Max Reger predicted many of the tendencies of twentieth century music. His style could be analyzed to have two distinct strands: a penchant for the “neo” tendencies, particularly the neo-Baroque, as was later taken up by Hindemith; and a deep plumbing of Romanticism. Choral music became a realization of the composer’s forward-thinking style. Reger not only predicted the renewed prominence of choral music, he was one of the first who tackled the reworking of old song genres. Reger’s Psalm No. 100 for Choir and Orchestra in C minor, Op. 106, synthesized the forms of the oratorio, the symphony, and the cantata. His dual opus Der Einsiedler, Op. 144a, and Requiem, Op. 144b, exemplify the process of cyclization, as Der Einsiedler serves as a prelude to Requiem, and the works are unified together through the same orchestration and the use of the chorale Nun ruhen alle Wälder. Reger also began the trend of grouping cyclic forms, which impacted many composers. Stravinsky in particular followed this practice in his Choral Variations on “Vom Himmel Hoch”, transcribed from Bach. Reger’s Requiem, set to a text by Hebble, is an example of Reger’s union of sacred and secular requiem styles, taking as its model Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem.

Works: Reger: Psalm No. 100 for Choir and Orchestra in C minor, Op. 106 (185–86), Der Einsiedler, Op. 144a (186), Requiem, Op. 144b (186).

Sources: Brahms: Ein deutsches Requiem, Op. 45 (187); Paul Gerhardt: Nun ruhen alle Wälder (186).

Index Classifications: 1900s

Contributed by: Maria Fokina