Sternschnuppen, WAB 85

History#

Bruckner composed the song on a text of Ernst Marinelli in . He dedicated it to his own men’s voice quartet, which was composed of Ludwig Ehrenecker, Franz Schäfler, Johann Nepomuk Hueber and himself. It is not known when the piece was first performed. The original manuscript is stored in the archive of the St. Florian Abbey.

Text#

Sternschnuppen is using a text by Ernst Marinelli.

Music#

The 38-bar long work in F major is scored for SATB quartet. In the Göllerich/Auer biography the song is described as follows: (On the whole piece rests the softish romanticism of the at that time popular men’s choir-music).

Discography#

A selection among the few recordings of Sternschnuppen: * Guido Mancusi, Chorus Viennensis, Musik, du himmlisches Gebilde! – CD: ORF CD 73, 1995 * Hubert Voigt, Thüringer Männerchor Ars Musica, Weltliches und Geistliches – CD issued by the choir, 2012 live

Sources#

• August Göllerich, Anton Bruckner. Ein Lebens- und Schaffens-Bild, – 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.
• Uwe Harten, Anton Bruckner. Ein Handbuch. , Salzburg, 1996. .
• Crawford Howie, Anton Bruckner - A documentary biography, online revised edition

External links#

• Sternschnuppen F-Dur, WAB 85 – Critical discography by Hans Roelofs
• Live performances of Sternschnuppen can be heard on YouTube:
• the Wagner Society Male Choir of Japan, 11 December 1988: Sternschnuppen
• the Schwuler Männerchor Zürich, 2015: Sternschnuppen
• Männerchorkonzert ‘Bruckner im Kremstal’ - Pfarrkirche Micheldorf, 17 May 2024 (at 22:40)