Abendländisches Lied (1988/1989)

The composition 'Abendländisches Lied' by Wolfgang-Andreas Schütz follows Georg Trakl's poem of the same title. The two-part piece for cor anglais and orchestra begins with a fantasia. In the following fugue, the cor anglais presents three themes which musically represent the three epochs of the Occident. A twelve-note chord – symbol of the decline and fall – forms the climax. Afterwards the melody of an Old French love song from around 1190 can be heard as a symbol of resurrection.