Es soll mein Gebet dich tragen! WoO VII/43

for mittlere Singstimme und Klavier

Content

Text: Asta Wegerer

Creation

Komponiert in Leipzig, 22. November 1909

Status

–

Dedication

–

Performance medium

Middle voice; Piano

Work collection

Original work

Versions

1.

Reger-Werkausgabe	Bd. II/5: Lieder V, S. 137–138.
Herausgeber	Knud Breyer und Stefan König. Unter Mitarbeit von Christopher Grafschmidt und Claudia Seidl.
Verlag	Carus-Verlag, Stuttgart; Verlagsnummer: CV 52.812.
Erscheinungsdatum	Oktober 2024.
Notensatz	Carus-Verlag, Stuttgart.
Copyright	2024 by Carus-Verlag, Stuttgart and Max-Reger-Institut, Karlsruhe – CV 52.812. Vervielfältigungen jeglicher Art sind gesetzlich verboten. / Any unauthorized reproduction is prohibited by law. Alle Rechte vorbehalten. / All rights reserved.
ISMN	M-007-33910-4
ISBN	978-3-89948-463-2.

Werk

Es soll mein Gebet dich tragen

by Asta Wegerer

1. Composition and Publication

At the close of 1909, Reger surprised his principal publisher Bote & Bock by sending them a new work. He wrote: “Enclosed please find a little manuscript; I am taking the liberty of bestowing it on you for your private collection. However, the song may never be published because it is only an occasional work.”¹ This was most probably the song “Es soll mein Gebet dich tragen!” (“May my prayer bear you up!”), which is just 15 measures long and is a setting of a text by the poet Asta von Wegerer of Stettin (today Szczecin in Poland). According to the closing remark on the autograph score, Reger composed it on 22 November 1909. He initially registered this work with the German performing rights association (the Genossenschaft deutscher Tonsetzer, the Consortium of German Composers), but then revoked its registration in early March 1910, telling them: “I have destroyed the song ‘Es soll mein Gebet dich tragen’; it has only been sung once from the manuscript.”²

The autograph of this song remained Reger’s gift to Bote & Bock, who eventually did publish it – though posthumously, as a facsimile, in its company newsletter Hausmitteilungen in 1938.³ The original was presumably lost in the Second World War.

2.

Translation by Chris Walton.

Letter to Bote & Bock (Hugo Bock) of 29 December 1909 – The fact that the expression markings were not written in red ink is an indication that this manuscript was not intended as an engraver’s copy.

Letter to the Genossenschaft deutscher Tonsetzer of 2 March 1910 – As its beneficiaries, composers had to transfer the performance rights for newly composed works to the Consortium; see its basic regulations as given in Manuela Martina Schmidt, Die Anfänge der musikalischen Tantiemenbewegung in Deutschland. Eine Studie über den langen Weg bis zur Errichtung der Genossenschaft Deutscher Tonsetzer (GDT) im Jahre 1903 und zum Wirken des Komponisten Richard Strauss (1864–1949) für Verbesserungen des Urheberrechts, Berlin 2005 (= Schriften zur Rechtsgeschichte, no. 125), p. 774. – Since this song was not intended for performance, but was a gift to the publishers, Reger refrained from registering it; doing so would have raised issues pertaining to performance rights.

“The song by Max Reger reproduced here was found in our manuscript archive and we are now publishing it for the very first time. This song, which has no opus number, was composed by Max Reger on 22 November 1909 and reveals the master in his utter simplicity and immediacy – qualities that he possessed to such a rare degree.” (Wir teilen mit. Hausmitteilungen des Musikverlages Ed. Bote & G. Bock GmbH Berlin no. 9 (April 1938), p. 9. – See the facsimile on pp. 10–11.

1. Reception

At present, there are no records of performances in Reger's time.

This text is currently only available in German.

1. Stemma

Die in Klammern gesetzte Quelle ist verschollen.

2. Quellenbewertung

Der Edition liegt als Leitquelle das Autograph (Überlieferung im Faksimile) zugrunde. Die posthume Erstausgabe wurde nur zum Abgleich mit diesem verwendet und spielte für editorische Ent- scheidungen keine Rolle..

3. Sources

Autograph (verschollen)
Erstdruck Faksimile-Ausgabe (ED^Faks)
Posthume Erstausgabe, Notendruck (EA)

Object reference

Max Reger: Es soll mein Gebet dich tragen! WoO VII/43, in: Reger-Werkausgabe, www.reger-werkausgabe.de/mri_work_00244.html, version 3.1.0, 23rd December 2024.

Information

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