A Superb Encore Performance Thanks to EMI Classics
Grady Harp | Los Angeles, CA United States | 08/09/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The wondrously moody and tender performance of Gustav's Mahler's DAS LIED VON DER ERDE was initially recorded in 1995 and issued in 1997 and then for some reason it disappeared from the shelves. Now, thanks to EMI Classics this rare performance of Mahler's masterpiece has been reissued at a remarkably low price! For those who are under the spell of Mahler's work and who own several recordings of the many fine recordings of this piece, this 'bargain offering' is a must.
Sir Simon Rattle leads the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in one of their finest recordings. The orchestral sound is rich and the entire orchestra responds to Rattle's multidimensional reading of this 'song cycle' symphony. His first desk players (especially the cello in the last movement 'Der Abschied') are excellent.
Peter Seiffert is the tenor soloist and proves himself a splendid Mahler interpreter. His voice is clear and buoyant and his pitch is secure and never strained. He brings more poetry to his three contributions than many of his even more famous competitors. But it is Thomas Hampson who simply owns this recording. His voice is in perfect shape and his intimate knowledge of Mahler's oeuvre allows him to bring a profundity of expression to his assignments. Probably every Mahlerite has a favorite 'Der Abschied', but listen to the manner in which Hampson delivers with lush tonal quality the eloquence of the poetry in the least hurried manner than any other singer on recording and his gift will be easily recognized. The closing phrases of the repeated 'ewig, ewig' shimmer with Rattle's luminous collaboration. Unforgettable!
This is truly a 'Classic' recording and the remastering only adds to the pleasure of becoming familiar with the Rattle/Seiffert/Hampson interpretation. For those who perhaps may be just getting to know Mahler's music, this is a superb (and very affordable) starting point. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, August 08"
IF YOU CAN TAKE A BARITONE IN THIS PIECE...
Klingsor Tristan | Suffolk | 11/23/2009
(3 out of 5 stars)
"I'm sorry, but I just can't accept a baritone in Das Lied. It simply doesn't work.
The only authority for it lies in the Stichvorlage of the score (the copyist's fair-copy manuscript prepared for the printer) where Mahler added a note in his own hand at the first entrance of the Alto voice in the second song - 'kann eventuell auch von Baryton ubernommen werden' (could possibly be taken by a baritone). Bruno Walter, conductor of the World Premiere in Munich, tried it at the first Viennese performance of the work with one of Mahler's favourite singers, Friedrich Weidemann. He never repeated the experiment. He later wrote, "Never again...from then on I have always used an alto voice...two male voices do the work no good."
So, for me, this Rattle performance with Thomas Hampson starts at a distinct disadvantage. Hampson does well enough (though not as well as Fischer-Dieskau with Bernstein if you must have the baritone version). He's at his best in the second song, the one for which Mahler actually suggested the baritone option. Especially in the early part of this he manages to convey the zen-like stillness that seems to elude him in the final Abschied. In the fourth song, he is beset by the same breathless hysteria that seems to grab all the baritones in this piece when the virile young horsemen arrive on the scene. And in the Abschied, despite his familiar rich timbre and ability to maintain a strong musical line while still finding ways to point up the words, he still leaves me unmoved - quite an achievement in this of all Mahler movements. Maybe he worries at the words too much; maybe it's just that baritone rather than alto voice. I admit that it ought to work. All that stuff about friendship and the last parting cup and so on, all seems to have a slightly male slant - or is that just my sexism showing through? Nevertheless, at practically every turn the musical line seems to cut deeper, the vocal timbre seems to fit the melodic phrase so much better with a female voice. And the final ethereal drift into infinity on the repeated 'Ewig...ewigs...' over Mahler's magically unresolved sixth chord just remains too earthbound with a baritone voice.
Having got that off my chest, it must be said that Peter Seiffert makes as good a fist of the differing demands of the three tenor songs as most. He is perhaps at his best in the first and last where his heldentenor heft works best. Maybe he lacks the vocal delicacy to quite capture the fragile porcelain delicacy of Von der Jugend, though. Best all-round tenors are probably still Patzak with Walter and Richard Lewis with Barbirolli - plus an affectionate nod towards Wunderlich under Klemperer's baton.
The conducting, too, just fails to climb the heights achieved in much of Rattle's symphony cycle. To take just the Abschied as an example, Sir Simon brings out the fdazzlin palette of orchestral colours to the full - he is constantly aware that much of this movement is really played by a chamber ensemble with constantly shifting instrumentation. But he misses the last ounce of grinding, gritty dissonance that Klemperer elicits in the funeral march, the yearning emotional leap you get from Barbirolli and Ferrier at the big vocal climax before the coda or the profound resignation that Walter (with Ferrier again) finds at the end.
If you can take a baritone in Das Lied, this recording has many things to commend it while not quite making it into the overall top League. If you insist on one, your choice is limited, but I would still prefer Fischer-Dieskau with Bernstein. Otherwise, the classic recommendations (Walter, Klemperer, Barbirolli and Carlos Kleiber, if you can find his elusive live performance on disc) are still the places to go."
Track Listings (6) - Disc #1