Enjott Schneider

Organ Symphony No. 2

As a counterpart to the Organ Symphony No. 1 Pater Noster (ED 9937), the Organ Symphony No. 2 offers softer and more mysterious (Marian) sound worlds, sketching stages of Mary's life: an adoring Salve Regina grows from the mystic source, followed by Berceuse pour Marie as a lullaby of the Christmas events. The third movement Mater Dolorosa falls back on the well-known Gregorian sequence Stabat Mater, taking Mary's pain at the cross as its central theme. The finale treats the Ave Maris Stella in a crescendo from pp to ff in a positive and solemn manner, in memory of Mary's assumption. It is advisable to use an organ with at least three manuals.