Pange lingua, WAB 31

History#

Bruckner composed the motet in when, as eleven-year-old boy, he was studying by Johann Baptist Weiß in Hörsching. 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. 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. The first version was first published in band II/1, p. 228 of the Göllerich/Auer biography.

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.

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.

Sources#

• Max Auer, Anton Bruckner als Kirchenmusiker, G. Bosse, Regensburg, 1927
• August Göllerich, Anton Bruckner. Ein Lebens- und Schaffens-Bild, – 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. .
• Cornelis van Zwol, Anton Bruckner 1824–1896 – Leven en werken, uitg. Thoth, Bussum, Netherlands, 2012.
• Crawford Howie, Anton Bruckner - A documentary biography, online revised edition

External links#

• • Both versions
• Pange lingua C-Dur, WAB 31 Critical discography by Hans Roelofs
• 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)