Vexilla regis

Vexilla regis (The royal banner), WAB 51, is the final motet written by the Austrian composer Anton Bruckner.

Bruckner composed it on 9 February 1892. The work, the manuscrit of which is archived at the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, is based on the Latin hymn Vexilla Regis by Venantius Fortunatus. It was first performed on Good Friday, 15 April 1892, and was published in the same year by Josef Weinberger, Vienna.

In the Nowak-Bauernfeind new edition (Band XXI/29 of the Gesamtausgabe) the motet was re-issued with the revised text of the hymn and an additional 4-bar Amen.

Bruckner put strophes 1, 6 and 7 of the text in a motet of 108 bars in Phrygian mode for mixed choir a cappella.

Alike he did in Christus factus est WAB 11 and Virga Jesse WAB 52, Bruckner used the Dresdner Amen on the words prodeunt (bars 5-8), unica (bars 41-44), and Trinitas (bars 77-80).

Although it is in Phrygian mode the motet is characterized by Bruckner's typical modulations, often to rather distant keys and the integration of diverse musical styles: Bruckner biographer Howie remarks that "the remarkable mixture of the old and the new in this strophic piece could perhaps be interpreted as an attempt to sum up [Bruckner's] life's work". Its "bleaker and uncompromising" close is suited to the Good Friday story.

The first recording of Bruckner's Vexilla regis occurred in 1931:

A selection among the about 40 recordings:

The large majority of the recordings are using the older score. Only a few recent recordings are using the score of the current edition of the Gesamtausgabe: