| Four Tantum ergo | |
| Key: | B-flat major, A-flat major, E-flat major, C major |
| Catalogue: | WAB 41 |
| Type: | Motets |
| Form: | Hymn |
| Text: | Tantum ergo |
| Language: | Latin |
| Dedication: | A.M.D.G. |
| Vocal: | choir |
| Instrumental: | Organ ad lib. (1846 version) |
The four ("Let us raise"), WAB 41, are settings of the hymn Tantum ergo composed by Anton Bruckner in 1846.
Bruckner composed these four motets A.M.D.G. in 1846 at the beginning of his stay at St. Florian Abbey. The original manuscript, which was stored in the archive of Neuer Dom of Linz, was lost in the process. Voice scores can still be found in the archive of the St. Florian Abbey.[1]
In 1888, Bruckner revised these four settings, as well as the next setting in D major.[2] The revised version of the five Tantum ergo was published first by Johann Groß, Innsbruck in 1893. In this first edition the ordering for the 4 compositions was deviating from the original ordering by the composer. The WAB ordering, which is based on this first edition, deviates also from the original ordering by the composer.[2]
The 1846 and 1888 versions are put in Band XXI/12 and 37 of the German: Gesamtausgabe respectively.[3]
The works are scored for choir and organ ad lib. The first setting, in B-flat major (WAB 41.3) is 25-bar long. The three other settings in A-flat major (WAB 41.4), E-flat major (WAB 41.1), and C major (WAB 41.2), are 24-bar long. Afterwards a 2- (3-)bar Amen was added to the settings.[1]
In the 1888 version the settings are score for mixed choir a cappella. In the setting in E-flat major the German: [[Dresden amen|Dresdner Amen]] is used on "ritui" (bars 15-16).[4]
The first recording occurred in 1931:
There is a single recording with all four Tantum ergo:
There are four recordings with all four Tantum ergo: