The ruler of the spirits

Infos :

Der Beherrscher der Geister

The concert overture, "Ruler of the Spirits" ("Beherrscher der Geister), is also known as the "Rübezahl" Overture. In 1804 Weber revised the overture he had intended for his unfinished opera Rübezahl as a work to be performed independent of the stage work. The overture stands out for its immediate communication of drama already present in the driving rhythm at the opening of the work. In addition, passages for solo instruments provide a constant shift of color and texture, which evokes the supernatural images found in the opera. The brief lyrical passages that occur in the overture provide enough contrast to underscore the more dramatic gestures that Weber used to open and conclude the work.