('The mouth of the righteous'), WAB 30, is a sacred motet composed by Anton Bruckner in 1879. is a Gregorian chant used as gradual of the ,Commune Doctorum and as introit ICommune Confessoris non Pontificis (I) and gradual IICommune Confessoris non Pontificis (II) of the .

History Bruckner composed this gradual on 18 July 1879 and dedicated it to Ignaz Traumihler, choirmaster of St. Florian Abbey.van Zwol, pp. 706-707

When Traumihler saw the manuscript, he asked: "" (Is this the whole text?) Therefore, Bruckner added on 28 July 1879 a verse Inveni David in a Gregorian mode followed by a repeat of the Alleluja.van Zwol, pp. 237-238Inveni David was the prescribed verse for the fest of St. Augustine on 28 August 1879, the day when the first performance took place

While the first performance was expected on Traumihler's name-day (31 July 1879), it finally occurred four weeks later on 28 August 1879 on the feast of Saint Augustinus. Traumihler conducted while Bruckner played the organ.

In addition to the manuscript of 18 July 1879 (WAB 30,1), there is a revised manuscript of August 1879 (WAB 30,2).Bruckner-Online – Os justi, WAB 30

The work was first edited by Theodor Rättig, Vienna in 1886, together with three other graduals: Locus iste, Christus factus est and Virga Jesse. This first edition did not include the extra verse (Inveni David) and the repeat of the Alleluja. The verse and the repeat of the Alleluja were classified by Grasberger as a separate work (Inveni David, WAB 20). Both the first edition and the MWV edition are based on the revised manuscript of August 1879.

The only edition of the first version is a facsimile of the manuscript of 18 July 1879 by A. Göllerich.August Göllerich/Max Auer, Anton Bruckner. Ein Lebens- und Schaffensbild (Deutsche Musikbücherei 36–39), Regensburg 1922–1937 reprint 1974 - Vol. 4, part 4, p. 568

The completed setting with the extra verse (Inveni David) and the repeat of the Alleluja – the manuscripts of which are archived at the Österreichische NationalbibliothekU. Harten, pp. 221 & 326 – is put in Band XXI/28 of the .Gesamtausgabe - Kleine Kirchenmusikwerke

Text and music The text of the motet is two verses of Psalm 37, which is Psalm 36 in the Vulgata (). The text of the added verse is taken from Psalm 89 ().

|style="padding-left:2em;"|The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks what is just. The law of his God is in his heart: and his feet do not falter. Alleluia.Os justi meditabitur on ChoralWiki I have found David, my servant; I have anointed him with my holy oil. Alleluia.Inveni David on ChoralWiki |} The original work of 18 July 1879, a 69-bar gradual, is scored in Lydian mode for choir a cappella. On two occasions (bars 9–13 and 51–56) the choir is divided into eight voices. The second part on "Et lingua ejus" (bars 16–42) is a fugato without any alteration.M. Auer, pp. 72–73 The last sentence, on "et non supplantabuntur" (bars 65-69), is sung pianissimo by the soprano, on a sustained tonic chord by the five other voices (). It is followed by a two-bar unison Alleluja in Ionian mode.

On 28 July 1879, Bruckner added an extra verse Inveni David scored for unison male voices with organ accompaniment, and a repeat of the 2-bar Alleluja. According to Elisabeth Maier the melody of the Alleluja is a quote of the Alleluja of the introit In medio ecclesiae of the Missa de Doctoribus.Elisabeth Maier, Der Choral in den Kirchenwerken Bruckners, Bruckner-Symposion, 1985, cited in: U. Harten, p. 327 The extra verse is apparently Bruckner's own composition.

Traumihler was a fervent supporter of the Cecilian Movement; the reason why Bruckner composed this motet in Lydian mode, without any alteration in the key and in the whole score, and with large use of unaltered chords.

