The Eighth Symphony's two parts combine the sacred text of the 9th-century Latin hymn Veni creator spiritus with the secular text from the closing passages from Goethe's 19th-century dramatic poem Faust.
As dúas partes da Oitava Sinfonía combinan o texto sagrado do himno en latín do século IX Veni Creator Spiritus co texto laico das pasaxes do final do poema dramático Fausto de Goethe, escrito no século XIX.