This is my reaction to an article in Gramophone where somebody has an article about the finale of the Ninth Symphony, devoted entirely to the group completion in its manifestations. My completion is mentioned but the writer did not listen to it. The following is from a Facebook discussion that ensued.
In my completion the chorale occurs four times: (1) in the exposition, where Bruckner placed it as the C theme and fully orchestrated it, concluding with a codetta and the first catastrophe, (2) at the beginning of the development, inverted, because Bruckner began the inverted accompaniment just before the gap, (3) in the long crescendo in the recapitulation with the Te Deum accompaniment, ending with the second catastrophe, and then (4) in the coda with the Adagio melody above it and the Finale unison theme below it. After that, instead of a third catastrophe, there is the 17-measure peroration balancing the one of the same length in the first movement It is made up of the Te Deum melody and accompaniment, the tetrachords of the chorale codetta, the opening theme of the first movement in the bass, and the Alleluia from the second theme in the trumpets soaring above just as Bruckner told the doctor he intended. Wouldn’t it be nice if the unnamed Gramophone jackass had given it a listen.
The first chorale is a sudden revelation of heaven, related to the “Farewell to Life” in the adagio, the second is the indistinct reflection of that revelation in the awestruck minds of humanity, the third is the construction of the Tower of Babel which falls apart when the codetta is avoided, and the fourth is the descent of the heavenly Jerusalem with the faithful caught up in the heavenly alleluia. But I’ll never tell.