Josef Anton Bruckner (1824 – 1896) was an Austrian
composer and organist best known for his symphonies and
sacred music, which includes Masses, Te Deum and
motets. The symphonies are considered emblematic of the
final stage of Austro-German Romanticism because of
their rich harmonic language, strongly polyphonic
character, and considerable length. His compositions
helped to define contemporary musical radicalism, owing
to their dissonances, unprepared modulations, and
roving harmonies. (+)
Josef Anton Bruckner (1824 – 1896) was an Austrian
composer and organist best known for his symphonies and
sacred music, which includes Masses, Te Deum and
motets. The symphonies are considered emblematic of the
final stage of Austro-German Romanticism because of
their rich harmonic language, strongly polyphonic
character, and considerable length. His compositions
helped to define contemporary musical radicalism, owing
to their dissonances, unprepared modulations, and
roving harmonies.
Unlike other musical radicals such as Richard Wagner
and Hugo Wolf, Bruckner showed respect, even humility,
before other famous musicians, Wagner in particular.
This apparent dichotomy between Bruckner the man and
Bruckner the composer hampers efforts to describe his
life in a way that gives a straightforward context for
his music. Hans von Bülow described him as "half
genius, half simpleton". Bruckner was critical of his
own work and often reworked his compositions. There are
several versions of many of his works.
His works, the symphonies in particular, had
detractors, most notably the influential Austrian
critic Eduard Hanslick and other supporters of Johannes
Brahms, who pointed to their large size and use of
repetition, as well as to Bruckner's propensity for
revising many of his works, often with the assistance
of colleagues, and his apparent indecision about which
versions he preferred. On the other hand, Bruckner was
greatly admired by subsequent composers, including his
friend Gustav Mahler.
The Two Aequali ("Equals"), WAB 114 & WAB 149, were
composed by Anton Bruckner in 1847. He composed the two
Aequali in end January 1847 during his stay in St.
Florian Abbey. He composed them for the funeral of his
aunt Rosalia Mayrhofer (1770–1847). The manuscript of
the first Aequale (WAB 114) is stored in the archive of
the Seitenstetten Abbey. The work was first published
in band II/2, p. 83 of the Göllerich/Auer biography.
The sketch of the second Aequale was retrieved later in
the archive of the St. Florian Abbey. In the sketch the
part of the bass trombone is missing. It was then put
as addendum (WAB 149) to the already issued WAB
classification. The two Aequali are issued in Band
XXI/14 of the Gesamtausgabe.
The two Aequali in C Minor, with 34 and 27 bars,
respectively, are score for alto, tenor and bass
trombones. In the edition of the Gesamtausgabe the
missing part of the bass trombone of the second Aequale
has been completed by Hans Bauernfeind. The works are
choral-sized with in WAB 114 a typical folklike melody
in sixths. Similar musical sets were later used in the
so-called Choräle in Bruckner's later symphonies.
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_Aequali_(Bruckner)).
Although originally composed for 3 Rrombones (Alto,
Tenor, Bass), I created this Interpretation of Two
Aequale (WAB 114 & 149) in C Minor for String Quartet
(2 Violins, Viola & Cello).
PARTITION