FULL Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln (Schmidt) Dallas TX 2024 Fabio Luisi, Paul Appleby, Franz-Josef Selig, Meghan Kasanders
Popular Singers in this Opera Recording
Information on the Performance
- Work Title: Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln
- Composer: Schmidt Franz
- Libretto: on themes from the biblical Book of Revelation of Saint John
- Venue & Opera Company: Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, Dallas, Texas
- Recorded: March 1-3, 2024
- Type: Concert Live
- Singers: Paul Appleby, Franz-Josef Selig, Meghan Kasanders, Kelley O’connor, Matthew Pearce, Hadleigh Adams
- Conductor: Fabio Luisi
- Orchestra: Dallas Symphony Orchestra
- Chorus: DALLAS SYMPHONY CHORUS
- Chorus Master: ANTHONY BLAKE CLARK
- Stage Director:
- Costume Designer:
Information about the Recording
- Published by: Dallas Symphony Orchestra
- Date Published: 2024
- Format: Streaming
- Quality Video: 4 Audio:4
- Subtitles: yessubs, ensubs
- Video Recording from: YouTube FULL VIDEO
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS PERFORMANCE
The Book with Seven Seals is an oratorio by the Austrian composer Franz Schmidt , completed in 1937 and premiered in Vienna in 1938, based on motifs from the biblical Revelation of John .
On February 23, 1937, Franz Schmidt wrote the last note of his oratorio in his home in Perchtoldsdorf and put the date underneath. Years had passed since the first sketch before he could complete the work that was to become his greatest.
Some parts of the work are already prefigured in the four short preludes and fugues for the organ from 1928, such as the Hallelujah and the Lord’s final address. While two sketchbooks have been found for the opera Notre Dame and sketches for other works, only a draft of the second part of the oratorio on two sheets of music exists. Even if the creation cannot be traced exactly, Schmidt himself gave a detailed report on the progress of the work on the score: it lasted two years (1935–1937).
Franz Schmidt finished the prologue on October 15, 1935. He had to interrupt his work on the first part from January 1, 1936 to July 1, 1936. Already seriously ill at the time, he stopped working on the composition to await his recovery. By the turn of the year 1936/37, the score had progressed to the point where the seventh trombone sounded. After its completion on February 23, 1937, the work waited just over a year for its premiere on June 15, 1938 under Oswald Kabasta : the soloists were Erika Rokyta , Enid Szantho , Anton Dermota , Joseph von Manowarda and Franz Schütz on the organ ; Rudolf Gerlach-Rusnak sang the musically demanding part of Johannes . The difficult choral part was taken on by the Singverein of the Society of Friends of Music in Vienna . The Vienna Symphony Orchestra performed the orchestral part, which was also not easy .
It is known from stories that Schmidt had been thinking for some time about setting some Bible passages to music, which he wanted to compile into an oratorio. He is said to have chosen letters from the Apostle Paul for this purpose, and he is also said to have thought about setting the Song of Songs to music . Musicologists are not sure who drew his attention to the Book of Revelation . Both Oswald Kabasta and Raimund Weissensteiner are mentioned in this context.
When Schmidt finally decided on the Revelation, he consulted not only his home Bible, which contained Martin Luther’s translation , but also other translations in order to obtain a beautiful and clear text. It is not possible to identify who wrote the freely added passages that do not come from the Bible. In any case, Schmidt claims in his preface to the premiere that he did not make any changes to the biblical text. He says: “With the exception of the elision mentioned above” – meaning the cuts he made in the Apocalypse – “I have stuck exactly to the original…” However, the fact that Schmidt was very concerned about the sound of the word is evident from the fact that even during the writing of the score, changes were made to individual words, for example in the prologue, where “a throne stood there in heaven” appears instead of “a chair stood there in heaven”. Even in the purely musical part, one can see traces of improvements that Schmidt carried out until he seemed to have achieved the final form.
Quoted from Wikipedia