| Unser lieben Frauen Traum | |
|---|---|
| Motet byMax Reger | |
 The composer at work, a painting byFranz Nölken, 1913 | |
| Key | F major |
| Opus | 138, No. 4 |
| Text | anonymous |
| Language | German |
| Composed | 1914 (1914) |
| Published | 1916 (1916) |
| Scoring | SSATBB choir |
Unser lieben Frauen Traum (Our dear Lady's dream,Our Lady's Vision[1])Op. 138, No. 4, is a sacredmotet for unaccompanied mixed choir byMax Reger. The German text is a poem by an anonymous poet, derived from aVolkslied. The piece is inF major and scored for up to six voices,SSATBB. Composed inMeiningen in 1914, it was published in 1916 after Reger's death as the fourth ofAcht geistliche Gesänge (Eight Sacred Songs). It is often performed inAdvent.
Reger composed the motets of Op. 138 inMeiningen in 1914,[2] at the beginning of World War I, when he also worked onRequiem projects in Latin and German. Inspired byBach's motets, he had composed "extended a cappella choral settings",[3] such asGeistliche Gesänge, Op. 110, dedicated to the Thomanerchor, with challengingdouble fugues. In great contrast, he composed eight motets formingAcht geistliche Gesänge (Eight Sacred Songs), Op. 138, as a master of "new simplicity".[3] He died before finishing to check theKorrekturbögen (proofs) from the publisher.[4]Unser lieben Frauen Traum[2] was published in 1916 as the fourth ofAcht geistliche Gesänge (Eight Sacred Songs).[3]
The German text consists of three short stanzas by an anonymous poet, derived from a religious folk song, that was first printed in 1602 in a Catholic hymnal edited by Nicolaus Beuttner.[5][6][7]
Und unser lieben Frauen, der traumet ihr ein Traum
wie unter ihrem Herzen gewachsen wär ein Baum.
Und wie der Baum ein Schatten gäb wohl über alle Land:
Herr Jesus Christ der Heiland, also ist er genannt.
Herr Jesus Christ der Heiland ist unser Heil und Trost,
mit seiner bittern Marter hat er uns all erlöst.
The topic is a dream ofMary, "our dear Lady", of a tree growing under her heart, providing shadow over all land, called Jesus Christ the Saviour. The final stanza says that he is "our salvation and consolation", who freed us by his bitter martyrdom. A sermon held in theThomaskirche where the motet was performed by theThomanerchor pointed out that the growing tree refers to the wood of the cross on which Jesus suffered.[8] Related to a dream about pregnancy, the piece is often performed inAdvent.
A free English translation of the poem was provided byCatherine Winkworth, "Our Lady lay a-sleeping". A translation to be sung was written by Jean Lunn, published byCarus: "And to our blessed lady".[9]
Max Reger produced an altogether new composition, not making use of the existing folk tune. The piece is inF major and scored for up to six voices,SSATBB.[9][10] It is marked "Zart bewegt", roughly: "in tender motion".[10] The first two stanzas of the poem are set the same, in3
4 time for four vocal parts,soprano,alto,tenor andbass. The second stanza has different dynamics for the same notes.[10] As a climax, the third stanza is incommon time and set for six parts by division of the soprano and bass.[8] It begins with a forceful acclamation "Herr Jesus Christ" (Lord Jesus Christ), followed by the first rest in the whole motet. The last line about salvation for "us all" ("uns all") reaches high tension, in terms of both harmony andfortissimo on "all", which is released within only two beats topianissimo, then the last half line is repeated, beginning softly and fading away.[10]
The motet has been recorded in programs for Advent and Christmas, such as a collection by the chamber choir ars antiqua Aschaffenburg,[11] and in recordings of the complete motets Op. 138, for example by theNDR Chor conducted byHans-Christoph Rademann.[3]
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