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*Pange lingua*
Pange lingua
Motet by Anton Bruckner
	Autograph manuscript of the work (1891 version)
Key	C major
Catalogue	WAB 31
Text	Pange lingua
Language	Latin
Composed	c. 1835: Hörsching (first version); 19 April 1891: Vienna (second version);
Dedication	Celebration of Corpus Christi
Published	1927: Regensburg
Vocal	SATB choir

Pange lingua (Tell, my tongue), WAB 31, is a sacred motet composed by Anton Bruckner in c. 1835. It is a setting of the first strophe of the Latin hymn Pange lingua for the celebration of Corpus Christi.

History

Bruckner composed the motet in c. 1835 when, as eleven-year-old boy, he was studying by Johann Baptist Weiß in Hörsching.^[1]^[2]^[3] It is not known whether it was performed at that time. In 1891, towards the end of his life, Bruckner "restored" this beloved very first composition.^[4]

The first version of the work, the original manuscript of which is lost, was found as a transcription by Franz Bayer, Steyr. The transcription of the first version and the manuscript of the 1891 version are stored in the archive of the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek.^[1]^[2]

The second version of the motet was first published as a facsimile in 1927 by Max Auer in his book Anton Bruckner as Kirchenmusiker.^[5] The first version was first published in band II/1, p. 228 of the Göllerich/Auer biography.^[1]^[2] The two versions are put in Band XXI/1 and 39 of the Gesamtausgabe.^[6]

Music

The work is a setting of 28 bars in C major of the first verse of the Pange lingua for mixed choir a cappella.

On 19 April 1891 Bruckner made some "restoration" of the work. The differences between the two versions are small, mainly a different articulation in bars 15 and 22, and a reharmonisation of bars 25-27.

Discography

First version

There are two recordings of the first version:

Philipp von Steinäcker, Vocalensemble Musica Saeculorum, Bruckner: Pange lingua - Motetten - CD: Fra Bernardo FB 1501271, 2015
Markus Stumpner, Erinnerung - Bruckner in St. Florian, Sankt Florianer Sängerknaben – CD: Solo Musica SM 450, 2024

Second version

There is a single recording of the 1891 version:

Jonathan Brown, Ealing Abbey Choir, Anton Bruckner: Sacred Motets – CD: Herald HAVPCD 213, 1997

Note: A live performance by Philipp von Steinäcker is available in the Bruckner Archive.^[7]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c C. van Zwol, pp. 699-700
^ ^a ^b ^c U. Harten, p. 329
^ C. Howie, Chapter I, p. 12
^ C. van Zwol, p. 709
^ M. Auer, p. 184
^ Gesamtausgabe - Kleine Kirchenmusikwerke
^ Bruckner Archive

Sources

Max Auer, Anton Bruckner als Kirchenmusiker, G. Bosse, Regensburg, 1927
August Göllerich, Anton Bruckner. Ein Lebens- und Schaffens-Bild, c. 1922 – posthumous edited by Max Auer by G. Bosse, Regensburg, 1932
Anton Bruckner – Sämtliche Werke, Band XXI: Kleine Kirchenmusikwerke, Musikwissenschaftlicher Verlag der Internationalen Bruckner-Gesellschaft, Hans Bauernfeind and Leopold Nowak (Editor), Vienna, 1984/2001
Uwe Harten, Anton Bruckner. Ein Handbuch. Residenz Verlag, Salzburg, 1996. ISBN 3-7017-1030-9.
Cornelis van Zwol, Anton Bruckner 1824–1896 – Leven en werken, uitg. Thoth, Bussum, Netherlands, 2012. ISBN 978-90-6868-590-9
Crawford Howie, Anton Bruckner - A documentary biography, online revised edition

External links

Pange lingua, WAB 31: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project - Both versions
Pange lingua C-Dur, WAB 31 Critical discography by Hans Roelofs (in German)
Pange lingua, WAB 31 − First version of the motet by the Vocalensemble b-choired of Linz (26 April 2014)
Pange lingua, WAB 31 − Second version of the motet by Leon Chu conducting the Choir of the Chinese University of Hong Kong , Chung Chi Chapel (18 April 2024)