Critical First Edition
Anselm Hüttenbrenner, a friend and fellow student of Franz Schubert, left an impressive œuvre of music for male voices. Picking up initially on Schubert’s style, he developed an independent musical language of extraordinary quality and of great diversity of style and content. Most sacred part songs contained in this edition are based on short passages of the Bible, which Hüttenbrenner repeats several times within a piece. These works are characterized by fascinating harmonic progressions, which are the central means of expression, as well as by the masterly fashion in which he takes into account the speech rhythm in his creation of motif and theme. The other compositions, for the most parts written earlier, stand out especially due to haunting melodies. In general, the deep-rooted nature of Hüttenbrenner’s faith and the depth of his inner compassion can clearly be sensed in every bar of these a-cappella part songs, as is similarly the case with the sacred music of Anton Bruckner. This edition contains a detailed bilingual preface, critical remarks, English translations of all the lyrics and a piano part to each composition for rehearsals as well as indications to the range of the individual parts.