Josef Gabriel Rheinberger

Nine motets for advent for SATB choir op.176

The "Nine Advent Motets op. 179" by Josef Gabriel Rheinberger are among the most important cycles of Romantic choral music for the pre-Christmas period. The Liechtenstein composer created these a cappella works for four-part mixed choir in 1893, setting liturgical texts of Advent in a tonally dense and expressive form. The motets are characterized by a masterful polyphonic voice leading and a noble melody that musically captures the expectation and solemn silence of this time. Rheinberger uniquely combines the contrapuntal tradition with the harmonic warmth of late Romanticism. The work is still an indispensable addition to the demanding sacred repertoire today and reflects Rheinberger's deep religiousness as well as his exceptional compositional skills.