Anton Bruckner's "Christus factus est."

 

    The great Austrian composer Anton Bruckner is best known for his symphonies, but he was also a very devout Catholic who wrote some of the finest sacred music of his time. Pope Benedict XVI once said that a "simple, solid, and genuine faith . . . lies at the foundations of Bruckner's music," and that listening to it "is like being in a great cathedral, observing its imposing structural framework surrounding and elevating us, which stirs up emotion.”[1] The great conductor Bruno Walter said that “Bruckner’s work seems to tell of the inner world of a saint.”[2] These qualities are certainly present in his Masses and motets, and these works lift the soul to God as only the work of a man truly dedicated to his faith can do. 

    One of the greatest of these works is the Christus factus est, a choral setting of St. Paul's famous words to the Philippians, "[Christ] became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore, God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name" (Phil 2:8-9, RSVSCE). In Bruckner's day, this passage was the Gradual for Holy Thursday and this motet was probably written to be sung as such. The cadences, dynamics, and vocal changes throughout the work reflect the meaning of St. Paul's words in a beautiful, edifying way. At the words "usque ad mortem" (unto death) the key changes to a somber F minor. Then, the bass voices seem to descend into the depths of the earth as they utter the words "mortem autem crucis" (even death on a cross). The rest of the chorus repeats these words in a fading diminuendo and sink into silence. This silence continues for a whole measure to signify Christ's silence in the tomb. Then come the words "propter quod et Deus exaltavit illum" (therefore, God has exalted Him). Here, the chorus starts soft and low on the scale, but rises in a great crescendo and upward cadence, first in D-flat major, then in E major. At the E major repeat, the chorus shouts the words "exaltavit illum" (exalted Him) in a jubilant fortissimo to signify Christ's Resurrection and glorification. Through these musical and vocal techniques, Bruckner conveys the sorrow and solemnity of Christ's death and the heavenly joy of His Resurrection. 

    This choral masterpiece is a beautiful expression of Bruckner's faith in God and reverence for the mystery of Christ's death and Resurrection. To Bruckner, "the word mystery had a distinctly Christian sense and meant not an insoluble conundrum but a contemplative dimension to the spiritual life."[3] To convey spiritual sorrow and joy so convincingly in the same motet is the work of a soul closely attuned to this "contemplative dimension" and accustomed to experiencing both the sorrow and the joy that comes from contemplating these events that wrought our salvation. 

[1] Pope Benedict XVI, "As Within a Great Cathedral," L'Osservatore Romano, Weekly Edition in English (2 November 2011), 4, quoted in Daniel J. Heisey, "Spirituality in Bruckner's Symphonies: Insights from Maestro Manfred Honeck, Sacred Music 141, no. 1 (2014), 28. 

[2] Bruno Walter, Of Music and Music-Making, trans. Paul Hamburger (New York: Norton, 1961), 17, quoted in Daniel J. Heisey, "Spirituality in Bruckner's Symphonies: Insights from Maestro Manfred Honeck, Sacred Music 141, no. 1 (2014), 29. 

[3] Daniel J. Heisey, "Mystery in Bruckner's Eighth Symphony," Sacred Music 142, no. 4 (2015), 18.