Category: Symphonic / Orchestral , Choir / Vocal , Organ / Sacred Music
Movements: 1: Prologue 'From the joy' 2: Symphonic poetry 'From the corridor of life' 3: 'I experienced...' Scherzo for baritone, choir and orchestra 4: 'Fragments'. Adagio sostenuto for soprano, choir and orchestra 5:'Dreams of the lonely'. Sonf for baritone and orchestra 6: 'The refugee'. Song for soprano, choir and orchestra 7: 'How should the birds sing?' for baritone, orchestra and birdsong 8: Finale 'Dona nobis pacem' 9: Epilogue 'Rambler's nights song' J.W.von Goethe
Duration: 92:00 (04:50 / 14:40 / 10:40 / 19:40 / 07:00 / 06:30 / 04:50 / 15:10 / 02:30)
Instrumentation: Picc., 3 fl, 3 ob, E.hr., 3 clar., bass clar., 3 bs., bass bs., 8 hr., 4 trp., 2 tenor tro., 2 bass tro., 3 bass tubas, 4 percussionists, kettledrum, harp, celeste, keyboards, piano, organ, strings: 20 - 18 - 14 - 12 - 10
Text/Lyrics by: 1: lat. Liturgie 3: Paul Renard 4: Christel Müller and documental text fragments, 5: Poetry by anonymous refugees from the Buchenwald concentration camp 6: Ferdinand Römhild7: Franz Hackel 8: Jewish Kol Nidrei, Latin liturgy
Additional remarks: The work, with its 92 minute length and cast, is one of the most sweeping of all written symphonies.
Short description of the work: The work was commissioned by the Erfurt theatre for the Cathedral festival 1999 and broached the subject of the Buchenwald concentration camp. Different bell pitches can be used, either live or from a recording. The work is a mixture of pure symphony and three orchestral songs in the tradition of G. Mahler.
