Hyperion Records

The fine motet, Libera me, for choir with three trombones, was written in 1854. Although this was before his long period of study with Simon Sechter, Bruckner was no beginner; he was thirty, with plenty of experience of church music behind him. As early as 1849 he had produced the beautiful and individual little Requiem (recorded on Hyperion CDA66245), and his talents had already been recognized in his own environment. This Libera me is simple and clear; it contains no elaborate counterpoint, but its part-writing is excellent, as is the calculation of sonorities. It has the solemn dignity befitting a funeral piece, and its middle section expresses the fear of judgement with considerable power and economy.

from notes by Robert Simpson © 1985