Description
In his Organ Symphony No. 8 ‘In Memoriam’, following an idea of the cathedral organist Silvius von Kessel from Erfurt (and dedicatee of the work), Enjott Schneider carries on where Anton Bruckner left off, processes themes from the latter’s Symphony No. 8 variatively and contrasts it to ‘Haus-Choral des Erfurter Doms’, ‘Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme’. Bruckner’s material is used as a starting point and further developed by Schneider in four movements: typically enough, the initial movement is called ‘Metamorphosen’ before an almost eerie atmosphere is created in a ‘Scherzo sinistro’. The twelve-note series (in the third movement), embedded in a transcendental mood, eventually develops into the chorale which, now as main theme of the finale, amalgamates with Bruckner’s stylistic moments and leads to a magnificent end – an exciting and rousing piece of music.