Selected discography Version 1 (18 July 1879) There is a single recording of the first version of Os justi: Mario Aschauer conducting the Harmonia Stellarum: Premiere of the first version, 29 January 2025

Version 2 (August 1879) The first recording of Os justi occurred in 1931: Ludwig Berberich, Münchner Domchor – 78 rpm: Christschall 141 The large majority of the recordings, sometimes without Alleluja, do not include the verse Inveni David. A selection among the about 120 recordings: George Guest, St. John's College Choir Cambridge, The World of St. John's 1958–1977 – LP: Argo ZRG 760, 1973 Matthew Best, Corydon Singers, Bruckner: Motets – CD: Hyperion CDA66062, 1982 Elmar Hausmann, Capella Vocale St. Aposteln Köln, Anton Bruckner, Missa solemnis in B, Motetten – LP: Aulos AUL 53 569, 1983 Wolfgang Schäfer, Freiburg Vocal Ensemble, Anton Bruckner: Motetten – CD: Christophorus 74 501, 1984 Philippe Herreweghe, la Chapelle Royale/Collegium Vocale, Ensemble Musique Oblique, Bruckner: Messe en mi mineur; Motets – CD: Harmonia Mundi France HMC 901322, 1989 Joseph Pancik, Prager Kammerchor, Anton Bruckner: Motetten / Choral-Messe – CD: Orfeo C 327 951 A, 1993 John Eliot Gardiner, Monteverdi Choir, Bruckner: Mass No. 1; Motets – CD: DG 459 674-2, 1998 Hans-Christoph Rademann, NDR Chor Hamburg, Anton Bruckner: Ave Maria – Carus 83.151, 2000 Petr Fiala, Czech Philharmonic Choir, Anton Bruckner: Motets – CD: MDG 322 1422-2, 2006 Marcus Creed, SWR Symphony Orchestra and Stuttgart-Radio Vocal Ensemble, Mass in E minor and Motets – CD: Hänssler Classic SACD 93.199, 2007 Stephen Layton, Polyphony Choir, Bruckner: Mass in E minor & Motets – CD: Hyperion CDA 67629, 2007 Erwin Ortner, Arnold Schoenberg Chor, Anton Bruckner: Tantum ergo – CD: ASC Edition 3, issue of the choir, 2008 Philipp Ahmann, MDR Rundfunkchor Leipzig, Anton Bruckner & Michael Haydn - Motets – SACD: Pentatone PTC 5186 868, 2021

There are only a few recordings, which include the verse Inveni David: Robert Jones, Choir of St. Bride's Church, Bruckner: Motets – CD: Naxos 8.550956, 1994 Rupert Huber, Südfunkchor Stuttgart, Romantische Chormusik – CD: Hänssler 91 106, 1996; also on YouTube - verse transcribed for mixed choir and sung a cappella Duncan Ferguson, Choir of St. Mary's Cathedral of Edinburgh, Bruckner: Motets – CD: Delphian Records DCD34071, 2010 Kevin M. Clarke, Chorus Regi Cantorum, Houston, on Bruckner - Bicentennial Houston CD (St John Vianney Roman Catholic Church, Houston, 11 October 2024) – CD BSA-007Bruckner Society of America

References

Sources Max Auer, Anton Bruckner als Kirchenmusiker, G. Bosse, Regensburg, 1927 Anton Bruckner – Sämtliche Werke, Band XXI: Kleine Kirchenmusikwerke, Musikwissenschaftlicher Verlag der Internationalen Bruckner-Gesellschaft, Hans Bauernfeind and Leopold Nowak (Editor), Vienna, 1984/2001 Uwe Harten, Anton Bruckner. Ein Handbuch, , Salzburg, 1996, Cornelis van Zwol, Anton Bruckner 1824–1896 – Leven en werken, uitg. Thoth, Bussum, Netherlands, 2012.

External links

- Verse Inveni David Bruckner-Online - Os justi (WAB 30,1-2), Bruckner-Online - Alleluja Inveni David (WAB 20) Os justi lydisch, WAB 30 Critical discography by Hans Roelofs A performance of the verse Inveni David by Ricardo Luna with the Wiener Madrigalchor can be heard at 31:33 of the Benefizkonzert für den Wiener Stephansdom, 6 October 2007