Libera me (Deliver me), WAB 21, is the first of two settings of the absoute Libera me, composed by Anton Bruckner in c. 1843.

Libera me
Motet by Anton Bruckner
L'Office des morts (Les très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry), Musée Condé, Chantilly
Key	F major
Catalogue	WAB 21
Form	Absoute
Text	Libera me
Language	Latin
Composed	c. 1843 (c. 1843): Kronstorf
Published	1932 (1932): Regensburg
Vocal	SATB choir
Instrumental	Organ

History

Bruckner composed the motet during his stay in Kronstorf. The work was presumably performed at that time.[1]

The original manuscript is lost, but there are two good copies, one made by Max Auer (Kronstorf, 1903). The motet was first published in band I, pp. 243–248 of the Göllerich/Auer biography.[2][1] It is put in Band XXI/3 of the Gesamtausgabe.[3]

Music

The work is scored in F major for mixed choir and organ. In this youth work, two parts of the responsory are not included: the second "Quando caeli movendi sunt et terra" and the second "Dum veneris iudicare saeculum per ignem".[2][1]

Discography

There are a few recordings of this first setting of Libera me:

• Joseph Pancik, Prager Kammerchor, Anton Bruckner: Motetten / Choral-Messe – CD: Orfeo C 327 951 A, 1993 - transcription a cappella with repeat of the first verse
• Dan-Olof Stenlund, Malmö Kammarkör, Bruckner: Ausgewählte Werke – CD: Malmö Kammarkör MKKCD 051, 2004
• Thomas Kerbl, Chorvereinigung Bruckner 09, Anton Bruckner: Chöre/Klaviermusik – CD: LIVA 034, 2009
• Łukasz Borowicz, Anton Bruckner: Requiem, RIAS Kammerchor Berlin, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin – CD: Accentus ACC30474, 2019 - Cohrs edition with revised organ accompaniment and repeat of the first verse
• Sigvards Klava, Latvian Radio Choir, Bruckner: Latin Motets, 2019 – CD Ondine OD 1362
• Christian Erny, The Zurich Chamber Singers, Bruckner Spectrum - CD: Berlin Classics LC06203, 2022

References

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 XXI: Kleine Kirchenmusikwerke, Musikwissenschaftlicher Verlag der Internationalen Bruckner-Gesellschaft, Hans Bauernfeind and Leopold Nowak (Editor), Vienna, 1984/2001
• Cornelis van Zwol, Anton Bruckner 1824–1896 – Leven en werken, uitg. Thoth, Bussum, Netherlands, 2012. ISBN 978-90-6868-590-9
• Uwe Harten, Anton Bruckner. Ein Handbuch. Residenz Verlag, Salzburg, 1996. ISBN 3-7017-1030-9.

External links

• Libera me, WAB 21: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
• Free scores for Libera me, WAB 21 in the Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki)
• Libera me F-Dur, WAB 21 Critical discography by Hans Roelofs (in German)