Anton Bruckner & Michael Haydn: Motets

Featuring

Philipp Ahmann
Eckart Wiegräbe
Fernando Günther
Sebastian Krause
Uwe Gebel
MDR Rundfunkchor

Anton Bruckner
Michael Haydn

Did you know?

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Recording & Production

This album was recorded in February 2020 at the Paul-Gerhardt-Kirche in Leipzig, Germany.

Composer Biography

Michael Haydn, a 'pre-Classical' composer, spent his entire professional life in church service, becoming Kapellmeister to the bishop of Großwardein (today: Oradea in Romania) at 23.

Compositional Technique

Bruckner's motets incorporate diverse influences, including Michael Haydn, Schubert's sacred music, Gregorian chant, Palestrina, Venetian double choruses, and Viennese Classicism.

Composer Biography

Anton Bruckner received his musical training from age 13 at the Augustinian monastery Sankt Florian near Linz, where he served as a choirboy, assistant teacher, and organist.

Compositional Technique

A central aesthetic for both Haydn and Bruckner in their a cappella choral sound is a primarily chordal conception, creating an aura of richness and 'sensuality' in harmony.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Both Michael Haydn and Anton Bruckner were deeply influenced by traditional Austrian-Danubian Catholicism, which shaped them artistically and personally.

Composer Biography

Michael Haydn, rather than his more famous brother Joseph, became a style-defining figure for 'popular' Austrian church music in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.