Franz Schmidt's oratorio Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln (The Book with Seven Seals) was composed between 1935 and 1937.
Recording & Production
This album is a live recording from June 14 and 15, 2015, at the Laeiszhalle in Hamburg.
Compositional Technique
The oratorio features two gigantic choral fugues, including a 'water fugue' that spans the entire chromatic range and a quadruple fugue with four themes.
Compositional Technique
Schmidt's music uses the entire twelve-tone space in its most advanced moments but always anchors complex structures on secure fundamental tones, distinguishing him from atonal composers.
Interpretation
Conductor Simone Young chose Franz Schmidt's oratorio for her farewell concert as Hamburg's General Music Director, linking it to Olivier Messiaen's Turangalîla-Symphonie, with which she began her tenure.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Schmidt's most important compositions, like Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln, can be seen as a comprehensive survey of the European musical heritage, combining classical techniques into a grand architectural whole.
Composer Biography
Franz Schmidt, an Austrian composer, was born in the same year as Arnold Schönberg, the father of the 'Second Vienna School,' but is considered his 'antipode' due to his approach to tonality.
