The manuscript score of <em>Der Einsiedler</em> (The hermit), Opus 144a by the German composer Max Reger (1873–1916) after the poem by Joseph Eichendorff (1788–1857), was donated by Elsa Reger, widow of the composer, to Reger’s former pupil Hermann Poppen. It was acquired by the Bavarian State Library in 1991. Reger composed the song for baritone, five-voice choir, and orchestra in Jena in summer 1915. The staff paper he used was originally prepared for the composition of his Requiem Mass (WoO V/9), which he started in 1914 but never completed. <em>Der Einsiedler</em> is regarded as the crowning result of Reger’s preoccupation with the poetry of Eichendorff, a German Romantic whose themes included loneliness, isolation, and longing for and, at the same time, fear of death. These were subjects that obviously long weighed on Reger’s mind. The song bears witness to a retirement from the world into a life devoted exclusively to the composer’s music. In the large-sized score, Reger’s meticulous notation is particularly admirable. Also noteworthy are specific performance indications, in the composer's hand and in red ink, regarding details of dynamics (volume) and attack (accented notes).
<br>Musical scores
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Reger" class="extiw" title="en:Max Reger">Reger</a>, Max, 1873-1916
1915<div style="display: none;">date QS:P571,+1915-00-00T00:00:00Z/9</div>
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