iste for the annual celebration of a church's dedication. The incipit, Locus iste a Deo factus est, translates to "This place was made by God".[1] Bruckner set it for four unaccompanied voices, intended for the dedication of the Votivkapelle (votive chapel) at the New Cathedral in Linz, Austria.
History
Bruckner composed the work in 1869. It was intended for the dedication ceremony of the Votivkapelle (votive chapel (de)) at the New Cathedral in Linz, Austria.[2] The New Cathedral had been under construction since 1862, and the Votivkapelle was completed in 1869 as its first section. At the time Bruckner lived in Vienna, teaching at the Vienna Conservatory as a professor of harmony and counterpoint, and at the Vienna University as a part-time lecturer from 1876.[3] He had a strong connection to Linz, where he had been the cathedral organist from 1855 to 1868.[4]
The Latin text of the piece is the gradual Locus iste, part of the proper of the mass for Kirchweih, the anniversary of a church's dedication. While some sources claim that the motet was first performed on the dedication day, 29 September 1869, together with the first performance of Bruckner's Mass in E minor,[5] it was performed four weeks later, on 29 October, at the same location.[6][7] Bruckner dedicated the work to his student at the Vienna Conservatory, Oddo Loidol.[8]
The motet was edited together with three other motets based on graduals (Christus factus est III WAB 11, Os justi WAB 30 and Virga Jesse WAB 52) by Theodor Rättig in 1886.[7] Locus iste is often performed on the anniversary of a church's dedication.[6]
Music
The motet is scored for a unaccompanied mixed choir. It is in the key of C major and in common time, and takes about three minutes to perform. The text concentrates on the concept of the sacred place, based on the Biblical story of Jacob's Ladder,[6] Jacob's saying "Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not" (Genesis 28:16), and the story of the burning bush where Moses is told "put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground" (Exodus 3:5).[9]
Locus iste a Deo factus est, |
This place was made by God, |
Bruckner structured the three lines of the text in a ABA da capo form, closed by a coda, with A containing the first line, framing the second and third.[4] Peter Strasser suggests that the work reflects elements of architecture, such as in the symmetry of the da capo form and the use of motifs like building blocks.[8]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/64/Linzer_Dom_-_Fenster_-_Beethoven_und_Bruckner.jpg/220px-Linzer_Dom_-_Fenster_-_Beethoven_und_Bruckner.jpg)
The motet is marked Allegro moderato and begins calmly in homophony. The repeat of the first line, beginning one step higher, is marked mf, confirming "a Deo factus est" higher and stronger, then repeating it softly. The bass begins each "a Deo factus est". Musicologist Anthony Carver notes here as in many of Bruckner's motets the "isolation of the bass part at structurally important points".[10] The bass also begins the second line with a new rising motif, marked f; the upper voices follow in homophony. The line is repeated as a sequence a step higher, marked ff. After a pause of half a measure, the tenor alone begins in sudden pp the middle section on a repeated note, imitated by soprano and alto. Throughout the section, only the upper voices, without a bass foundation, sing in chromaticism, beginning in undefined tonality. In a gradual crescendo, the intensity is hightened, but only to mf. Iso Camartin notes: "das unanfechtbare Geheimnis" (the irreproachable mystery) appears as "unfassbar" (incomprehensible) and "beunruhigend" (disturbing),[6] described by Ryan Turner as "transparently chromatic".[11]
After another rest of half a measure, the first line is repeated. Instead of the last "factus est", the word "Deo" is extended to the only melisma of the otherwise austere, strictly syllabic composition. The Oratorio Society of New York notes that the melisma "spins an ethereal spell".[12] It leads to a long general pause, achieved "by carefully measuring out five beats",[5] before "a Deo, Deo factus est" is repeated a final time.
The Oratorio Society suggests that "Locus iste is a hauntingly beautiful work reminiscent of the quiet chapel it honored"[12] Writing for Gramophone, Malcolm Riley called it "sublime (and deceptively difficult)".[13]
Selected recordings
- Bruckner: Motets (1986). Corydon Singers, de . Hyperion Records CDA66062.
- Bruckner: Mass in E minor; Ave Maria; Christus factus est; Locus iste; Virga Jesse (1992). Kammerchor Stuttgart, Frieder Bernius. Sony Music Distribution CL SK 48037.
- Bruckner: Mass No. 1 in D Minor; Motets (2001). Monteverdi Choir, John Eliot Gardiner. Deutsche Grammophon DG 459 674-2.
- Under höga valv (2006). OPQ Youth Choir, Ulf Samuelsson. Fotnoten Olaus Petri Församling OPCD001.
References
- ^ a b "Motet Translations / Anton Bruckner: Locus Iste". Emmanuel Music. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
- ^ Williamson, John, ed. (2004). The Cambridge Companion to Bruckner. Cambridge University Press. p. 58. ISBN 9780521008785.
- ^ Day, Jack (2001). "Anton Bruckner: Gradual – Locus iste". musicteachers.co.uk. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
- ^ a b Liu, James C.S. (2003). "Choral Music Notes - Bruckner Motets". jamescsliu.com. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
- ^ a b Johnson, Stephen. "Locus iste a Deo factus est". Hyperion Records. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- ^ a b c d Camartin, Iso (15 May 2005). "Dieser Ort / Anton Bruckner und Jakobs Traum von der Himmelsleiter". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 26 September 2014.
- ^ a b van Zwol, Cornelis (2012). Anton Bruckner – Leven en Werken. Thot. p. 706. ISBN 90-686-8590-2.
- ^ a b Strasser, Peter (2008). "Simon Sechters Abhandlung über die musikalisch-akustichen Tonverhältnisse: Erstveröffentlichung, Kommentar und Konsequenzen für die Aufführungspraxis" (in German). Peter Lang. pp. 254–275. ISBN 3-03-911635-5.
- ^ "Anton Bruckner: Locus iste". Carus-Verlag. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
- ^ Carver, Anthony (February 2005). "Bruckner and the Phrygian mode". Music & Letters. 86 (1): 74–99.
- ^ Turner, Ryan. "Motet Notes / Anton Bruckner: Locus Iste". Emmanuel Music. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
- ^ a b "Bruckner Notes & Translation". Oratorio Society of New York. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- ^ Riley, Malcolm. "Bruckner Motets". Gramophone. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
External links
- Free scores by Locus iste, WAB 23 at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)
- Free scores for Locus iste (Bruckner) in the Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki)
- Critical discography by Hans Roelofs Template:Langicon
- Bruckner Locus iste, music with score on YouTube
- Bruckner Locus iste structural analysis on YouTube