Robert Morehead

September 14, 2014

5. 175 years of the music of Josef Rheinbegrer

Today's Introit features music of the German Romantic composer Josef Rheinberger ( 1839-1901), whose tonally pure music possessed expanded harmonies of the Romantic periods while generally maintaining a Classical form.  Rheinberger was a compositional master at the art of text painting and today's Introit provides us with a few examples:
      a) The slow moving cantabile (song-like) movement could relate to the
           "sweetness" of  Jesus' presence.
      b) The forte (loud) sections could depict the "Fountain of Light" that exceeds  every joy and need.
      c) Expanded chords outside of the expected classical harmony are used for
           expressive purposes only and not to be brusque or flashy. The composer
           accomplishes this with the following words: memory, Jesus and joys.