Palmsonntagmorgen, composed in 1902, sets a poem by Emanuel von Geibel (1815–1884) for unaccompanied five-part chorus. The persistent upward chromatic movement of the lower parts lends an ecstatic quality to the first section of the piece, which reaches a point of repose in E major—the key here associated with morning rather than evening. The second section provides ample evidence of Reger’s ingenuity as a composer of fugue—a form frequently (perhaps too frequently) deployed in his instrumental music, but here supplying both vigorous contrast and an expression of the excitement accompanying Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem.
from notes by Michael Downes © 2010
