RWA Online Encyclopedia II – Songs and Choral Works op. 76 No. 22

Des Kindes Gebet op. 76 No. 22

Version for low voice and orchestra

Content
Creation
Instrumentiert in Meiningen, März 1914
Status
–
Dedication
–
Performance medium
[Low voice]; Orchestra [Flute, Oboe, Clarinet 1, Clarinet 2, French horn 1, French horn 2, Harp, Strings]
Work collection
  • -
Original work
  • Schlichte Weisen op. 76 Bd. II for voice and piano
Versions
  • -

1.

Reger-Werkausgabe Bd. II/6: Lieder mit Orchesterbegleitung, S. 114–119.
Herausgeber Christopher Grafschmidt, Claudia Seidl.
Unter Mitarbeit von Knud Breyer und Stefan König.
Verlag Carus-Verlag, Stuttgart; Verlagsnummer: CV 52.813.
Erscheinungsdatum September 2023.
Notensatz Carus-Verlag, Stuttgart.
Copyright 2023 by Carus-Verlag, Stuttgart and Max-Reger-Institut, Karlsruhe – CV 52.813.
Vervielfältigungen jeglicher Art sind gesetzlich verboten. / Any unauthorized reproduction is prohibited by law.
Alle Rechte vorbehalten. / All rights reserved.
ISMN 979-0-007-30199-6.
ISBN 978-3-89948-446-5.

Des Kindes Gebet

Werk
Also for
Category
Text template
First edition

L. Rafael: Des Kindes Gebet, in: Ludwig Rafael: Abendgluten. Gedichte. Vierte Sammlung, Breitkopf & Härtel, Leipzig 1901, p. 77.

Template edition

First edition

Copy shown in RWA: DE, Leipzig, Universitätsbibliothek, Lit.germ.31490.

Annotations
–

1. Composition and Publication

After his collapse in late February 1914 (see The biographical context), Reger initially tried to keep up appearances. But on 9 March, Elsa Reger reported that her husband had been “quite distraught” and had told her “I can no longer hear any music […], everything is quiet inside me” (letter to Fritz and Gretel Stein). He was faced with the prospect of enforced rest from work (at least officially) during his imminent health cure in Merano, and this might have been what prompted him to embark hurriedly on further orchestrations of his songs, in order to find his way back to normality before his cure began. In a letter to Hugo Bock, he also outlined a further reason: “[…] it is gradually becoming necessary to have my best-known and most popular songs orchestrated, […] so it is best if I take care of this myself. Then the songs will be orchestrated in such a way that they sound really excellent; I would also like the simplest possible orchestration in all cases, so that every orchestra, even the smallest, will always have the necessary forces for it”. (Letter of 16 March 1914)1

Reger sent this “credo” to Bote & Bock on 16 March 1914, together with his orchestration of Glück op. 76 no. 16 for purposes of publication. Three days later, this was followed by Des Kindes Gebet op. 76 no. 22 and Mittag op. 76 no. 35.2 At the same time, he added: “For the time being, I regard these two songs as bringing to a close the series of my songs that are to be orchestrated.”

Reger corrected the proofs for these songs in early May, just after having begun a follow-up cure in Schneewinkl-Lehn near Berchtesgaden, the summer home of his mother-in-law, Auguste von Bagenski. (See his letter of 4 May 1914 to Hugo Bock.) There is no record of just when the first editions of these songs were published.3 The title page of each of them lists all five of Reger’s orchestrated songs that had hitherto been published by Bote & Bock.

2.

Translation by Chris Walton.

1
In Des Kindes Gebet, Reger omitted the double bass, though primarily because of the song’s content.
2
The original versions of these songs had also been published by Lauterbach & Kuhn.
3
These orchestral songs were announced in the August 1914 issue of Hofmeister’s Musikalisch-literarischer Monatsbericht über neue Musikalien, musikalische Schriften und Abbildungen (p. 176). In a publisher’s catalogue whose preface is dated June 1914 and that claims to be complete up to and including 1 January 1914, these five orchestrated songs are listed as having “just been published” (Verzeichnis der im Verlage von Ed. Bote & G. Bock Königliche Hof-Musikalienhändler Berlin W. erschienenen Kompositionen von Max Reger, p. 17).

1. Early reception

There is no record of any contemporary performances having taken place.1

2.

Translation by Chris Walton.

1
See Aeolsharfe and Das Dorf (Early reception), regarding a performance of Glück in 1923.

1. Stemma

Die in Klammern gesetzten Quellen sind verschollen.
Die in Klammern gesetzten Quellen sind verschollen.

2. Quellenbewertung

Der Edition liegt als Leitquelle der Erstdruck zugrunde. Als Referenzquelle wurde der Erstdruck des Klavierlieds herangezogen, in seltenen Fällen auch dessen Stichvorlage, die Reger zum Zeitpunkt der Bearbeitung jedoch nicht vorlag.

3. Sources

Klavierlied
  • Stichvorlage
  • Erstdruck
Orchesterlied
  • Erstdruck
Object reference

Max Reger: Des Kindes Gebet op. 76 No. 22, in: Reger-Werkausgabe, www.reger-werkausgabe.de/mri_work_01123.html, version 3.1.0-rc3, 20th December 2024.

Information

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