Josef Gabriel Rheinberger (1839 – 1901) was a
Liechtensteiner organist and composer, residing in
Bavaria for most of his life. Josef , whose father was
the treasurer for Aloys II, Prince of Liechtenstein,
showed exceptional musical talent at an early age. When
only seven years old, he was already serving as
organist of the Vaduz parish church, and his first
composition was performed the following year. In 1849,
he studied with composer Philipp M. Schmutzer (1821 –
1898) in Feldkirch, Vorarlb...(+)
Josef Gabriel Rheinberger (1839 – 1901) was a
Liechtensteiner organist and composer, residing in
Bavaria for most of his life. Josef , whose father was
the treasurer for Aloys II, Prince of Liechtenstein,
showed exceptional musical talent at an early age. When
only seven years old, he was already serving as
organist of the Vaduz parish church, and his first
composition was performed the following year. In 1849,
he studied with composer Philipp M. Schmutzer (1821 –
1898) in Feldkirch, Vorarlberg. In 1851, his father,
who had initially opposed his son's desire to embark on
the life of a professional musician, relented and
allowed him to enter the Munich Conservatorium. Not
long after graduating, he became professor of piano and
of composition at the same institution. When this first
version of the Munich Conservatorium was dissolved, he
was appointed répétiteur at the Court Theatre, from
which he resigned in 1867.
Rheinberger married his former pupil, the poet and
socialite Franziska "Fanny" von Hoffnaass (eight years
his senior) in 1867. The couple remained childless, but
the marriage was happy. Franziska wrote the texts for
much of her husband's vocal work.
The Stabat Mater is a 13th-century Christian hymn to
Mary, which portrays her suffering as Jesus Christ's
mother during his crucifixion. Its author may be either
the Franciscan friar Jacopone da Todi or Pope Innocent
III. The title comes from its first line, "Stabat Mater
dolorosa", which means "the sorrowful mother was
standing". The hymn is sung at the liturgy on the
memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows. The Stabat Mater has
been set to music by many Western composers.
The Stabat Mater has often been ascribed to Jacopone da
Todi, OFM (ca. 1230–1306), but this has been strongly
challenged by the discovery of the earliest notated
copy of the Stabat Mater in a 13th-century gradual
belonging to the Dominican nuns in Bologna (Museo
Civico Medievale MS 518, fo. 200v-04r). It was well
known by the end of the 14th century and Georgius
Stella wrote of its use in 1388, while other historians
note its use later in the same century. In Provence,
about 1399, it was used during the nine days'
processions. As a liturgical sequence, the Stabat Mater
was suppressed, along with hundreds of other sequences,
by the Council of Trent, but restored to the missal by
Pope Benedict XIII in 1727 for the Feast of the Seven
Dolours of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Source: Wikipedia
(https://imslp.org/wiki/Category:Rheinberger,_Josef_Gab
riel).
Although originally composed for Chorus (SATB) & Organ,
I created this interpretation of Stabat Mater in G
Minor (Opus 138) for Winds (Flute, Oboe, French Horn &
Bassoon) & Strings (2 Violins, Viola & Cello).
PARTITION