# Mahler Symphony No. 2 "Resurrection" movement V



## Lunasong (Mar 15, 2011)

Our chorus began work on the vocal movement tonight for a May performance with the orchestra. I know that many of you are more familiar with this work than I, and may even have performed it. I'd like to keep a rehearsal journal similar to the one I did for Bolcom _Prometheus_.

First - I knew it was in German, a language with which I have no familiarity. Tonight was my introduction to the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). Our director handed out scores and two sheets which I'm sure will prove to be very useful. The first was a line-by-line listing of the lyric with the IPA below. Very helpful if I only knew the IPA...oh-now I do (see link). Can review at home.
The second was the complete lyric with the English translation. Always nice to know what one is singing about.

The director started rehearsal by explaining the IPA and stating that he knew there were all kinds of German dialect. We are going to sing in _Hochdeutsch_ as confirmed by a pronunciation dictionary he has at the ready to quell any dissention. He started us on spoken pronunciations that were incorrect (unusual tactic, I thought), and worked us toward the correct ones. By the end of rehearsal (they are only 1.25 hours/week through Easter, then will expand to 2.5 hrs) we had completed learning pronunciation on the first three lines, and matched them to the choral music. (measures 472-493). I thought it sounded lovely.

My goal this week is to review the IPA on the three lines and make sure I thoroughly rehearse the words and part together. Also find a recording and review the piece while looking at the score.


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## Meaghan (Jul 31, 2010)

I am so jealous that you are singing this symphony. It's one of my dreams, actually, to sing it. Also, I love singing in German. My choir sang several pieces in German last semester and I think it's a beautiful language, maybe because I got to know it through beautiful music. For a recording of Mahler 2, I recommend Bernstein's with the NY Philharmonic.


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## itywltmt (May 29, 2011)

Meaghan said:


> I am so jealous that you are singing this symphony. It's one of my dreams, actually, to sing it. Also, I love singing in German. My choir sang several pieces in German last semester and I think it's a beautiful language, maybe because I got to know it through beautiful music. For a recording of Mahler 2, I recommend Bernstein's with the NY Philharmonic.


I have chimed in quite a bit on several threads about Mahler's Second - and it's what's on my iPod as we speak... In my book, my favourite *Bernstein *rendition of Mahler's 2nd isn't his NYP performance, but a more _obscure _release from 1973 of Bernstein conducting the London Symphony, with *Janet Baker *singing _Ulricht_. His approach to the first movement, in particular, is very/very different from the more traditional (Walter, Klemoperer) approach - less brusk and more pensive, more of an interpretation in the true sense of the word. Well worth listening!

Of course, no offense to Dame Baker, in my book _nobody _sings _Ulricht _like *Maureen Forrsster*, point blank. And as for the Resurrection Hymn, the *Klemperer/Concertgebouw* (live) is the striongest I've heard.


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## kv466 (May 18, 2011)

I always thought an IPA was an India Pale Ale,...hmmm.

Anyway,...I hope to learn from this thread as I am in the process of gathering Mahler symphonies to listen to and compare. For now, I'll go with Meagan and Itywltmt and check out Bernie with both orchestras.


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## itywltmt (May 29, 2011)

kv466 said:


> I always thought an IPA was an India Pale Ale,...hmmm.
> 
> Anyway,...I hope to learn from this thread as I am in the process of gathering Mahler symphonies to listen to and compare. For now, I'll go with Meagan and Itywltmt and check out Bernie with both orchestras.


KV - I'd check out the Klemperer recordings (Concertgebouw live and Philharmonia in studio). He was an assistant under Mahler in one of the early performances of the Symphony, so you have to think he conveys some of the composer's vision in his interpretation... The Philharmonia recording was re-issued and remastered as part of the "Great Recordings of the 20th Century" series by EMI. I also read in other like-threads that Mehta/Wiener Philharmoniker is worth a listen.


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## itywltmt (May 29, 2011)

Speaking of the Phonetic Alphabet, I'd be curious to see what that looks like - in my business, we have a phonetic alphabet and it goes like this:

Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, Golf, Hotel, India, July, Kilo, Lima, Mike, November, Oscar, Papa, Quebec, Romeo, Sierra, Tango, Uniform, Victor, Whiskey, Yankee, Zulu.


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## Lunasong (Mar 15, 2011)

Thanks to everyone for your encouraging words and your suggestions. Coincidentally, I heard the recent performance of Mahler 2 by the Berlin Phil/Rattle @ Carnegie Hall twice on Monday night (radio) on Performance Today http://performancetoday.publicradio.org/playlist.php?month=3&day=12&year=2012 and immediately followed by Symphonycast http://symphonycast.publicradio.org/
I've used this YT clip for practice this past week because it conveniently starts right at the vocals.





