# Mahler's 4th and Alban Berg's Seven Early Songs



## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)

This recording has nee the recipient of some rather mixed reviews, with Abbado accused of being overly fussy and Renée Fleming's finale faulted with sounding overly mannered in an attempt to portray the character of an innocent child... although almost all reviews are unanimous in their praise for Fleming and Abbado's performance of the Alban Berg _Sieben Frühe Lieder_ which were the reason behind my purchasing this disc. Admittedly, I am not a Mahlerian to the point of being able to compare this performance of his 4th to several others. I have recordings of the 4th by Bernstein (with Reri Grist) and Reiner (with the great Lisa della Casa)... both of which I am more than satisfied with.

Honestly, I cannot fault this performance. The Berlin Philharmonic is transcendent... able to cut through and hold together the passages of the greatest chaos while illuminating the exquisite third movement with a crystalline clarity. As a sworn admirer of Renée Fleming I must admit that my bias is such that it would surely take a stupendous failing on her part for me to turn against her. having said as much, I will also admit that singers can and are indeed miscast on occasion. Fleming's voice is full, rich, sensuous, and "womanly". She is not the first singer I'd think of for a role like Cio-Cio San, Susanna from Le Nozze di Figaro, or other more "girlish" roles. The fourth movement sets the text of _Das himmlische Leben_ from _Des Knaben Wunderhorn_ as a child's narrative voiced by a soprano... presenting a sunny, naive vision of Heaven yet a vision laden with its darker elements: the child makes it clear that the heavenly feast takes place at the expense of animals, including a sacrificed lamb. Fleming is not the first singer I would have thought of for this role. Della Casa may have been the best... capturing a child-like innocence and yet not abandoning the serious overtones and slipping into something comic that would have completely undermined Mahler's intentions. I don't get the notion that Fleming comes off as some pursed lipped brat, at one of the worst reviews suggested. I do agree that there is a sense that she is holding back or attempting to hide a voice too big for the role. But then I wonder whether the composer were not to blame in part... expecting a soprano to play the role of a choirboy. Nevertheless, this is all really splitting hairs. Fleming performs admirably and one cannot imagine a choirboy or a lesser "girlish" singer handling the more lyrical and rich passages anywhere near as well.

As for Alban Berg's _Sieben Frühe Lieder_. For whatever reason... in spite of my own admitted passion for song and assuredly for orchestral songs... I only recently became aware of these exquisite works. Listening to these works almost leads me to a greater level of dislike for Schoenberg. Like Adorno, I'm led to wonder just what Berg might have achieved as a tonal composer. These early songs already suggest the richness of Strauss' finer works honed with a more "lyrical"... almost "impressionist" sensibility. Fleming's performance is absolutely delicious... perhaps less heroic but more "vulnerable" than Jessye Norman's equally stunning rendition.


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## Mahlerian (Nov 27, 2012)

"As for Alban Berg's Sieben Frühe Lieder. For whatever reason... in spite of my own admitted passion for song and assuredly for orchestral songs... I only recently became aware of these exquisite works. Listening to these works almost leads me to a greater level of dislike for Schoenberg."

I know that this was over a year and a half ago, but you do realize that the Seven Early Songs were written while Berg was studying with Schoenberg, right? He wouldn't have been able to write them without his teacher's example.


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