The book with seven seals (oratorio)
Encyclopedia
The Book with Seven Seals (Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln) is an oratorio
in German
by the Austrian
composer Franz Schmidt
, on themes from the biblical Book of Revelation
of Saint John
. It was completed in 1937 and first presented in 1938 in Vienna
.
, and will show what must come. John then paints the vision of the throne in heaven, the rainbow, the 24 elders, the seven spirits
, the sea of glass and the four living creatures
. In turn the creatures and the elders sing praises. Angels then ask, who is worthy to open the book with seven seals
which is in the hand of Him who sits on the Throne. John observes that no-one is found worthy, but then sees the Lamb that was slain, standing before the throne, that redeemed us with its blood, and John leads and the Chorus repeats and develops the phrases as the Lamb takes the book (Chorus: Die Vision des Lammes). John describes how everything falls down and worships, and introduces the chorus of worship to the Lamb. So ends the prologue.
. After a great organ passage the first seal is broken, and John describes the appearance of the white horse and its crowned rider. The creature announces the antichrist. He rides as a warrior in righteousness, with his heavenly hosts, to fight in the Name of God. John tells how the Lamb opens the second seal, and the fire-red horse and rider (War
) emerges, followed by his hellish hosts, who shall drive all peace from the world, so that men shall all be driven into war against one another. He is given a great sword. Choruses of warriors extolling death and plunder demand that children be torn from their mothers' love and protection, as the women's choruses seek to protect them and cry out their sorrow and torment. (Chorus: Der Krieg)
The third and fourth riders signify what follows upon the world plunged into war. John tells of the third seal, and of the black horse and its rider, with scales in his hand. The rider announces a small portion of wheat and barley for all, and the mother and daughter sing a piteous lament (Duoszene: Mutter und Tochter) to the father in heaven as they starve from famine
. John then describes the pale horse and rider, and the kingdom of death and pestilence
which follows him. Tenor and bass soloist, survivors on the corpse-field (Duoszene: Ueberlebenden auf dem Leichenfelde) sing of the death unleashed upon all mankind, but for a small remnant 'He that shall endure to the end shall be saved.'
The fifth seal is broken, and John reveals the choir of souls of the Christian martyrs
beneath the altar, which cry out for vengeance upon the earth (Chorus: Der Aufruhr im Himmel). The voice of God bids them wait a little while until their brothers and fellow warriors shall join them. John tells of the sixth seal's opening, and behold, a great earthquake, deluge, and world-burning: the first part of the oratorio ends in a violently-agitated chorus (Der Weltuntergang), cut through by angular trumpet-figures, as the Moon goes red with blood, everything crashes in storms, the stars fall to earth, the sea overflows, the sun goes black, and all mankind comes together before the face of the God of Gods in the Day of Anger. O say, who can withstand it?
) and his angels, and the dragon is cast down onto the earth, and has no more place in heaven. And the dragon, seeing this, pursued the woman, and made war on those who kept God's word and bore the sign of Christ. He sees the heaven open, and the King of Kings ride out on the white horse, and all the dragon's followers were slain. An angel came down from heaven, and bound the dragon for a thousand years, and cast him into the eternal pit
and closed it up so that he should never more trouble the people of the earth.
John's narration returns to the stillness of heaven, the end of all earthly time, and tells that seven angels appear and are given trumpets. Each sounding signifies great sorrows upon the world and its people. The soloists announce the woes, building from alto through to quartet: a rain of blood and fire (punishment for the sins of mankind, responds the chorus); a glowing mountain appears in the sea, and all ships founder, and all lives are lost in the sea and the water is turned to blood (Response: Great God, your judgements are righteous); the star named Wormwood
falls to earth, and poisons all waters, and whoever drinks it, dies (Response: Lord, your punishment is truly righteous); Woe to you, sun moon and stars are lost!, sings the quartet of solo voices. The fifth and sixth blasts and their woes are given entirely to the chorus: the plague of hosts devouring the people, and the armies of riders seeking out and slaying people.
Then sounds the seventh trumpet, which announces the fulfilment of God's plans foretold by the prophets. The chorus sings that God rules the world and mankind praises God, in the summons to the Last Judgement (Chorus and Quadruple Fugue
: Der Appell zum Jüngsten Gericht). John then narrates that earth and heaven disappear before the face of Him that sits on the throne, and the sea and hell give up their dead, and all the dead stand before the throne, and another book, the Book of Life, is opened. Those whose names are not found written there, shall be thrown into the sea of fire. John sees a new heaven and a new earth, and all those whose names are written in the Book of Life go there to have eternal life. The voice of God speaks, saying that He is the Alpha and the Omega and will give to them that thirst the water of life, and they will become His people, and He will wipe away their tears, and there shall be no more death nor sorrow. Behold, He makes all things new. Whoever shall overcome shall be taken up as an Heir (soll es zum Erbe empfangen), and He shall be his God, and he will become His son.
