Abendlied by Josef Rheinberger

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Here is Abendlied by Josef Rheinberger, from our new album, Radiant Dawn. ☀️

💿 Order your copy now: https://www.thegesualdosix.co.uk/shop/radiant-dawn-2025/

We recorded this video during our album recording sessions in London.

🎧 Stream, spin, and discover: https://linktr.ee/TheGesualdoSix

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Bleib bei uns,
denn es will Abend werden,
und der Tag hat sich geneiget.

Bide with us,
for evening shadows darken,
and the day will soon be over.

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The first version of Abendlied was composed in 1855 when Josef Rheinberger was just fifteen years old. It is perhaps his most famous choral work, paying homage to the great sacred music of the Renaissance with short moments of imitative writing blended with glorious homophony. The text is set primarily in a syllabic style, providing poetic clarity, with the phrase ‘Bleib bei uns’ (‘Stay with us’) repeated three times as a structural anchor. As evening approaches—‘und der Tag hat sich geneiget’ (‘and the day has concluded’)—the text is passed between the voices, flowing downwards from the highest voice, conjuring an image of the sun dropping lower and lower in the sky before disappearing below the horizon. – Owain Park © 2025

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Performed by The Gesualdo Six
Directed by Owain Park

Video produced by Hafren Park & Joseph Wicks for G6 Studio

Audio by David Hinitt & Adrian Peacock for Hyperion Records