Date of composition: 2019
Premiere: 6 November 2020 at the Wiener Musikverein by the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra; conductor: Oksana Lyniv
Duration: 18 minutes
The Dies Irae about the Last Judgement has been purged from Catholic liturgy; the idea that God will eventually sit in judgement on humanity seems outdated to the Church today. For Sofia Gubaidulina, however, this concept is essential: “God is angry. He is angry, furious with us humans, with our behaviour. We have brought guilt upon ourselves.” From this conviction arose The Wrath of God. Premiered in Vienna in 2020, the work has since been expanded with a prologue, but remains independently valid in the form presented today. According to the composer, God is angry that so much hatred grows among people, that they persecute and wage war on each other, that they treat creation irresponsibly. Gubaidulina gives voice to this admonition. The orchestra does not erupt unchecked; it threatens with calculated precision: sequences of low notes march sternly, motives rise gradually, sharp in sound and tense in rhythm. At times, the gestures soften: the horn laments, woodwinds and solo violin touch heavenly spheres – but do not expect conciliation. Bells and tam-tam are ever ready to ring in the end. The composer dedicates the piece “to the great Beethoven,” who, in his final string quartet, musically answered his own question “Must it be?” with “It must be!” The Wrath of God, however, calls out to us: “No, it must not be!” The final chord glares harshly; God’s word dazzles – but enlightenment remains a distant goal.