Then follows an ecstatic Hallelujah chorus (Chorus: Hallelujah), in which the choir sings praises to God, followed by a subdued male chorus of thanksgiving on three notes, in the manner of plainchant. Introduced by a light fanfare as at the opening, John makes his final declaration, that all this was the revelation
given to him, and was the sacred exposition of the prophets. The chorus sings 'Amen'!
, alto
, tenor
, and bass
solos, mixed choir, and an orchestra of piccolo
, 2 flute
s, 2 oboe
s, cor anglais
, 3 clarinet
s (doubling E-flat clarinet
and bass clarinet
), 2 bassoon
s, contrabassoon
, 4 horn
s, 3 trumpet
s, 3 trombone
s, tuba
, timpani
, percussion, organ
, and strings
.
, and inscribed the date below. From the time of the first sketches many years went by before he was able to complete what was to become his greatest work.
In the four little Preludes and Fugues for the organ (of 1928), some parts of the work are already foreshadowed, such as the Hallelujah and the closing address of God. Whereas two sketchbooks for the opera Notre Dame, and sketches for other works have been found, only a rough outline of the second part of the oratorio exists on two notebook-leaves. If this does not provide very much of trail for the actual composition, Schmidt himself has left us a very adequate statement about the writing-out of the work into full score: it took him two years (1935-1937).
Franz Schmidt completed the Prologue on 15 October 1935. He must have worked from 1 January to 1 July 1936 on Part 1. Then he had to stop writing again because his hand was extremely painful, and he hoped to improve it by a period of hospital rest. At the turn of the year 1936/37 the full score had grown as far as the sounding of the Seventh Trumpet. It was completed on 23 February 1937, and waited only a little more than a year for its premiere.
The premiere was held in Vienna on 15 June 1938, with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra
under Oswald Kabasta
: the soloists were Erika Rokyta, Enid Szantho, Anton Dermota
, Josef von Manowarda and Franz Schütz at the organ, and the musical recitative role of the Evangelist was sung by Rudolf Gerlach. The difficult choral music was sung by the Vienna Singverein (Singverein der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde)
.
We know from certain accounts, that Schmidt thought for a very long time about the setting of certain biblical passages which he wanted to bring together into an oratorio. He must have chosen letters of Saint Paul for the purpose, just as he thought of setting the Song of Solomon
. It is very difficult to be certain who may have drawn his attention to the Apocalypse, but both Oswald Kabasta and Raimund Weissensteiner are mentioned in this connection.
When Schmidt definitely settled upon the Book of Revelation
for his subject, in addition to his own house Bible, which contained the Martin Luther
translation, he also consulted other translations in order to arrive at a beautiful and clear text. Who wrote the freely-constructed additions, which do not come from the Bible, has not been recorded. Schmidt maintained however in his introduction to the original performance, that he had determined to have no alterations to the biblical texts. His own words about this are: "I have also, in selections from the elision I have admitted above" - referring to his selection of verses from the Apocalypse - "held sufficiently to the original... "
Schmidt's attraction to a resonant word can be inferred because while he was writing out the full sccore he altered some words, as for example in the Prologue, where in place of "a seat stood there in heaven", "a throne stood there in heaven" appears as a textual improvement. Also in purely musical respects one can follow the thread of improvements which Schmidt worked on repeatedly until achieving the final form.
The work had its UK premiere on 24 May 1966, conducted by Bryan Fairfax
.
Oratorio
An oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...
in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
by the Austrian
Austrians
Austrians are a nation and ethnic group, consisting of the population of the Republic of Austria and its historical predecessor states who share a common Austrian culture and Austrian descent....
composer Franz Schmidt
Franz Schmidt
Franz Schmidt was an Austrian composer, cellist and pianist of Hungarian descent and origin.- Life :Schmidt was born in Pozsony , in the Hungarian part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire . His father was half Hungarian and his mother entirely Hungarian...
, on themes from the biblical Book of Revelation
Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation"...
of Saint John
John of Patmos
John of Patmos is the name given, in the Book of Revelation, as the author of the apocalyptic text that is traditionally cannonized in the New Testament...
