The Calendar of the Soul by Rudolf Steiner

The weekly verses of the Soul Calendar represent a special treasure within the abundant work of Rudolf Steiner. However, they remain closed off to intellectual understanding for a long time. Only through feeling can the soul be opened to experience the annual cycle. The processes in nature and their correspondence in the human soul provide many with supportive guidance throughout the year. Through the musical setting as a song cycle by Raphael Simcic for piano and voice, the verses unfold new dimensions in understanding and experiencing. Raphael Simcic follows the suggestions of anthroposophical researchers Hermann Beckh and Friedrich Oberkogler regarding the connection between musical keys and the zodiac. He has set the verses to the keys of the respective zodiac signs. He begins with the Easter verse in C major of Aries and then follows the ascending year with the major keys in the order of the circle of fifths, choosing the corresponding minor keys starting from midsummer with the descending sun. At Christmas, it shifts back from minor to major, then ascending in major through increasingly brighter keys until Easter. According to Rudolf Steiner's suggestions, three verses are always kept in a similar mood. The 52 songs were already published in 2013 in the form of a sheet music booklet. The long-standing collaboration between Frolieb Tomsits-Stollwerck, Martin Pillwein, and Raphael Simcic, who have performed numerous concerts in several European countries with the Soul Calendar, led to a recording of the cycle in August 2020. From the beginning, Raphael Simcic's aim was to make the music accessible to as many people as possible and not just to be used as concert material. An unelitist style that is accessible not only to professional musicians was the goal. With this recording of all 52 songs, it has been possible to come a step closer to this idea.