MAHLER Das Lied von der Erde (Larsson, Skelton)
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Gustav Mahler
Genre:
Vocal
Label: Avi
Magazine Review Date: 06/2019
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 62
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: AVI8553407
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
(Das) Lied von der Erde, 'Song of the Earth' |
Gustav Mahler, Composer
Adám Fischer, Conductor Anna Larsson, Contralto Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra Gustav Mahler, Composer Stuart Skelton, Tenor |
Author: Edward Seckerson
All of this may account for the more ‘integrated’ vocal and orchestral sound here and certainly accounts for the omission of texts – a decidedly odd decision, despite Fischer’s claims, and one which certainly won’t go down well with buyers. Whatever the ‘mood’ at any single point in this piece, it is the words which pinpoint the specifics of particular moments, of particular imagery, and which are vital to a full appreciation of the piece for non-German speakers, no matter how well you know it.
There is no question that the impression of a lyric symphony with obbligato voices is what Fischer is striving for and notably achieves here. There is a transparency throughout and all the ‘vocal’ soloists within the orchestra – not least the wonderfully atmospheric oboe and flute soloists in ‘Der Abschied’ – shine brightly.
That said, the excellent Stuart Skelton has his work cut out in the recording balance just as he would in the concert hall – his ‘heroics’ in ‘Das Trinklied von Jammer der Erde’ are the more intense for that sense of the euphoric and the elemental in the nightmarish imagery. A lighter touch might have been encouraged here and there in subsequent songs but the spirit is certainly writ large.
Anna Larsson was clearly chosen for her autumnal contralto colour. It’s a voice that has always sat well with Mahler’s earth mothers and it blends strikingly with the Das Lied scoring as a colour. The fading beauty is inherent in the sound. But there is a wooliness in the vibrato (call it a lack of focus) which can compromise intonation and make words indistinct. Perhaps Fischer would say that this doesn’t really matter – but it does to me.
Larsson sounds more comfortable with ‘Der Abschied’ and there is a sense of emotional engagement here that I find missing elsewhere. Again there is atmosphere in the sound and she certainly conveys that sense of ‘solitary’ in the text. As the music turns towards eternity, Fischer grows lost in the abandonment of a regular metre and his exemplary Düsseldorf orchestra find poetry in every distilled morsel of sound. It can be awesome, too – like the fathomless shudder of string basses which sets in motion the long funereal interlude at the heart of the movement.
I always gauge the depth and insight of a Das Lied performance from the line ‘Ich such Ruhe für mein einsam Herz’ (‘I seek peace for my lonely heart’), which Mahler echoes so heartbreakingly in the solo clarinet. Larsson and Fischer do not disappoint – but there is nothing here to pull me away from the incandescent Fischer-Dieskau/King/VPO/Bernstein recording (Decca, 2/67) or, if you must have a contralto, the classic Ferrier/Walter account (Decca, 10/52).
Explore the world’s largest classical music catalogue on Apple Music Classical.
Included with an Apple Music subscription. Download now.
Gramophone Digital Club
- Digital Edition
- Digital Archive
- Reviews Database
- Events & Offers
From £9.20 / month
SubscribeGramophone Club
- Print Edition
- Digital Edition
- Digital Archive
- Reviews Database
- Events & Offers
From £11.45 / month
Subscribe
If you are a library, university or other organisation that would be interested in an institutional subscription to Gramophone please click here for further information.