Josef Rheinberger

So, why does Rheinberger's music sound like Mahler's? (okay—somewhat?)

And, how did Rheinberger come to write mass settings in Latin?

Let's gather some background information.

MAHLER

According to Wikipedia, "Gustav Mahler ([born] 7 July 1860 [, died] 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian late-Romantic composer[. He was b]orn in Bohemia ([which was] then part of [the] Austrian Empire)...and graduat[ed] from...Vienna [(then and now the capital of Austria)] Conservatory in 1878[.]"

More precisely, he was born "in the village of Kalischt [within] today's Czech Republic."

RHEINBERGER

"Josef Gabriel Rheinberger ([born] 17 March 1839, in Vaduz [, died] 25 November 1901...) was an organist and composer, born in Liechtenstein[.]

"Rheinberger['s] father was the treasurer for Aloys II, Prince of Liechtenstein[.]

"Rheinberger...showed exceptional musical talent at an early age. When only seven years old, he was already serving as organist of the Vaduz parish church, and his first composition was performed the following year. In 1849, he studied with composer Philipp M. Schmutzer...in Feldkirch, Vorarlberg."

CITIES

"Kalischt [, where Mahler was born] is a village...of the Pelhřimov District in the Vysočina Region [of the] Czech Republic.

"Vaduz [, where Rheinberger was born,] is the capital of Liechtenstein.

"Feldkirch [, where Rheinberger studied at the age of 10,] is a...city in the western Austrian state of Vorarlberg[,] on the border with...Liechtenstein."

For Kalischt (Czech name: Kaliště), two maps are: 1.) fairly close-up, and 2.) showing its position in context.

For Vaduz, two maps are: 1.) fairly close-up, and 2.) showing its position in context.

Feldkirch quite easily can be seen on the close-up Vaduz map, perhaps with just a little zooming out.

RELIGION  (AND  POLITICS)

"Charles V ([born] 24 February 1500 [, died] 21 September 1558) was ruler of both the Spanish Empire as Charles I from 1516[,] and the Holy Roman Empire as Charles V from 1519...The personal union under Charles of the Holy Roman Empire with the Spanish Empire was the closest Europe would come to a universal monarchy since the death of Louis the Pious (778–840).

"Before Charles [V]'s reign in the Holy Roman Empire began, in 1517, Martin Luther launched what would later be known as the Reformation. At this time, many local dukes saw it as a chance to oppose the hegemony of Emperor Charles V. The empire then became fatally divided along religious lines, with the north, the east, and many of the major cities – Strasbourg, Frankfurt, and Nuremberg – becoming Protestant while the southern and western regions largely remained Catholic.

The Demographics of "Religion in Austria [in] 1910 [include]: Roman [Catholics] and Eastern [Catholics: combined]: 90.9 %".

The same demographic article also contains a map (hand-drawn) of "Religions in Austria-Hungary, from the 1881 edition of Andrees Allgemeiner Handatlas. Catholics (both Roman and Uniate [i.e., Eastern]) are blue, Protestants purple, Eastern Orthodox yellow, and Muslims green."

LIECHTENSTEIN

"Until the end of World War I, Liechtenstein was closely tied...to the Austrian Empire[,]" due to the above geopolitical reasons.

Hopefully, this article can sufficiently answer the questions posed at its start—or, at least, put them into context!

Copyright (c) 2018 Mark D. Blackwell.