Last night's rehearsal was much like the previous week's. We worked on measures 517-536, first practicing by speaking the parts and then singing. Once again, we initially did just about every variant of incorrect pronunciation our director could think of, then learned the correct way. There must be method to this madness.

We were encouraged to write the English words in our scores so that we would know the meaning of the words while we were singing them.


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## Jeremy Marchant (Mar 11, 2010)

itywltmt said:


> Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, Golf, Hotel, India, July, Kilo, Lima, Mike, November, Oscar, Papa, Quebec, Romeo, Sierra, Tango, Uniform, Victor, Whiskey, Yankee, Zulu.


And we have:
'Orses, Mutton, Miles, Ential, Brick, Vescence, Get It, Bless You, The Engine, Oranges, Restaurant, Leather, Sis', Lope, Relief , A Bus, Mo', Rantzen, Two, Me, La France, The Winnings, Breakfast, Husband, Wind


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## Vaneyes (May 11, 2010)

I admire Suitner's Mahler 2 for its lean interpretation (1 CD), drama, forceful attacks and climaxes, and effortless transitions. Not to mention the impressive playing and recorded sound. One of my CPRs (certified perfect recordings).

View attachment 3879


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## Guest (Mar 15, 2012)

I will dissent a bit and recommend the live Klemperer recording of the 2nd, also on EMI, but with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (Sinfonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks) - also with Janet Baker. Her solo for the "Urlicht" is heavenly. I like Lennie's DG recording, as well as Mehta's - both fine, and you can't go wrong - but Klemperer is magical here. Some may prefer the studio version with Schwarzkopf, but I think this live version is about the best I have heard - and as this is my favorite of all symphonies, I have at least a dozen different recordings.


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## Lunasong (Mar 15, 2011)

Thank you for the additional suggestions.

As it is spring break and rehearsals are led by a college prof, we had "rehearsal lite" last night. We completed the piece by singing on "Du" and working on pitches. In doing so, I discovered the amazing voice ranges which Mahler has written into this piece (corrections accepted if not quite right).

Soprano: A flat 3 > B flat 5
Alto: F3 > G5
Tenor: D3 > B flat 4
Bass: B flat 1 > F 4

Per Wiki: The B-flat below the bass clef occurs four times in the choral bass part: three at the chorus' hushed entrance and again on the words "Hör' auf zu beben". It is the lowest vocal note in standard classical repertoire. Mahler instructs basses incapable of singing the note remain silent rather than sing the note an octave higher.


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## Lunasong (Mar 15, 2011)

No rehearsal tonight (cancelled), but our director forwarded to us via email spoken mp3 files of the German pronunciations for the entire piece. Ain't technology a wonderful thing? I've been sitting here playing the sound files and working my way through the piece writing down what I hope will be helpful hints.


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## Lunasong (Mar 15, 2011)

I missed last week's rehearsal which must have been an intensive primer in German. Based upon last night, I'm really going to need to step up my practice at home. _Maestro_ comes to rehearsal next week!

I was talking to the principal horn of the orchestra over the weekend. He says they are going to use 9 horns. He gets to recommend who to call and final say on the picks (our orchestra has 5 horns on roster). He is quite enthusiastic and looking forward to playing this piece.


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## tahnak (Jan 19, 2009)

Meaghan said:


> I am so jealous that you are singing this symphony. It's one of my dreams, actually, to sing it. Also, I love singing in German. My choir sang several pieces in German last semester and I think it's a beautiful language, maybe because I got to know it through beautiful music. For a recording of Mahler 2, I recommend Bernstein's with the NY Philharmonic.


Bernstein is indeed spirited in his reading of this magnificent symphony's conclusion. Do lend an ear to Zubin Mehta with the Vienna Philharmonic in his 1975 recording. It is great.


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## Lunasong (Mar 15, 2011)

I was practicing earlier today so deserve a bonus post.

Mahler completed what would become the first movement of the symphony in 1888 as a single-movement symphonic poem called _Totenfeier _(Death Celebration). Some sketches for the second movement also date from that year. Mahler wavered five years on whether to make _Totenfeier_ the opening movement of a symphony. In 1893, he composed the second and third movements. The finale was the problem. Mahler knew he wanted a vocal final movement. Finding the right text for this movement proved long and perplexing.

