FELIX WEINGARTNER (1863-1942): Symphony No. 7 in C for Soloists, Chorus, Organ and Large Orchestra, Op. 88.

Description: Mahlerian in concept, Beethovenian in mood and execution, this choral symphony, premiered in January 1942, works its way from a powerful, earth-bound fugal first movement via a second movement poem by Hebbel (blind man and deaf man searching for each other, each with an important message given to them by God) and a fresh, vernal scherzo, to the 31-minute final movement with its concluding "Hymn to Love" (Hölderlin) which rises to a transcendent ending rivalling Beethoven's Ninth. German-English texts. Maya Boog (soprano), Franziska Gottwald (mezzo), Rolf Romei (tenor), Christopher Bolduc (baritone), Babette Mondry (organ), Brno Philharmonic Choir, Basel Symphony Orchestra; Marko Letonja.