. It was completed in 1937 and first presented in 1938 in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
.
Prologue in Heaven
The principal soloist is Saint John who, as narrator, opens with words of devotion to God the eternal, and to Christ the redeemer. The voice of God (bass) announces that He is the Alpha and OmegaAlpha and Omega
The term Alpha and Omega comes from the phrase "I am the alpha and the omega" , an appellation of Jesus in the Book of Revelation ....
, and will show what must come. John then paints the vision of the throne in heaven, the rainbow, the 24 elders, the seven spirits
Seven Spirits of God
The seven Spirits of God are referenced several times in the Bible, primarily in the Book of Revelation. The meaning of this term has been interpreted in multiple ways.-The Seven Spirits of God:...
, the sea of glass and the four living creatures
Tetramorph
A tetramorph is a symbolic arrangement of four differing elements, or the combination of four disparate elements in one unit. The term is derived from the Greek tetra, meaning four, and morph, shape....
. In turn the creatures and the elders sing praises. Angels then ask, who is worthy to open the book with seven seals
Seven seals
The Seven Seals is a phrase in the Book of Revelation that refers to seven symbolic seals that secure the book or scroll, that John of Patmos saw in his Revelation of Jesus Christ. The opening of the seals, on the Apocalyptic document occurs in Revelation Chapters 5-8...
which is in the hand of Him who sits on the Throne. John observes that no-one is found worthy, but then sees the Lamb that was slain, standing before the throne, that redeemed us with its blood, and John leads and the Chorus repeats and develops the phrases as the Lamb takes the book (Chorus: Die Vision des Lammes). John describes how everything falls down and worships, and introduces the chorus of worship to the Lamb. So ends the prologue.
Part One
The first part concerns the opening of the first six seals, and tells the history of Mankind and The Four Horsemen of the ApocalypseFour Horsemen of the Apocalypse
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are described in the last book of the New Testament of the Bible, called the Book of Revelation of Jesus Christ to Saint John the Evangelist at 6:1-8. The chapter tells of a "'book'/'scroll' in God's right hand that is sealed with seven seals"...
. After a great organ passage the first seal is broken, and John describes the appearance of the white horse and its crowned rider. The creature announces the antichrist. He rides as a warrior in righteousness, with his heavenly hosts, to fight in the Name of God. John tells how the Lamb opens the second seal, and the fire-red horse and rider (War
War
War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
) emerges, followed by his hellish hosts, who shall drive all peace from the world, so that men shall all be driven into war against one another. He is given a great sword. Choruses of warriors extolling death and plunder demand that children be torn from their mothers' love and protection, as the women's choruses seek to protect them and cry out their sorrow and torment. (Chorus: Der Krieg)
The third and fourth riders signify what follows upon the world plunged into war. John tells of the third seal, and of the black horse and its rider, with scales in his hand. The rider announces a small portion of wheat and barley for all, and the mother and daughter sing a piteous lament (Duoszene: Mutter und Tochter) to the father in heaven as they starve from famine
Famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including crop failure, overpopulation, or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompanied or followed by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality. Every continent in the world has...
. John then describes the pale horse and rider, and the kingdom of death and pestilence
Infectious disease
Infectious diseases, also known as communicable diseases, contagious diseases or transmissible diseases comprise clinically evident illness resulting from the infection, presence and growth of pathogenic biological agents in an individual host organism...
which follows him. Tenor and bass soloist, survivors on the corpse-field (Duoszene: Ueberlebenden auf dem Leichenfelde) sing of the death unleashed upon all mankind, but for a small remnant 'He that shall endure to the end shall be saved.'
The fifth seal is broken, and John reveals the choir of souls of the Christian martyrs
Christian martyrs
A Christian martyr is one who is killed for following Christianity, through stoning, crucifixion, burning at the stake or other forms of torture and capital punishment. The word "martyr" comes from the Greek word μάρτυς, mártys, which means "witness."...
beneath the altar, which cry out for vengeance upon the earth (Chorus: Der Aufruhr im Himmel). The voice of God bids them wait a little while until their brothers and fellow warriors shall join them. John tells of the sixth seal's opening, and behold, a great earthquake, deluge, and world-burning: the first part of the oratorio ends in a violently-agitated chorus (Der Weltuntergang), cut through by angular trumpet-figures, as the Moon goes red with blood, everything crashes in storms, the stars fall to earth, the sea overflows, the sun goes black, and all mankind comes together before the face of the God of Gods in the Day of Anger. O say, who can withstand it?
