Organ - advanced
SKU:
HL.49045437
For
Organ. Composed by
Enjott Schneider. This
edition: Saddle
stitching. Sheet music.
Organ Large Works.
Classical. Softcover.
Composed 2016. 48 pages.
Duration 24'. Schott
Music #ED 22668.
Published by Schott Music
(HL.49045437).
ISBN
9790001162715. UPC:
841886029088.
9.0x12.0x0.168
inches.
On the
occasion of the
quincentenary of
Reformation Day in 2017,
the composer Enjott
Schneider thoroughly
studied Martin Luther the
individual and all his
contradictions. The
result is a brilliant,
demanding organ symphony
which is perfect for
concerts on the subject
of Reformation and Martin
Luther.The composer
describes the five
movements of the symphony
as follows:'1st
movement:Wir glauben all
an einen Gott with its
quintuplet-like beginning
is very Gregorian in
style, outlining the
range of Lutheran
emotionalism between the
Middle Ages and the
modern era. The
irrationality of faith
ultimately has priority
over any thought and
evidence. At the
beginning of the
movement, sounds of
knocking on wood remind
of the nailing of the
Ninety-Five Theses to the
doors of churches in
Wittenberg. The chorale
melody sometimes hides
with an almost rough
medieval saltarello,
referring to Luther's
robustness and vitality
with which he knew to
carry away even common
people.2nd movement:In
1530, the electoral
prince of Saxony
presented to Luther at
Coburg Castle the golden
signet ring with the
Luther rose which became
the symbol of his
theology of grace. A
white heart with black
cross is fixed on a
five-petalled rose. To
him, white is the colour
of angels and ghosts,
black stands for the pain
of crucification: The
just shall live by faith,
but by faith in the
Crucified. But the fact
that the rose and the
heart are the dominating
symbols shows how
Catholic Marian piety
remained an ingredient of
Luther's spirituality
throughout his life. In
line with the dominant
five-petal structure of
the rose, this movement
was composed, to a large
extent, in accordance
with the floating,
lyrical rhythm in 5/8
time.3rd movement:The
omnipresence of death and
dying - from the plague
and war to the
never-ending dangers of
daily life - was an
essential part of the
world view of that time.
Fears ensued that might
heighten into the
grotesque, e.g. in the
pictures of Hieronymus
Bosch. The Danse macabre
was a popular motif in
those years. Luther's
chorale Mitten wir im
Leben sind / mit dem Tod
umfangen from 1524
(Enchiridion from Erfurt)
is based on the Gregorian
chant Media vita in morte
sumus created in France
around 750 and, with its
idea of transience,
inspired a simplistic
air.4th movement:The
famous confession
delivered at the Diet of
Worms in 1521, I stand
here and can say no more.
God help me. Amen, are
not Luther's words but
the version later used as
text for a pamphlet.
However, it represents
quite plainly the
straightforwardness and
inevitability of his
mission. Musically, it
was made into a perpetuum
mobile, i.e. a dogged,
ostinato and never-ending
musical air.5th
movement:The Mighty
Fortress, on the other
hand, is one of the great
symbols of Martin Luther
which, with its shining C
major key, embodies the
Protestant ideology and
willful nature of the
Reformation unlike any
other song. Heinrich
Heine called it the
Marseille anthem of the
Reformation, Friedrich
Engels the Marseillaise
of the Peasants' Wars.
This disputability is not
thought through to the
end but rather
interrupted: With a
jubilant birdcall version
of the melody, the finale
shows a rather
chamber-music-like side
of the ideals of freedom
of Christians.'.
