Ständchen, WAB 84.2

Ständchen
Secular choral work by Anton Bruckner
Eugene de Blaas – "The Serenade"
Key	G major
Catalogue	WAB 84.2
Language	German
Composed	c. 1846 (c. 1846): St. Florian
Dedication	Frau Schlager
Published	1932 (1932): Regensburg
Vocal	TTBB quartet, tenor soloist

"Ständchen" ("Serenade"), WAB 84.2, is a Lied composed by Anton Bruckner in c. 1846.

History

Bruckner composed this serenade, which he dedicated to Mrs. Schlager, the wife of the mayor of St. Florian, during the beginning of his stay in St. Florian. For the composition Bruckner used a text, which he had already used for the unfinished lied Wie des Bächleins Silberquelle, WAB 84.1.

It is not known when the piece was performed. The work, of which the original manuscript is stored in the archive of the Liedertafel Frohsinn, was first issued in Band II/2, pp. 61–64 of the Göllerich/Auer biography. It was thereafter issued in 1954, together with Sternschnuppen, in the Chorblattreihe of Robitschek, Vienna. It is issued in Band XXIII/2, No. 3 of the Gesamtausgabe.

Text

Ständchen is using a text of an unknown author (possibly Ernst Marinelli).

Wie des Bächleins Silberquelle Ruhig durch die Fluren bricht Und des Mondes goldne Helle Freundlich uns zum Herzen spricht: Wandle froh durchs Leben weiter, Frei von Kummer und von Leid, Jeder Tag beginne heiter Und entflieh' mit Seligkeit.

As the creek's silvery source Breaks calmly through the fields And the moon's golden light Speaks friendly to our heart: Walk happily through your further life, Free from sorrow and pain, May each day begin cheerfully And end in blessedness.

Music

The 29-bar long work in 6/8 is in G major. It is scored for TTBB quartet and tenor soloist. During the first 18 bars the text is sung by the tenor soloist with accompaniment of humming voices. From bar 19, the second part (Wandle froh durchs Leben weiter) is sung again by the men's quartet.

Discography

There is a single recording of Bruckner's Ständchen:

• Thomas Kerbl, Quartet of the Männerchorvereinigung Bruckner 12, Michael Nowak (tenor), Weltliche Männerchöre – CD: LIVA 054, 2012

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
• Uwe Harten, Anton Bruckner. Ein Handbuch. Residenz Verlag, Salzburg, 1996. ISBN 3-7017-1030-9.
• 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

External links

• Ständchen, WAB 84.2: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
• Ständchen G-Dur, WAB 84 – Critical discography by Hans Roelofs (in German)