Symphony No.14 "Morning" - Rued Langgaard

Danish National Symphony Orchestra & Concert Choir conducted by Thomas Dausgaard.
I - Introductory fanfare: 0:00
II - Unnoticed morning stars: 2:14
III - The Marble Church rings: 9:34
IV - The tired get up for life: 14:50
V - Radio-Caruso and forced energy: 20:20
VI - ‘Dads' rush to the office: 26:19
VII - Sun and beech forest: 28:00
Langgaard's Symphony No.14 was composed between 1947-8, featuring several fragments of previous pieces. He then sent it to the Danish national broadcasting corporation hoping for a performance, being rejected. Langgaard then revised the work, uniting it with No.13 in a grand single symphony. He sent it again but was also rejected, after which Langgaard separated them both. Then followed several new attempts and revisions until reaching its current form. It wasn't premiered until May 24 of 1979, performed by the Danish National Symphony Orchestra & Choir conducted by Michael Schønwandt.
The under-lying religious programme is announced in the introductory fanfare’s biblical passage about the second coming of Christ. The morning to which the title refers is, in other words, the dawn of eternity. Langgaard then went on to furnish each movement with humorous titles, lowering the work to the level of Copenhagen everyday life: the church bell is ringing, you pull yourself out of bed, Caruso’s on the radio, gentlemen are dashing off to their offices - all of this is going on while the sun rises to reveal the unnoticed beauty of nature. The final hymn has the words “Long live beauty” in Langgaard’s Latinized form.
The first movement is a brief introductory fanfare. The choir triumphally enters on some phrases from the First Epistle to Timothy of Saint Paul, announcing the religious spirit of the work. A cymbal crash ends the movement. The second movement can be performed independently as a separate work, in which a lyrical main theme is presented by strings, unfolding in a sweetly and romantic manner. A contemplative coda ends the movement.
The third movement is based on a well-known theme, an almost note-perfect quotation from Violetta’s aria in Verdi’s "La Traviata"; there is no explanation, however, as to why this particular theme appears in Langgaard’s work. Moreso because the title refers to the chimes of Rabe's cathedral, in which Langgaard would become the organist. After an expressive climax enhanced by the organ, a portentous coda ends the movement, leading us to the next part through a pedal note.
The fourth movement refers to the effort of getting out of bed in the morning. It presents us with a slow lyrical theme, with sections of renewed forward thrust to reaching a determined coda. The fifth movement has also an operatic connotation, with the name of Caruso on the Radio without finding its relationship with the music, which could be due to two short interventions of the choirs in its central and final parts with a phrase from the Roman Catholic liturgy, which is repeated in the coda.
The sixth movement has a humorous subtitle. If we realize, all the narrated actions refer to the dawn, to the sunrise. In this case, it refers to the gentlemen who quickly go to their offices in the morning, through rhythmic music of a cheerful and optimistic nature. The seventh movement constitutes a hymn to beauty, as announced by the choir in its brief speech "Long live beauty". It constitutes a short coda of the symphony in the form of a hymn praising all the beauty that nature offers us.
[Lyrics in the comments section]
Picture: "A luncheon. The artist, his wife and the writer Otto Benzon" (1893) by the Danish painter Peder Severin Krøyer.
Sources: bit.ly/3YHHXzQ, bit.ly/3Jz8Fqn and bit.ly/3l9SkyT
Unfortunately the score is not available.