Franz Schreker Auf dem Gottesacker, Vergangenheit

Franz Schreker's a cappella motets Auf dem Gottesacker and Vergangenheit show the deeper, more introspective side of a composer who is otherwise best known for his opulent operas. These two works for mixed choir provide an insight into Schreker's most personal musical work.

The motet Auf dem Gottesacker was probably composed around 1899/1900 during Schreker's time as a student at the conservatory. The questioning, searching text by an unknown poet is reflected in Schreker's harmonic language, which gives the probing questions about life and death a haunting musical form. The composer most likely dedicated the piece to his sister Henriette, who had already died in 1890 at the tender age of eight.

As Schreker's last independent choral work, dated July 22, 1906, the composer set the poem Vergangenheit by the poet Nikolaus Lenau (1820-1850) to music. Lenau's characteristic use of images of nature to describe mental states finds its musical counterpart in Schreker's subdued, largely homophonic setting. The composer's typical harmony unfolds here in a subtle manner - less dissonant than in his later works, but already with the unmistakable harmonic sophistication that characterizes Schreker's style.

Separate edition from Franz Schreker: Das Chorwerk (Carus 4.103)