When Jan van Gilse completed his studies in Cologne in 1902, he devoted himself to his prizewinning first symphony along with a dramatic scene based on the prose poem Sulamith by Prince Erich von Schonaich-Carolath, in which Satan realises that there is still love on earth despite his machinations. Judging by his impressive music, this must have been the innermost conviction of the composer, who never found it easy in his life to bridge the gap between his German education and the prevailing taste of his fellow countrymen. Combative and vulnerable, quick-tempered and desperate, he strove for a truth that few heard - a loner even when, in 1929, he wrote the poignant Kreis des Lebens (Circle of Life) after Rainer Maria Rilke, which had had to wait for a hundred years to receive an adequate performance and deserved recognition. Now it has arrived.

Tracklist:

Sulamith, Kantate FÃœR Sopran, Tenor, Bass, Chor Und Orchester
Kreis Des Lebens, Kantate FÃœR Sopran, Tenor, Chor Und Orchester-Allegro Moderato: Das Ist Die Sehnsucht
Kreis Des Lebens, Kantate FÃœR Sopran, Tenor, Chor Und Orchester-Ruhig FlieÃŸend, Im Charakter Einer Hymne: Unsere TrÃ¤ume
Kreis Des Lebens, Kantate FÃœR Sopran, Tenor, Chor Und Orchester-Ziemlich Langsam: Herr, Es Ist Zeit
Kreis Des Lebens, Kantate FÃœR Sopran, Tenor, Chor Und Orchester-Wuchtig Und Schwer: Der Tod Ist GroÃŸ

UPC: 761203564828
Label: Cpo Records
Release Date: 1.30.26
Format: CD

Groot Omroepkoor - Sulamith (Cantata) & Kreis Des Lebens (Oratorio) (CD)