Bruckner's Mass in D minor
The Old Cathedral in Linz played an important role in Anton Bruckner's life. It was here that he was appointed cathedral organist in 1855, a position he held for 13 years before moving to Vienna in 1868. It was also here that his Mass (No. 1) in D minor was premiered on 20 November 1864, which brought Bruckner great personal success. The reviewer of the Linzer Zeitung Franz Gamon proved to be particularly perceptive when he wrote: "Mr Bruckner has not only solved the highest tasks of musical art with great mastery, but has also proven his talent for the higher style, the symphony."
In the Bruckner anniversary year 2024, Bruckner's Mass in D minor, the first of his works in which the later symphonist's personal signature is clearly recognisable, will once again be performed at the place of its premiere. But that's not all: some of the participants in this concert also have close links to Bruckner's biography. The Hard Choir, for example, emerged from the Linz "Frohsinn" choir, which Anton Bruckner led as choirmaster from 1860 to 1861 and again in 1868 and with which he premiered the final chorus from Richard Wagner's opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. The male choir of former St Florian Boys' Choir reminds us that Bruckner's own musical career began as a choirboy at this monastery, whose organist he later became and under whose organ he is buried. With the L'Orfeo Barockorchester under its founder Michi Gaigg, a top ensemble from Upper Austria and an important Upper Austrian conductor are also at work to pay homage to their great compatriot on the 200th anniversary of his birth.
Anton Bruckner (1824–1896)
Psalm 112 in B flat major for two four-part mixed choirs and orchestra, WAB 35 (1863)
Ave Maria. Offertorium in F major for seven-part mixed choir a cappella, WAB 6 (1861)
"Ecce sacerdos magnus". Responsorium in A minor for four-part mixed choir, three trombones and organ, WAB 13 (1885)
Mass (No. 1) in D minor for soloists, four-part mixed choir, orchestra and organ, WAB 26 (1864, rev. 1876, 1881-82)*.
as well as works by
Johann Baptist Schiedermayr (1779–1840)
Karl Borromäus Waldeck (1841–1905)
Martha Matscheko | Soprano
Ida Aldrian | Mezzo-soprano
Johannes Bamberger | Tenor
Matthias Helm | Baritone
Hard Choir Linz
Alexander Koller | Director
* Male choir of the St. Florian Boys' Choir
L'Orfeo Baroque Orchestra
Bernhard Prammer | Organ
Michi Gaigg | Conductor