Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde

Heppner comes off as slightly heavy and cumbersome in the quick and light #3, but when he's in heroic mode, he's really something to hear. And Meier! She's such a gem in, well, everything here. She's very, very melancholy in #2, very enthusiastic in #4, and even though she gets a little heavy down low, very convincing and beautiful in #6. Every bit as much so as Ludwig.

The BRSO live up to all the hype about their ultra-elite status. They play with conviction and awareness. RCA's recording is at once lush and translucent, though that might have more than a little to do with Maazel's superb balances. The climaxes are particularly well represented, nowhere better that in #4.

Maazel is spot on throughout. Though I usually prefer a slower tempo in #3, Maazel's quickness here works and pulls us out of the deep depression that Meier drags us through in #2. Everything else is irreproachable.

And that's what best characterizes this disk, it's a total interpretation, not a collection of separate songs. A real symphony. So, while as a first recommendation I would still go to Klemperer or Walter or Horenstein, this can sit on the shelf next to any of them.

The depth of tone and controlled vibrato of soprano Waltraud Meier voice's match the musical requirements perfectly. She and the robustly voiced tenor Ben Happner sing beautifully in this rendition performed by the Bavarian Radio Orchestra directed by Lorin Maazel That Mahler set the songs for both male and female voice alternating movements is another unique feature of this piece; the technique removes the text from a single viewpoint and makes it much more universal. The orchestra, too, is an equal partner--it is not delegated to mere accompaniment, but provides lovely counterpoint to the voice. The voice no longer sings only the tune. Sometimes, in a more operatic, even Wagnerian conception of vocal writing, the singer presents an obbligato, often fragmented, over the orchestral melody.

The third movement, Von der Jugend, demonstrates how the late romantic conception of song developed from Schubert's time. The song is essentially strophic--that is, it consists of a single melody presented several times with different words. Schubert, in his strophic settings, would usually repeat the melody and accompaniment exactly, without change. Mahler, on the other hand, uses a technique of continuous development, in which motives are more important than entire themes. Furthermore, all the aspects of music contain potential for variation--the instruments may be changed the second time through, the dynamics varied, the melody ornamented or simplified, the harmonies changed or enriched, even the tempo may be changed. A new melody may be overlaid on top of the old theme. This difference in technique means that while Schubert is primarily concerned with capturing the overall emotional tone of the poem, Mahler can respond to smaller, less structural changes in mood. For Mahler, the musical essence is found in discovering the mood of a single stanza, or perhaps even a single word. Indeed, there is a pervasive use of text painting--birds flutter in violins and flutes whenever the word "vogel" is sung; and the inevitable descent into death is portrayed through descending melodic lines.

This is an excellent performance that I recommend highly--my only qualm is about the rather poor English translation of the text.

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