Music of the Spheres (Langgaard)
Music of the Spheres (Sfærernes Musik), BVN 128, is a multi-movement work by Danish composer Rued Langgaard. Composed between 1916 and 1918 for soprano, mixed choir, orchestra (including a smaller “orchestra at a distance”), and organ, it lasts about 35 minutes. The piece was inspired by a line from a Danish poem: “The stars seem to twinkle kindly at us, yet the writing of the stars is cold and merciless.”
The work features early experiments with string piano (strings played directly) and uses slow-moving string clusters. György Ligeti later said he felt he was following in Langgaard’s steps after seeing the score. A key idea in the music is spatial: high notes from violins and flutes at the top, deep timpani and horns at the bottom, with clusters and polyphonic surfaces in between. Time is made to feel present by accelerating repetitive patterns.
Formally, the piece is accumulative and ends in stark contrasts: violent music, then noisy “anti-music” (cymbals and kettle-drums), followed by heavenly music with choirs and harps. The performers are placed on stage, with some players off stage as the “orchestra at a distance.”
Premiere: 26 November 1921 in Karlsruhe, Germany, conducted by Hans Seeber van der Floe, with Ellen Overgaard (soprano) and the Badisches Landestheater-Orchester & Choir. It was a success at the time, but Berlin audiences the next year were cooler. After that, it wasn’t performed again until 1968, when a Stockholm performance sparked a revival. Denmark’s first performance was in 1969 in Holme; a reduced version appeared in 1971 in Copenhagen; the full Danish premiere with all forces took place in 1980 in Copenhagen, conducted by John Frandsen. The British premiere occurred in 2010 at the BBC Proms with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and Choir conducted by Thomas Dausgaard.
Recordings and availability:
- The first recording was made in 1968 in Stockholm, with soprano Berit Lindholm and Sergiu Comissiona conducting.
- A 22-minute excerpt was released on LP in 1969.
- The first complete recording appeared in 1983 on the Danacord label with Edith Guillaume.
- Other complete recordings include Chandos (1997) with Gitta-Maria Sjöberg, and Dacapo (2010) with Inger Dam Jensen.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 13:02 (CET).