When Mahler took up his appointment at the Hamburg Opera in 1891, he found the other important conductor there to be Hans von Bülow, who was in charge of the city's symphony concerts. Bülow, not known for his generosity, was impressed by Mahler. Bülow's death in 1894 greatly affected Mahler. At the funeral, Mahler heard a setting of Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock's _Die Auferstehung_ (The Resurrection). "It struck me like lightning, this thing," he wrote to conductor Anton Seidl," and everything was revealed to me clear and plain." Mahler used the first two verses of Klopstock's hymn, then added verses of his own that dealt more explicitly with redemption and resurrection. He finished the finale and revised the orchestration of the first movement in 1894, then inserted the song _Urlicht_ (Primal Light) as the penultimate movement. This song was probably written in 1892 or 1893.

Mahler devised a narrative programme for the work, which he told to a number of friends. In this programme, the first movement represents a funeral and asks questions such as "Is there life after death?"; the second movement is a remembrance of happy times in the life of the deceased; the third movement represents a view of life as meaningless activity; the fourth movement is a wish for release from life without meaning; and the fifth movement - after a return of the doubts of the third movement and the questions of the first - ends with a fervent hope for everlasting, transcendent renewal, a theme that Mahler would ultimately transfigure into the music of his sublime _Das Lied von der Erde_.

Fifth Movement
*Original German*
Aufersteh'n, ja aufersteh'n
Wirst du, Mein Staub,
Nach kurzer Ruh'!
Unsterblich Leben! Unsterblich Leben
wird der dich rief dir geben!
Wieder aufzublüh'n wirst du gesät!
Der Herr der Ernte geht
und sammelt Garben
uns ein, die starben!
O glaube, mein Herz, o glaube:
Es geht dir nichts verloren!
Dein ist, ja dein, was du gesehnt!
Dein, was du geliebt,
Was du gestritten!
O glaube
Du wardst nicht umsonst geboren!
Hast nicht umsonst gelebt, gelitten!
Was entstanden ist
Das muß vergehen!
Was vergangen, auferstehen!
Hör' auf zu beben!
Bereite dich zu leben!
O Schmerz! Du Alldurchdringer!
Dir bin ich entrungen!
O Tod! Du Allbezwinger!
Nun bist du bezwungen!
Mit Flügeln, die ich mir errungen,
In heißem Liebesstreben,
Werd'ich entschweben
Zum Licht, zu dem kein Aug'gedrungen!
Mit Flügeln, die ich mir errungen
Werde ich entschweben.
Sterben werd'ich, um zu leben!
Aufersteh'n, ja aufersteh'n
wirst du, mein Herz, in einem Nu!
Was du geschlagen
zu Gott wird es dich tragen!

*In English*
Rise again, yes, rise again,
Will you My dust,
After a brief rest!
Immortal life! Immortal life
Will He who called you, give you.
To bloom again were you sown!
The Lord of the harvest goes
And gathers in, like sheaves,
Us together, who died.
O believe, my heart, O believe:
Nothing to you is lost!
Yours is, yes yours, is what you desired
Yours, what you have loved
What you have fought for!
O believe,
You were not born for nothing!
Have not for nothing, lived, suffered!
What was created
Must perish,
What perished, rise again!
Cease from trembling!
Prepare yourself to live!
O Pain, You piercer of all things,
From you, I have been wrested!
O Death, You masterer of all things,
Now, are you conquered!
With wings which I have won for myself,
In love's fierce striving,
I shall soar upwards
To the light which no eye has penetrated!
Its wing that I won is expanded,
and I fly up.
Die shall I in order to live.
Rise again, yes, rise again,
Will you, my heart, in an instant!
That for which you suffered,
To God will it lead you!

source: http://orlandophil.org/resurrection-symphony/


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## tahnak (Jan 19, 2009)

Thanks for bringing out these details on the Totenfeier. I will definitely hunt and listen to it.


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## Lunasong (Mar 15, 2011)

Notes from our rehearsal with _Maestro_ last night.

There are several places in the movement where the contour of the music might suggest hairpin dynamics, but we were cautioned not to do them! We were also instructed to be much more understated (with energy, of course), as much of the vocals are _ppp _ or _pp_.

Next week we have one more choral rehearsal, then 2 nights' rehearsals with the orchestra and soloists before performance on Friday & Sat night. We were told our rehearsal on stage Wed might be relatively short but, on Thursday, _Maestro_ wants the chorus on stage during the entire rehearsal. He said our bodies behind the orchestra will definitely affect the sound of the musicians, and he wants them to have a chance to hear how. The chorus will be seated on stage on risers immediately behind the orchestra the whole time during performance, with no interval.

Because of this, we were given some suggestions (where it would be least obtrusive) how to wet our throats and warm up our voices and make sure our legs aren't asleep after sitting for a long period. No water allowed on stage.

_Maestro_ wants the vocal entrance of the chorus to be real subtle. Accordingly, we will still be seated when we start singing (Mvt 5 rehearsal # 31). We will not actually stand until just before rehearsal # 42 (_Was enstanden ist..._).


