Wolfgang Rihm has not usurped the immense reputation he enjoys in contemporary artistic life. The works of this worthy heir to the German musical tradition invariably oscillate between monumentality – immutable blocks of sound – and ethereal movement – instrumental or vocal lines opening towards the infinite. His choral music is characterised by a syncretism that blends the influences of different periods, which he places at the service of a transcendence and a poetic and philosophical meditation of which he alone has the secret.
WOLFGANG RIHM Sieben Passions-Texte für sechs Stimmen (2001-2006) · I. Tristis est anima mea (2'38) · II. Ecce vidimus eum (4'19) · III. Velum templi scissum est (3'36) · IV. Tenebrae factae sunt (5'33) · V. Caligaverunt oculi mei (4'29) · VI. Recessit pastor noster (2'50) · VII. Aestimatus sum (4'46) · Astralis ("Über die Linie" III) für kleinen Chor, Violoncello und 2 Pauken (2001) (29'29) Fragmenta passionis Fünf Motetten für gemischten Chor a cappella (1968) · I. Da verliessen ihn (1'20) · II. Da schrien alle (2'46) · III. Vater, vergib ihnen (1'27) · IV. Jesus schrie nochmals (1'35) · V. Wahrhaftig dieser war Gottes Sohn (2'52)
