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*Am Grabe*
Am Grabe
Secular choral work by Anton Bruckner
	Elegy by William-Adolphe Bouguereau
Key	F minor
Catalogue	WAB 2
Form	Elegy
Language	German
Composed	1861: Linz
Dedication	Funeral of Josephine Hafferl
Published	1924: Vienna
Vocal	TTBB choir

Am Grabe (At the grave), WAB 2, is an elegy composed by Anton Bruckner in 1861, for men's voices a capella.

History

Am Grabe is a revised a cappella setting of the elegy Vor Arneths Grab, WAB 53. The elegy was performed on the funeral of Josephine Hafferl on 11 February 1861.

The original manuscript is stored in the archive of the Liedertafel Frohsinn.^[1] The song, which was edited first by Wöß, Universal Edition, in 1924,^[1] is put in Band XXIII/2, No. 13 of the Gesamtausgabe.^[2]

In addition, an autograph slight revision of the song has been found on an undated copy of the manuscript (Mus.Hs. 2104).

Music

The 21-bar-long, a cappella setting discarded the fourth strophe of Marinelli's text. The voice score of the first two strophes (bars 1-8) is almost identical to that of Vor Arneths Grab. The score of the third strophe is 5 bars longer. From bar 15 the score is different and ends at bars 19-21 alike bars 26-28 of the original setting.

A score with another text by Gottfried Grote has been issued by Schott Music in 1961.^[3]

Lasset uns den Leib begraben,
überwindet Leid und Schmerz,
denkt der Hoffnung, die wir haben:
Gottes Weg führt heimatwärts.

Nicht für immer ist entschwunden,
der uns liebend war gesellt,
denn wer hier mit Gott verbunden,
freut sich dort der neuen Welt.

Drum laßt uns den Herren preisen,
der zum Heimgang ihn erwählt,
und an uns will treu beweisen,
daß im Leid sein Trost nicht fehlt.

Let us bury the body,
conquer suffering and hurt,
think of the hope that we have:
Gods way leads towards [our] homeland.

Not for ever is gone,
who was our loving company,
because who is connected to God here,
will enjoy the New World there.

Therefore let us praise the Lord,
who chose him to go home,
and will faithfully prove to us
that in suffering, consolation will not be missing.

There is also an arrangement by Jeff Reynolds for 4-part trombone ensemble (with optional contrabass trombone part).^[4]

Discography

There is only one recording of the full setting of Am Grabe:

Łukasz Borowicz, Anton Bruckner: Requiem, RIAS Kammerchor Berlin, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin – CD: Accentus ACC30474, 2019 - revised version (Cohrs edition, based on manuscript Mus.Hs. 2104).

NB: On CD LIVA 027,^[5] only the first two strophes were recorded.

References

^ ^a ^b C. van Zwol, p. 723
^ Gesamtausgabe – Weltliche Chöre
^ Catalogue of the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
^ Performance of Am Grabe by the Dave Cannon ensemble
^ Thomas Kerbl, Chorvereinigung Bruckner 08, Anton Bruckner Männerchöre – CD : LIVA 027, 2008

Sources

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 XXIII/2: Weltliche Chorwerke (1843–1893), Musikwissenschaftlicher Verlag der Internationalen Bruckner-Gesellschaft, Angela Pachovsky and Anton Reinthaler (Editor), Vienna, 1989
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