Pascal Kaufmann: Himmelwärts

Two wagons, connected by a steel cable, push slowly along the mountain. They move in opposite directions through forest, trees and nature: when one goes up, the other goes down. They meet in the middle, always at the same point, the so-called Abt'schen Weiche. It is also the climax of Himmelwärts. Pascal Kaufmann, musician and cantor at St Peter's Church in Augustusburg, composed the piece especially for the historic Augustusburg cable car. Every year, Kaufmann, as initiator and director of the Augustusburg Music Summer festival, invites musicians from the Ore Mountains, all over Germany and other European countries to perform as the "Young Philharmonic Orchestra". 54 of them performed "Himmelwärts".

Pascal Kaufmann says of "Himmelwärts": "The short composition depicts upward striving. After the climax, the music ebbs elegiacally and fades away pastorally. The aim is for the sound not to impose itself on the passengers, to blend in well with the experience of nature when looking out of the windows, and yet also to have a brief signalling effect when the two carriages meet."

The cable car operated by Verkehrsverbund Mittelsachsen (VMS) has two carriages that run every twenty minutes between the Erdmannsdorf valley station and the Augustusburg mountain station. The difference in altitude between the stations is almost 170 metres and the journey takes eight minutes. Just before the carriages meet in the middle of their route, Kaufmann's piece sounds like a signal in both stations. For travellers, the carriages become a concert hall. "Himmelwärts" will initially be installed as part of the PURPLE PATH until the end of 2026.