Part Two
The second part opens in a climactic organ passage introducing a long narrative for John with orchestra. At the opening of the seventh seal, he describes a great silence in heaven. The ensuing narrative is an allegory for the history of the true believers and their Church, from the birth of Our Saviour, of their struggle against the followers of the Devil and his false teachers, and of the ultimate victory of the righteous. John describes signs in the heavens, the appearance of a woman, sun and moon at her feet and crowned with twelve stars around her head, and also of a great dragon with seven crowned heads. The dragon's tail strikes the stars down to earth. The woman bears a child, a son, who is drawn up to the throne of God. The woman flees to a wilderness where a place is appointed for her. Then there is war in heaven, and Michael and his angels fight with the dragon (that is SatanSatan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
) and his angels, and the dragon is cast down onto the earth, and has no more place in heaven. And the dragon, seeing this, pursued the woman, and made war on those who kept God's word and bore the sign of Christ. He sees the heaven open, and the King of Kings ride out on the white horse, and all the dragon's followers were slain. An angel came down from heaven, and bound the dragon for a thousand years, and cast him into the eternal pit
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
and closed it up so that he should never more trouble the people of the earth.
John's narration returns to the stillness of heaven, the end of all earthly time, and tells that seven angels appear and are given trumpets. Each sounding signifies great sorrows upon the world and its people. The soloists announce the woes, building from alto through to quartet: a rain of blood and fire (punishment for the sins of mankind, responds the chorus); a glowing mountain appears in the sea, and all ships founder, and all lives are lost in the sea and the water is turned to blood (Response: Great God, your judgements are righteous); the star named Wormwood
Wormwood (star)
Wormwood, αψίνθιον or άψινθος in Greek, is a star, or angel, that appears in the Biblical New Testament Book of Revelation.-Wormwood in the Bible:...
falls to earth, and poisons all waters, and whoever drinks it, dies (Response: Lord, your punishment is truly righteous); Woe to you, sun moon and stars are lost!, sings the quartet of solo voices. The fifth and sixth blasts and their woes are given entirely to the chorus: the plague of hosts devouring the people, and the armies of riders seeking out and slaying people.
Then sounds the seventh trumpet, which announces the fulfilment of God's plans foretold by the prophets. The chorus sings that God rules the world and mankind praises God, in the summons to the Last Judgement (Chorus and Quadruple Fugue
Fugue
In music, a fugue is a compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject that is introduced at the beginning in imitation and recurs frequently in the course of the composition....
: Der Appell zum Jüngsten Gericht). John then narrates that earth and heaven disappear before the face of Him that sits on the throne, and the sea and hell give up their dead, and all the dead stand before the throne, and another book, the Book of Life, is opened. Those whose names are not found written there, shall be thrown into the sea of fire. John sees a new heaven and a new earth, and all those whose names are written in the Book of Life go there to have eternal life. The voice of God speaks, saying that He is the Alpha and the Omega and will give to them that thirst the water of life, and they will become His people, and He will wipe away their tears, and there shall be no more death nor sorrow. Behold, He makes all things new. Whoever shall overcome shall be taken up as an Heir (soll es zum Erbe empfangen), and He shall be his God, and he will become His son.
Then follows an ecstatic Hallelujah chorus (Chorus: Hallelujah), in which the choir sings praises to God, followed by a subdued male chorus of thanksgiving on three notes, in the manner of plainchant. Introduced by a light fanfare as at the opening, John makes his final declaration, that all this was the revelation
Revelation
In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing, through active or passive communication with a supernatural or a divine entity...
given to him, and was the sacred exposition of the prophets. The chorus sings 'Amen'!
Orchestration
The oratorio is scored for Heldentenor solo, sopranoSoprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
, alto
Alto
Alto is a musical term, derived from the Latin word altus, meaning "high" in Italian, that has several possible interpretations.When designating instruments, "alto" frequently refers to a member of an instrumental family that has the second highest range, below that of the treble or soprano. Hence,...
, tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
, and bass
Bass (voice type)
A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C...
solos, mixed choir, and an orchestra of piccolo
Piccolo
The piccolo is a half-size flute, and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. The piccolo has the same fingerings as its larger sibling, the standard transverse flute, but the sound it produces is an octave higher than written...
, 2 flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
s, 2 oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
s, cor anglais
Cor anglais
The cor anglais , or English horn , is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family....
