Album Notes

The idea came to Alfred Schnittke to write Symphony No. 2 in 1977 while he was in Austria. "We came to the monastery near Linz where Anton Bruckner lived and worked. It was twilight time. A cold, gloomy baroque church was filled with mystery. Somewhere behind the wall a choir sang an evening mass - 'Missa Invisible'... A year later I was asked by BBC to compose something for Rozhdestvensky's orchestra. The conductor suggested a work dedicated to A. Bruckner... probably something related to the monastery at Linz. So I realized that it will be 'Missa Invisible' - a symphony with a choral background. The six parts of the symphony follow the ordinary order of a mass and the choral part cites the liturgical melodies..."
The six parts of the symphony are: Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Benidictus, and Agnus Dei.
Symphony No. 2 is written for a large symphony orchestra and chamber choir.


A. Schnittke
(b. 1934)

Symphony No. 2
for Choir and Symphony Orchestra

Movements
I
II
III
IV
V
VI

Total Time - 56:26

Elena Zolotova, mezzo-soprano
Erik Kurmangaliev - countertenor
Yuri Bogdanov - tenor
Yuri Vishnyakov - bass
The USSR Ministry of Culture Chamber Choir
Artistic Director - Valeri Polyanski
The Leningrad Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra
Conductor - Gennadi Rozhdestvensky

Cover Painting, Hieronymus Bosch - St. John on Patmos
Cover Design by Peter A. Baumann