Ragnarök
Level:
4
Duration:
7:43
Instrumentation:
wind band, fanfare band
concert work, contest piece
Type:
Ragnarök – The Final Destiny of the Gods re-tells parts of the Götterdämmerung from Norse mythology. The work is not a literal musical
presentation of the myth, but the end of the world and its subsequent renewal are illuminated over the course of the two movements. More importantly, the music suggests compelling images of an ancient magical world ruled by violence, that collapses under its own weight and is then, much like the mythical phoenix, reborn from its own ashes. The score contains parts for choir which can be sung, omitted or played on a synthesizer. Two of the passages quote texts from the requiem: the Dies Irae in the first movement and the Libera me in the second.