The two Totenlieder, WAB 47/1 & 47/2, are elegies composed by Anton Bruckner in 1852.

Two Totenlieder
Motets by Anton Bruckner
Calliope, muse of elegy
Key	E-flat major, F major
Catalogue	WAB 47/1 & 47/2
Form	Elegy
Language	German
Composed	1852 (1852): St. Florian Abbey
Dedication	Funeral of Josef Seiberl
Published	1932 (1932): Regensburg
Vocal	SATB choir

History

Bruckner composed these two motets in 1852 for the funeral of his friend Josef Seiberl. The original manuscript is in the Stadtmuseum of Wels and a transcription is in the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek.[1]

The two Totenlieder were first published in band II/2, pp. 141–144 of the Göllerich/Auer biography.[1] They are put in Band XXI/16 of the Gesamtausgabe.[2]

Text

Music

The works are scored for SATB choir a cappella. The first setting in E-flat major is 10-bar long. The second setting in F major is 19-bar long.[1]

Discography

There are a few recordings of the Totenlieder:

• Jürgen Jürgens, Monteverdi-Chor, Bruckner - Music of St Florian Period (II) - CD: BSVD-0111 (Bruckner Archive), 1985 - only the first Totenlied
• Duncan Ferguson, Choir of St. Mary's Cathedral of Edinburgh, Bruckner: Motets – CD: Delphian Records DCD34071, 2010
• Thomas Kerbl, Chorvereinigung Bruckner 2011, Anton Bruckner Lieder/Magnificat – CD: LIVA 046, 2011
• Philipp von Steinäcker, Vocalensemble Musica Saeculorum, Bruckner: Pange lingua - Motetten - CD: Fra Bernardo FB 1501271, 2015
• Łukasz Borowicz, Anton Bruckner: Requiem, RIAS Kammerchor Berlin, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin – CD: Accentus ACC30474, 2019

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

External links

• Totenlied No.1, WAB 47/1: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
• Totenlied No.2, WAB 47/2: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
• Free scores for Two Totenlieder (Bruckner) in the Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki) - Totenlied No.1
• Free scores for Two Totenlieder (Bruckner) in the Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki) - Totenlied No.2
• Totenlied Es-Dur, WAB 47 and Totenlied F-Dur, WAB 48 Critical discography by Hans Roelofs (in German)