Articles

A mass by the Romantic composer Robert Schumann is worthy of attention in several respects. In Lutheran Zwickau in Saxony - the composer's birthplace - one could hardly encounter the Catholic liturgy. Moreover, Robert Schumann was not a churchgoer in the true sense of the word. At best, he developed religious ideas in general terms from the perspective of a Romantic artist. It … [Read more...] about „Worked with great love“

On 5 December 1757, the Prussian army under Frederick II defeated the Austrian troops in the Battle of Leuthen during the Seven Years' War. The Lower Silesian and now Polish town became the scene of a legend when, on the evening after the battle, over 20,000 soldiers are said to have spontaneously sung the hymn 'Nun danket alle Gott'. The 'Choral of Leuthen' (a German film was … [Read more...] about ‘Now give thanks to God’

Ghasele is the title of a setting of the poem 'Schlußlied' by Friedrich Rückert from the collection Wanderung (Zweiter Bezirk-Ghaselen). The ghasele itself is an Arabic and Persian lyrical form of poetry from pre-Islamic times. It flourished between the 13th and 14th centuries. The specifically German interest in Persian poetry emerged with Goethe. However, the affinity for the … [Read more...] about ‘O you my intoxication! You my love! O thou my song! …do not leave me!’

Glagolitic script is the oldest Slavic script and a foundation of Old Church Slavonic that was cast in letters. It was invented in 863 AD by the monk Cyril of Salonika for the mission in Pannonia and Moravia. The Greek alphabet could only be used for Slavic languages to a limited extent and did not seem suitable for the cultural independence of the Slavs. However, the cultural … [Read more...] about Glagolská Mše

The challenge of the late mass, which Beethoven himself described as 'thegreatest work(s) I have written so far', is extraordinary. Masterpieces with similarly intense artistic demands on all performers can be counted on one hand. Nevertheless, the story of the work's creation begins quite unspectacularly: in 1819, Archduke Rudolph, the composer's former pupil and loyal … [Read more...] about ‘From the heart – May it go to the heart again!’