The Sixth Symphony, only christened Det Himmelrivende long after its completion, sounds as if it was composed by a completely different musician from the composer of the Fourth. This is a struggle between Good and Evil, between Darkness and Light, and contains much of the conflict and anguish which characterized Langgaard's life and beliefs. Highly chromatic and dissonant in places, the single movement consists of a theme (played in two vastly differing versions) and a set of five increasingly complex variations. Some musicologists believe there to be direct references to Nielsen's Fourth, the Inextinguishable, though the rapidity of the motif in the high strings in the middle of the piece bring Shostakovich to mind rather than the Great Dane. There is some deliberate paacing towards the end which verges on the ponderous and may be a retrospective look at the influence Wagner had on the composer's earlier works. This symphony points the way to the future for Langgaard and is one of his most personal works.

© Tim Mahon, Rovi