Joseph Eybler: Sperate in Deo, Gradual, HV 41

This gradual - catalogued as HV 41 by Herrmann - was composed by the Viennese Hofkapellmeister Joseph Eybler in 1822 together with the Missa Sti. Ferdinandi (HV 26) for the celebration of the birthdays of the two majesties. Both Emperor Franz I. as well as his wife, Empress Karoline Auguste, were born on the same day (February 8) and typically celebrated the occasion among other festivities with a festive mass on the following sunday. As in most years, Hofkapellmeister Eybler composed a new mass for this service, together with an appropriate gradual and offertory.

According to the archives of the Hofkapelle, the gradual was performed more than 30 times during the remainder of the 19th century in the Hofkapelle at the imperial court in Vienna.

Several reviews by the leading weekly music magazines of the time testify to its popularity. For instance, the (Leipzig) "Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung" (AMZ No.30, October 3, 1827) wrote:

»The gradual: Sperate in Deo, omnis congregation populi (Andante con moto, C major, alla breve) is an exquisitely well-sounding chorus, full of the purest harmonies, through which the oboe concertante is charmingly meandering like a silver ribbon.«