, 3 clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
s (doubling E-flat clarinet
E-flat clarinet
The E-flat clarinet is a member of the clarinet family. It is usually classed as a soprano clarinet, although some authors describe it as a "sopranino" or even "piccolo" clarinet. Smaller in size and higher in pitch than the more common B clarinet, it is a transposing instrument in E, sounding a...
and bass clarinet
Bass clarinet
The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B , but it plays notes an octave below the soprano B clarinet...
), 2 bassoon
Bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
s, contrabassoon
Contrabassoon
The contrabassoon, also known as the double bassoon or double-bassoon, is a larger version of the bassoon, sounding an octave lower...
, 4 horn
Horn (instrument)
The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
s, 3 trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
s, 3 trombone
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
s, tuba
Tuba
The tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
, timpani
Timpani
Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
, percussion, organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
, and strings
String section
The string section is the largest body of the standard orchestra and consists of bowed string instruments of the violin family.It normally comprises five sections: the first violins, the second violins, the violas, the cellos, and the double basses...
.
The history of its creation
On 23 February 1937, Franz Schmidt wrote the last notes of his oratorio in his home at PerchtoldsdorfPerchtoldsdorf
Perchtoldsdorf is a town in the district of Mödling in the Austrian state of Lower Austria, located about 16 km southwest of the viennese inner city.-History:...
, and inscribed the date below. From the time of the first sketches many years went by before he was able to complete what was to become his greatest work.
In the four little Preludes and Fugues for the organ (of 1928), some parts of the work are already foreshadowed, such as the Hallelujah and the closing address of God. Whereas two sketchbooks for the opera Notre Dame, and sketches for other works have been found, only a rough outline of the second part of the oratorio exists on two notebook-leaves. If this does not provide very much of trail for the actual composition, Schmidt himself has left us a very adequate statement about the writing-out of the work into full score: it took him two years (1935-1937).
Franz Schmidt completed the Prologue on 15 October 1935. He must have worked from 1 January to 1 July 1936 on Part 1. Then he had to stop writing again because his hand was extremely painful, and he hoped to improve it by a period of hospital rest. At the turn of the year 1936/37 the full score had grown as far as the sounding of the Seventh Trumpet. It was completed on 23 February 1937, and waited only a little more than a year for its premiere.
The premiere was held in Vienna on 15 June 1938, with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra
Vienna Symphony Orchestra
-History:In 1900, Ferdinand Löwe founded the orchestra as the Wiener Concertverein . In 1913 it moved into the Konzerthaus, Vienna. In 1919 it merged with the Tonkünstler Orchestra. In 1933 it acquired its current name...
under Oswald Kabasta
Oswald Kabasta
Oswald Kabasta was an Austrian conductor.Kabasta was born in Mistelbach, Austria and later studied with composer Franz Schmidt. In 1931 he became head of conducting at the Vienna Academy. He also served as musical director of Vienna Radio about this time. In 1938 he became principal conductor...
: the soloists were Erika Rokyta, Enid Szantho, Anton Dermota
Anton Dermota
Kammersänger Anton Dermota was a Slovene tenor.He was born in a poor family Born in the Upper Carniolan village of Kropa, in what was then the Austro-Hungarian Empire . He went to the Ljubljana Conservatory with the intention of studying composition and organ, but in 1934 he received a scholarship...
, Josef von Manowarda and Franz Schütz at the organ, and the musical recitative role of the Evangelist was sung by Rudolf Gerlach. The difficult choral music was sung by the Vienna Singverein (Singverein der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde)
Wiener Singverein
The Vienna Singverein is the concert choir of the Vienna Musikverein with around 230 members. It is regularly requested by top orchestras and conductors for large and varied projects.- History :...
.
We know from certain accounts, that Schmidt thought for a very long time about the setting of certain biblical passages which he wanted to bring together into an oratorio. He must have chosen letters of Saint Paul for the purpose, just as he thought of setting the Song of Solomon
Song of Solomon
The Song of Songs of Solomon, commonly referred to as Song of Songs or Song of Solomon, is a book of the Hebrew Bible—one of the megillot —found in the last section of the Tanakh, known as the Ketuvim...
. It is very difficult to be certain who may have drawn his attention to the Apocalypse, but both Oswald Kabasta and Raimund Weissensteiner are mentioned in this connection.
