Category: Symphonic / Orchestral , Organ / Sacred Music
A light-footed concerto for organ and strings! - ECHO. CONCERT FOR ORGAN AND STRING ORCHESTRA is inspired in its mood by the myth of the mountain nymph Echo: Condemned to silence and gossip about other people's speeches by the goddess Hera, she falls in love with the young Narcissus. However, he is not interested in Echo and is only in love with his own beauty. Thereupon, Echo is lonely in the woods, consumed by heartache... until only 'Echo' is left of her. -
In the foreground is undoubtedly the playful joy of unconstrained virtuoso music-making - naive and nymph-like, so to speak. The musical form of the echo (as repetition, as a canon, etc.) is often implemented.
Movements: 1: Dance 2: Echo and Narcissus 3: Finale
Duration: 23:00 (08:00 / 10:00 / 05:00)
Publisher of notes/sheet music: Schott , 2004
Instrumentation: Organ and strings (16-14-12-10-8)
Solo instruments: Orgel
Introduction: ECHO. CONCERT FOR ORGAN AND STRING ORCHESTRA is inspired by the myth of the mountain nymph Echo: Doomed by the goddess Hera to silence and gossip about other people's speeches because of her babbling, she falls in love with the young Narcissus. However, he is not interested in Echo and is only in love with his own beauty. Thereupon, Echo is lonely in the woods, consumed by heartache... until only 'Echo' is left of her. If one draws a line from Händel's joy of playing to the charm of César Franck's melody and harmony and the insistence of minimalist music, the stylistics of this unproblematic organ concerto is well described. The focus is undoubtedly on the playful joy of unconstrained virtuoso music-making - naive and nymph-like, so to speak. The musical form of the echo (as repetition, as a canon, etc.) is often implemented. In the background the movements can also be seen programmatically:
Movement 1: 'Dance' describes the mountain nymph Echo in its light dancing manner; a 11/8 time characterizes the basic rhythm.
Movement 2: 'Echo and Narcissus' describes the glow of love, the courtship, the melancholic songs of the nymph, and is somewhat more profound in harmony and melody (based on an eight-tone mode and an eight-tone series of motives). A ritornello in the style of the violin concerto in A minor by J.S.Bach indicates the proximity of the entire composition to baroque musicality.
Movement 3: Finale (Presto) is a virtuoso movement which, beyond the melancholy typical of Echo, has something of the 'talkative', 'cheerful' and 'beautiful' of mythological tradition.
Dedication: Dedicated in friendship to Johannes Skudlik
World premiere: 04.09.2003, Landsberg am Lech Church of the assumption (International Landsberg organ concerts)
Performers at world premiere: con brio-orchestra with Johannes Skudlik (direction and organ)
Press reviews for world premiere: Ostthüringer Zeitung 22.9.2009 (Renate Mertel)
5th RUDOLSTADT ORGAN DAYS FESTIVELY OPENED
....The high point of the evening was the 'echo' by Enjott Schneider, a hugely versatile work which demanded the virtuosity of the soloist as well as the orchestra as well as the conductor. Now The Ladegast-organ was also used. At the beginning and at the end of the work, playful and vigorous elements controlled the scene up to the toccata-like finale, the string players might indulge themselves in the middle movement, but produce also weird and impressionistically sounds. It was a great collaboration of organ and orchestra, transparently as well as tonally energetically makes music. The eager applause of the audience was probably the best thank-you for this impressive concert
Records: Guild GMCD 7264, 2003
Performers on recording: Franz Hauk (on the Ingolstadt minster organ)
Georgian Chamber Orchestra Ingolstadt
Direction: Markus Poschner
