Game of the Antichrist, by Robert Moran

Game of the Antichrist

by Robert Moran

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diskant Sounds like an oratorio (staged as opera), but in fact it's the medieval mystery play "Ludus de Antichristo" (Game of the Antichrist), created by an unknown Bavarian monk about 1160 AD. Polyphonically rearranged (composed) by Robert Moran, but with the original Latin text (shortened). It's performed at the Bavarian monastery, with huge puppets as protagonists. Starts with an alphorn.
For me only track 11 is a break in style: here jazzy piano playing should represent the devil. I left it out

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1.	Prologue 01:59	info	buy track
2.	Scene 1: The Babylonian King and Followers Arrive 01:53		buy track
3.	The Rabbi and Followers Appear Before the Pope 01:56		buy track
4.	The Pope (Emperor) and Christians Arrive 01:31		buy track
5.	Children’s Chorus 1: Salve Domine 02:39		buy track
6.	Scene 2: A Violent Religious and Political Argument 04:24		buy track
7.	The Angel of God Appears 02:13		buy track
8.	The Angel Vanishes 00:25		buy track
9.	Scene 3: Appearance of the Antichrist 02:55		buy track
10.	Christians and Babylonians greet the Antichrist as Savior 02:54		buy track
11.	Scene 4: The Antichrist Summons a Musician 03:03		buy track
12.	The World is Frozen 01:42		buy track
13.	Sanguine Patrie 03:42		buy track
14.	Children’s Chorus 2: Stampede 01:40		buy track
15.	Scene 5: Enoch and Elias 03:52		buy track
16.	Finale: Banishment of the Antichrist 02:02		buy track
17.	Within a Day 22:07	info	buy track

about

“Let’s find an ancient mystery play.” With those words, composer Robert Moran’s friend (and noted choral conductor) Alexander Hermann planted the seed for Moran’s setting of the ancient Latin play “Ludus de Antichristo” as “Game of the Antichrist.” A religious work from the 12th century, the play depicts the religious conflict around the arrival and eventual defeat of the Antichrist, but Moran’s oratorio is anything but old fashioned. The arrangement features a children’s chorus, guitar, jazz piano, alp horn and dozens of other instruments brought together to paint a rich narrative whose emotional undercurrents come across clearly -- even if you don’t know a word of Latin.

As a companion piece, “Within A Day” strikes a different but no less ambitious tone. A collaboration with the Thingamajigs Performance Group -- who use unusual musical instruments to combine traditional Eastern sensibilities with modern American technologies and performance practices -- the piece explores the connections between parallel universes. With evocative textural work centered on found sound and haunting melodic lines, “Within A Day” is a striking blend of the ambient and the concrete in music.

Philly-based Robert Moran studied with Apostel, Berio, and Milhaud long ago but never aligned himself with any musical "-isms." His works range from Fluxus type community events to post-Minimal textures, and "shamefully Romantic" languages.

credits

released June 16, 2021

The Children’s Chorus of Gemeinde Vaterstetten, Conductor: Beatrice Menz-Hermann

Vocal Ensemble Chrismos, Conductor: Alexander Hermann

Thingamajigs Performance Group

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about

Robert Moran Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Robert Moran has traveled many musical paths since 1957 when he began his study of 12-tone music in Vienna with Hans Erich Apostel. He has composed for solo instruments and intimate chamber groups; he has created musical compositions incorporating 100,000 performers, radio and television stations, skyscrapers, and airplanes; and he has collaborated with Phillip Glass to compose opera scores. ... more

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