Franz Schmidt: Oratorio: Das Buch mit Sieben Siegeln (Book with Seven Seals) - Julius Patzak, tenor & soloists; Graz Cathedral Choir/Munich Philharmonic/Anton Lippe

KHCD-2012-076-2CDDL (STEREO) - Franz Schmidt:  Oratorio: Das Buch mit Sieben Siegeln (Book with Seven Seals) - Julius Patzak, tenor & soloists; Graz Cathedral Choir/Munich Philharmonic/Anton Lippe - Perhaps best known now for his 4 symphonies,  Austrian composer Franz Schmidt (1874-1939) Schmidt's crowning achievement was the oratorio Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln (1935–37), a setting of passages from the Book of Revelation. Considering the looming spectre of world war at the time it was written, the choice of text was certainly prophetic. He was the first to write an oratorio on the subject of the Book of Revelation, rather than writing of the Last Judgment as many before had.  This 2-CD set is from an out-of-print limited private edition CD set produced by "Austrian Amadeo", from the January 1962 recording originally released on an Amadeo 2-LP set. Thanks to John Proffitt for suggesting this reissue. Text of the oratorio is included in this download.