Pax Vobiscum - Karg-Elert Op 86

[Johannes Riponensis]

Does anyone have particular view on how this piece should end?  The final section is marked Tempo I ma più gravemente fff (Rohrwerke an) i.e. + reeds.  After the big climax comes tranquillo, but with no indication of change in dynamic , leading into mit feierlichem Glanze ausklingend, which I read as 'fading away with solemn radiance', i.e. a (big) diminuendo.

However, many players, including Wolfgang Stockmeier, a leading expert on K-E's music, continue fff to the end.

The key word here is the ambiguous 'ausklingen'.  It usually means to fade away.  However,  it can simply mean 'end', as in 'das Lied klingt aus' - the song ends, or, in a figurative context, 'die Besprechungen klangen in die hoffnungsvolle Note aus' - the discussion ended on a hopeful note.

Any thoughts?  It works equally well either way, I suppose.

 

[tiratutti]

No big diminuendo. In this context ausklingen means "the music ends with "feierlichem Glanz". Nothing more, no fading away. Fading away would be "verklingen".

 

Cheers

tiratutti