Fünf Choralkantaten WoO V/4

Chorale Cantata “Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her” WoO V/4 No. 1

for soli (S, A, T, B), four-part children’s choir, congregational singing, two violins and organ

Content

Chorale Cantata “Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her”

Text: Martin Luther

Melody: unknown

Creation

Komponiert in Berchtesgaden zwischen Mitte Juli und Ende September 1903

Status

–

Dedication

–

Performance medium

Mixed choir [Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass, Children's choir [Soprano 1, Soprano 2, Alto 1, Alto 2], Congregational singing [Voice], [Violin, Organ]]

Work collection

Fünf Choralkantaten WoO V/4
Other parts:

Original work

Versions

1.

Reger-Werkausgabe	Bd. II/7: Vokalwerke mit Orgelbegleitung und weiteren Instrumenten, S. 106–127.
Herausgeber	Alexander Becker, Christopher Grafschmidt, Stefan König. Unter Mitarbeit von Dennis Ried und Stefanie Steiner-Grage.
Verlag	Carus-Verlag, Stuttgart; Verlagsnummer: CV 52.814.
Erscheinungsdatum	Juni 2019.
Notensatz	Carus-Verlag, Stuttgart.
Copyright	2019 by Carus-Verlag, Stuttgart and Max-Reger-Institut, Karlsruhe – CV 52.814. Vervielfältigungen jeglicher Art sind gesetzlich verboten. / Any unauthorized reproduction is prohibited by law. Alle Rechte vorbehalten. / All rights reserved.
ISMN	M-007-18850-4.
ISBN	978-3-89948-318-5.

Chorale Cantata “Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her”

Work

Ein kinder lied auff die Weinacht Christi

by Martin Luther

1. Composition and Publication

On 2 May 1903 Reger informed his publisher Lauterbach & Kuhn: “Prof Spitta pressed me to provide an insert for the Christmas number this year of Monatsschrift für Gottesdienst u. kirchliche Kunst of an arrangement of the chorale “Vom Himmel hoch komm ich her” for choir, 2 violins, and organ!” (Letter) Spitta had quite fixed ideas about how this chorale could or even should be rendered as a “dramatised Christmas story”. He expressed the “wish, that one day a composer might adopt the right approach in a work for our festive worship; also that here, to the most modest extent, string instruments might be included in the accompaniment. Their sound is particularly suitable to strengthen the mysterious atmosphere of Christmas Eve. […] I endeavored to interest Max Reger to set out these ideas at that time” (Anmerkungen Spittas zur Musikbeilage). Possibly for this reason, Reger’s copy of the Evangelisches Gesangbuch für Elsaß-Lothringen edited by Spitta, which Spitta could have sent to Reger on this occasion,¹ contains suggestions in another hand for the allocation at least of verses 6 to 15, but which Reger only partially adopted (see comparison [ger.]).

Reger stressed to Lauterbach & Kuhn that he wanted to comply with Spitta’s request “on the precondition 1) that you give me permission to do this 2) that the copyright remains with me & I can give you the piece afterwards!” (Letter) At the same time he promised to do what he could, so that “you will have the sole publishing-trade rights i.e. the distribution rights” (letter).

Although the publisher probably had difficulty reaching a decision (see publication), Reger must have set to work during the summer holidays (mid-July to the end of September 1903) in Schneewinkl near Berchtesgaden; there is, however, no mention of the chorale cantata in his correspondence alongside the completion and composition of larger works and working on various proofs² before he sent it to the publisher on 23 September, together with extensive explanations: “This is it, the arrangement written at the suggestion of Prof Spitta, which, as you know, should appear as your publisher’s copyright in the ‘Monatsschrift für Gottesdienst u. kirchliche Kunst’ as an insert in the November no this year, so that a really large number of church choirs will be able to perform the piece, i.e. by buying the music from you! The scoring (2 violins, solo voices, congregational singing) is entirely on the advice of Prof. Spitta! The greatest possible simplicity with nevertheless the most charming alternation of the individual verses was the ideal with this arrangement & I believe that I have succeeded in coming close to this ideal rather well with the greatest possible ease of technical demands & folk-like comprehensibility (therefore also the “weaving in” of the folk song ‘Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht!’)!” (Letter)

2.

Translation by Elizabeth Robinson.

Meininger Museen. – Reger already owned the 1899 edition and had also used it several times.

Gesang der Verklärten op. 71, Violin Sonata in C major op. 72 and Variations and Fugue on an Original Theme op. 73 and other works including Hugo Wolf’s Penthesilea (RWV Wolf-H1) and the Schule des Triospiels (RWV Bach-B8).

1. Reception

Reger’s first chorale cantata, “an admirable, contrapuntal masterpiece of song […], unlike any similar work available” (Alexander W. Gottschalg in Urania, review), generally found a very positive reception, with its suitability for use in worship constantly emphasized. So hielt Walter Fischer, who had conducted the first performance on 20 December 1903 in Berlin, stated in the Allgemeine Musik-Zeitung: “The work is performable in the simplest of circumstances. The work should be performed in every little town where there are two decent violinists, one organist ditto, a children’s choir, and four souls who are capable of singing a four-part a cappella chorale in the style of the Bach chorales. It will kindle the mood of Christmas, truer and deeper, than many of our often truly sentimental Christmas carols.” (Review) At the same time Fischer noted a similarity to “Reger’s chorale fantasias for organ. Here as well as there the aim is to exhaust the religious content of the entire hymn through music. By contrast the outer structure is completely new.¹ Here, the cantus firmus is not entrusted to an organ register, but in the main to the human voice. Through this, the musical image naturally gains in vividness and clarity, and the religious edificatory effect in intensity through the ‘redeeming word’.” (Review in Kunstwart) Felix Wilfferodt felt similarly about it at a performance in the Leipzig University Church on 26 February 1907: “Both works [in addition, the Chorale cantata no. 4 ‘Meinen Jesum lass ich nicht’] exploit the power of the Protestant chorale artistically and nobly, use the harmony impressively, yet are readily comprehensible to the ear, and are tuned to the joy of belief, and nowhere to pondering.” (Review) The Kantor Paul Hielscher from Lower Silesia, not known as a supporter of Reger, writing in the periodical Die Musik also praised “the immense mastery of Reger, who furnishes the 15 verses of the chorale with ever-new musical tendrils. Especially interesting is the weaving of ‘Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht’ into the work” and he added, “to pacify anxious souls: In these works Max Reger perfectly takes into account the devotional mood of the congregation. All so-called harshness is avoided and a noble, serene atmosphere lies over his works [Chorale cantatas nos. 1–3], of which, for the benefit of Protestant church music, one can only wish that they may be parts of a really long chain of similar works.” (Review)

2.

Translation by Elizabeth Robinson.

Hugo Leichtentritt, the reviewer of the first performance, noted that Reger had “drawn on an old, forgotten form, the pre-Bach chorale variation; one could, for example, think of Pachelbel and Buxtehude, who arranged their cantatas according to a very similar plan” (review).

This text is currently only available in German.

1. Stemma

Die in Klammern gesetzten Quellen sind verschollen.

2. Quellenbewertung

Der Edition liegt als Leitquelle der Erstdruck zugrunde. Als zusätzliche Quellen wurden die Stichvorlage und der Entwurf herangezogen.

3. Sources

Object reference

Max Reger: Chorale Cantata “Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her” WoO V/4 No. 1, in: Reger-Werkausgabe, www.reger-werkausgabe.de/mri_work_00210.html, version 3.1.4, 11th April 2025.

Information

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