When Schmidt definitely settled upon the Book of Revelation
Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation"...
for his subject, in addition to his own house Bible, which contained the Martin Luther
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...
translation, he also consulted other translations in order to arrive at a beautiful and clear text. Who wrote the freely-constructed additions, which do not come from the Bible, has not been recorded. Schmidt maintained however in his introduction to the original performance, that he had determined to have no alterations to the biblical texts. His own words about this are: "I have also, in selections from the elision I have admitted above" - referring to his selection of verses from the Apocalypse - "held sufficiently to the original... "
Schmidt's attraction to a resonant word can be inferred because while he was writing out the full sccore he altered some words, as for example in the Prologue, where in place of "a seat stood there in heaven", "a throne stood there in heaven" appears as a textual improvement. Also in purely musical respects one can follow the thread of improvements which Schmidt worked on repeatedly until achieving the final form.
The work had its UK premiere on 24 May 1966, conducted by Bryan Fairfax
Bryan Fairfax
Bryan Fairfax is a retired Australian conductor based in the United Kingdom, who is known for his championing of little known or neglected works....
.
Recordings
- Anton Dermota (Ev.), Walter Berry (God), Hilde Güden, Ira Malaniuk, Fritz Wunderlich, (soloists): Vienna Philharmonic cond. Dimitri Mitropoulos, with Singverein der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, Alois Forrer, (organ). Salzburger Festspiele, 23 August 1959. Sony SM2K 68442 (2CD).
- Julius PatzakJulius PatzakJulius Patzak was an Austrian tenor distinguished in operatic and concert work. He was particularly noted in Mozart, Beethoven and in early 20th century German repertoire.-Biography:...
(Evangelist), Otto Wiener (God), Hanny Steffek, Hertha Töpper, Erich Majkut, Frederick Guthrie (soloists): Munich Philharmonic cond. Anton Lippe, with Graz Domchor, Franz Illenburger (organ). Recorded in Stephaniesaal at Graz, January 1962. Amadeo 2 LP AVRS 5004/5005 St, 2 CD Amadeo 423 993-2. - Peter SchreierPeter SchreierPeter Schreier is a German tenor and conductor.-Early life:Schreier was born in Meissen, Saxony, and spent his first years in the small village of Gauernitz, near Meissen, where his father was a teacher, cantor and organist...
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. Orpheus Digital C 143862H (2CD). - Eberhard Büchner (Johannes),Robert Holl (God), Wiener Symphoniker, Wiener SingvereinWiener SingvereinThe Vienna Singverein is the concert choir of the Vienna Musikverein with around 230 members. It is regularly requested by top orchestras and conductors for large and varied projects.- History :...
, Horst SteinHorst SteinHorst Walter Stein was a German conductor.- Biography :...
(cond.) (1997) - Stig Fogh AndersenStig Fogh AndersenStig Fogh Andersen is a Danish operatic tenor. He is considered one of the most famous Wagner-tenors, "one of the leading Siegfrieds in the world today".He is married to Tina Kiberg, who is also an opera singer....
, Rene Pape, soloists: Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, cond. Franz Welser-MöstFranz Welser-MöstFranz Welser-Möst is an Austrian conductor who is currently the music director for the Cleveland Orchestra and the Vienna State Opera.- Biography :...
(EMI Classics 2-CD). - Kurt Streit, Franz Hawlata, Dorothea Röschmann, Marjana Lipovsek, Herbert Lippert: Vienna Phil. cond. Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Wiener Singverein. 2 CD, Teldec (2000)
- Johannes Chum (Evangelist), cond. Kristjan JarviKristjan JärviKristjan Järvi is an Estonian-American conductor. Järvi is the younger son of Neeme Järvi, and the brother of conductor Paavo Järvi and flutist Maarika Järvi....
. CD, Chandos (2008)
Sources
- Andreas Liess, Franz Schmidt (Verlag Hermann Böhlaus Nachf. G.m.b.H., Graz 1951).
- Carl Nemeth, Franz Schmidt (Amalthea-Verlag, Zurich-Leipzig-Wien 1957).
- Franz Kosch, 'Das Österreichische Oratorium. Zur Musik von Franz Schmidts "Das Buch Mit Sieben Siegeln",' in Österreichische Musikzeitschrift, Jahrgang 8, Wien 1953, pp. 98–104.
- Albert Arbeiter, 'Einführung in "Das Buch mit Sieben Siegeln",' 1958, Styria, Judenburg.
- Franz Schmidt, 'Einige Bemerkungen zum Text des Oratoriums "Das Buch mit Sieben Siegeln".'(Printed in full (German) in insert to Amadeo LP and CD record sets of 1962 recording).
External links
- Notice of first performance in Cologne, 2007
- Notice of performance in Würzburg 2007, with video:
- Roderick Dunnett interview 2000, re Nicholas Kenyon performance