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.

Des Dankes Wort sei mir vergönnt (Let grant me to say a word of thanks), WAB 62, is a song composed by Anton Bruckner during his stay in Sankt Florian. He composed this song on a text of Ernst Marinelli between 1845 and 1855, during his stay in Sankt Florian. He dedicated the work as thanks to Earl Charles O'Hegerty, the occupant of Tillysburg Castle, near Sankt Florian. It is not known when the song was performed at that time. On 13 May 1996 the work was performed again on the authentic location (Tillysburg Castle).

The original manuscript of the work is lost, but a copy by Karl Aigner is stored in the archives of the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek. The work is issued in Band XXIII/2, No. 11 of the Gesamtausgabe.

Source: Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Des_Dankes_Wort_sei_mir_ verg%C3%B6nnt,_WAB_62).

Although originally created for Male Chorus (TTBB), Tenor Soloist and Piano, I created this Interpretation of "Des Dankes Wort sei mir vergönnt" (Let grant me to say a word of thanks WAB 62) in F Major for Flute & Strings (2 Violins, Viola & Cello).