Herbstlied, WAB 73

 (Autumn song), WAB 73, is a romantic song composed by Anton Bruckner in 1864. The song, scored for men's choir and two soprano soloists with piano accompaniment, depicts an autumn walking with nightingale song.
History.
Bruckner composed the song on a text of Friedrich von Sallet on 19 March 1864.
Bruckner dedicated the song to his friend Josef Hafferl, chairman of the Liedertafel "Frohsinn". The piece was performed on 24 November 1864 in the "" of Linz by "Frohsinn" under Bruckner's baton, with Marie Schimatschek and Anna Bergmann as soloists.
A copy of the work, of which the original manuscript is lost, is stored in the archive of the Liedertafel "Frohsinn". The piece, which was first issued by Viktor Keldorfer (Universal Edition) in 1911, is issued in Band XXIII/2, No. 16 of the "".
Text.
Herbstlied is using a text by Friedrich von Sallet.
Music.
The 69-bar long work in F-sharp minor is scored for choir, two soprano soloists and piano. Strophe 1 is sung by the men's choir. Strophe 2 (from bar 17) is sung by the two soprano soloists, who are figuring the song of the nightingales, with accompaniment of the men's choir. Strophe 3 is sung again by the men's choir. Strophe 4, which is sung again by the two soprano soloists with accompaniment of the men's choir, is ending pianissimo.
In the Göllerich/Auer biography, the song is described as "" (a felicitous evocation of autumnal nature-romanticism).
Discography.
The first recording of "Herbstlied" was by Theodor Rehmann with the Aachener Domchor in 1938 – 78 rpm: Electrola EG 6530 (transcription for choir)
There is a single other recording: