I used to hate his music.
Until I learned more about him.
First, learning that he was a big time organist REALLY changed my perception of his VERY long and often heavy symphonies.
This gave me new ears as I re-listened to his music and began falling in love with it.
And then I learned more about his life. How devoted he was to his faith, to God. And also the challenges he had. His extreme social awkwardness, which most musicologists believe demonstrates that he was on the spectrum at some level or other.
This knowledge made me pay even closer attention to his music. I began studying. Buying scores. Dissecting. Learning.
And my goodness, what chops! What ability to create entire worlds of sound! What ability to reach heaven unlike any other I'd heard before!
And the truth is, there would be no Mahler without this composer. And Mahler was the first one to admit this.
Any guesses who?
It's the mighty yet humble Anton Bruckner.
I love so many of his works, especially the last 3 symphonies.
But his choral works are magnificent too.
Especially his "Os Justi."
This is the kind of piece that for me, scrapes the underside of the ceiling of heaven.
I simply can't get enough! Especially when I hear Nigel Short and Tenebrae sing it.
To have a listen, CLICK HERE.
It's exactly the kind of piece I draw on when writing music for Church.
Why? Because unlike so much of the music we hear being written for the Church, it is not based on thin, narrow, emotionally anemic types of harmonies and musical gestures.
This is the deep stuff. The stuff that, like the gospel, can fill the deepest regions of the heart, no matter who's listening.
And it's why we'll spend some time deep diving into this marvelous Bruckner piece during one of the upcoming monthly geek-out sessions we'll have inside the Latter-Day Composer Club.
But only the insiders get to take a peek under this Bruckner hood and see how they can put some of his best techniques to use in their own hymn arrangements and pieces for Church.
If this sounds like the kind of fun you'd be interested in having with us, consider clicking below to get on the waitlist for the Latter-Day Composer Club.
https://douglaspew.ck.page/4a9935dd47
And NO... you DO NOT have to be a professional composer to join us.
This is a club for ANYONE who has ANY inclination WHATSOEVER to express their feelings about the gospel through music.
And it comes with all sorts of training videos about harmony, theory, composition, and more. And I'll continue adding to it each and every week as we go.
Because expressing the kinds of things Bruckner expressed, and that I feel called to express, they take time. They take deep study. They take commitment.
So, if you'd like to join me on this exciting road and get that certain "something" you've been needing to express out and ringing in the ears and hearts of congregations... THIS IS THE PLACE!
Have a good one, and enjoy the Bruckner!
Doug