by Finn Gravesen

Scenes from Doomsday

The work that Langgaard has written here is not exactly a comedy. Over six scenes the composer unveils to us the times he lived in. Initially there is a general picture entitled The Light of Pathlessness (Vildsomhedens lys), set in the twilight in a mood marked by world weariness and irresoluteness, then comes Haughtiness (Hoffærdigheden) or boastfulness in which we hear the chant "The Mouth that Speaks Big Words" ("Munden der taler store ord") which echoes the empty catchwords of a godless society, with its superficial faith in progress and development. The third picture dubbed Despair (Håbløsheden) is dominated by a feeling of dejection and pessimism, after which follows Lust (Begærligheden), in which "the great whore" shows us mankind's lechery and egoism. In the very next scene, The Struggle of All Against All (Alles strid med alle), we meet "The Lie" and "The Hate" accompanied by a choir of "demons". As the world is in the process of going under, the whore is engaged in a major row with The Lie as to what is actually going on. The last picture features Perdition (Fortabelsen), in which God annihilates all these godless manifestations of the Antichrist. Modern civilisation is heading for a fall. Faith is the only salvation.

Camilla Nyland i rollen som den store skøge_Foto Martin MydtskoDecline and salvation
In his depiction of the horrific trends of his time Langgaard uses the vast forces of the romantic symphony orchestra - at full blast. There is a twin effect in function here in that this highly expressive and powerful music has great beauty, while at the same time ushering in decline and disintegration. That is why it is so fitted to describe the period of the early 20th century with its juxtaposed mixture of truth and falseness, beauty and decadence.

"The Music Society for Boring People" ("De Kedeliges Musikforening")
Langgaard saw decline and dissolution everywhere - not least in music and dance. In the local B.T. tabloid newspaper in 1927, he made the proposal that a "Music Society for Boring People" be formed "to oppose jazz and the Charleston and all that dance nonsense and dance fever, which is threatening to stifle the spirit of people here at home ... when I contemplate the state of our times and of the art of music, it strikes me that the whole thing is Antichrist - yes, everything." (B.T. 1927).

And Langgaard's era did not want to know him either. Antichrist was not given its première in Denmark until 2002 - when it was belatedly a great success.

Finn Gravesen is an author and editor, his latest work being "Who owns the music?" ("Hvem ejer musikken?") (2006) commissioned by the Ministry of Culture.

Antichrist 2002
Photo: Martin Mydtskov Rønne