Gegenwart#

Egon Wellesz: Mirabile Mysterium op. 101#

Egon Wellesz

His excellent musicological background enabled Egon Wellesz (1885 Vienna - 1974 Oxford), the first Schoenberg biographer, to continue his career in the emigration. Wellesz was a versatile composer, who wrote his radio cantata about Christmas, Mirabile Mysterium (1967), based on Byzantine hymns. His compositional characteristics are modern harmonies and speech-supporting melodies with the conscious use of archaic elements. In spite of his close relations with Arnold Schoenberg in his youth (Illustration), he never completely broke with traditional listening habits. This was not at the expense of expressiveness as the musicial example, a short excerpt from .und du, Bethlehem, demonstrates. (M. Saary)

Sound Clip#