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## Vaneyes (May 11, 2010)

Lunasong said:


> ....We will not actually stand until just before rehearsal # 42 (_Was enstanden ist..._).


I like it. BTW George Szell would be envious of all your rehearsals. I hope kids and spouses can remember their loved ones.


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## Lunasong (Mar 15, 2011)

Yes; _Maestro's_ exact words were, "I don't want the audience thinking, 'Oh look, now the chorus is going to sing.'"
We'll have had about 12 hours of rehearsal before we meet with the orchestra next week. I think it's about right. We meet once a week for 2.5 hours but a lot of our rehearsal times have been cut short because the "premier" choir was preparing for another concert at the same time. If we all (meaning: ME) were more diligent about practicing, maybe we wouldn't need as much rehearsal.
***

Here's the program notes.

Symphony No. 2 in C minor, _Resurrection_

Mahler once said, "A symphony must contain the world." Each of his symphonies is indeed a world in itself. They are all of the same epic scope as some of the greatest works of art - novels, films, plays, paintings, etc. of all time. This is especially true of the Second Symphony (1895), one of his largest and most profound works. In nearly all of his symphonies, Mahler wrestles with his own overwhelming search for meaning and divinity. The early symphonies provide an optimistic answer to this search, but the later symphonies, especially the ninth (his last completed) give way to cynicism and disillusionment - in essence, death, in Mahler's view, is no longer a beginning of something new, but an inevitable conclusion. Mahler's symphonies contain not only existential struggle, they also embody the ecstatic nature of Mahler himself - each one takes us on a manic journey from the heights of pleasure and happiness to the depths of despair, many times in the course of just one movement.

In the words of Jonathan Kramer (1942-2004), eminent scholar and Cincinnati Symphony program annotator, in the Second Symphony, "we can see Mahler's conflicts: life vs. death, death vs. resurrection, God in death vs. God in life, life vs. living, the necessity of living vs. the habit of living." Thankfully, we have a strong glimpse of these concepts in Mahler's own words. In a letter to a friend, Mahler wrote the following extensive description of his concept of the piece:

"I have called the first movement 'Funeral Pomp.' It is the hero of my First Symphony whom I bear to his grave, and upon the clear recollection of whose life I gaze from a higher vantage point. At the same time, there is the great question: 'Why hast thou lived? Why hast thou suffered? Is all this only a great and ghastly joke?' We must solve these problems in one way or another, if we are to continue living - yes, even if we are to continue dying! He in whose life this call has once resounded must give an answer; and I give this answer in the last movement."

"The second and third movements are designed as an interlude; the second movement is a recollection - a sunny scene, from the life of this hero."

"It must have happened to you once - you have borne a dear friend to his grave, and then, perhaps on your way homewards, there has suddenly appeared before you the image of a long-past happiness, which now enters into your soul like a sunbeam - marred by no shadow - you can almost forget what happened! That is the second movement. Then, when you awaken from this nostalgic dream and must return to life's confusion, it may easily occur that this perpetually moving, never ending, ever incomprehensible hustle and bustle of life becomes eerie to you, like the movement of dancing figures in a brightly lighted ballroom into which you must gaze out of the dark night - from so far that you do not hear the dance music any more. Life becomes senseless to you then, a ghastly apparition from which you, perhaps, recoil with a cry of disgust. This is the third movement!"

"What happened to me with the last movement of the Second Symphony is simply this: I really looked through all of the world's literature, even the Bible, to find the redeeming Word - and was forced finally forced to express my feelings and thoughts in my own words."

"The way in which I received inspiration to this act is very indicative of the true nature of artistic creation. For a while, I contemplated using a chorus for the last movement; only my concern that one might consider this a rather external imitation of Beethoven made me hesitate. It was at this time that Bülow died and I attended the memorial services ... The mood in which I was sitting (in church) and thinking of the departed, was very much in the spirit of the work I carried inside of me. At this point the choir from the organ loft intoned the Klopstock chorale Auferstehn [Rise Again!]. Like Lightning this hit me: everything became clear and distinct before my soul."

- Christopher Chaffee, Associate Professor of Music, Wright State University


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## GraemeG (Jun 30, 2009)

Lunasong said:


> ... on Thursday, _Maestro_ wants the chorus on stage during the entire rehearsal. He said our bodies behind the orchestra will definitely affect the sound of the musicians, and he wants them to have a chance to hear how. The chorus will be seated on stage on risers immediately behind the orchestra the whole time during performance, with no interval.
> 
> Because of this, we were given some suggestions (where it would be least obtrusive) how to wet our throats and warm up our voices and make sure our legs aren't asleep after sitting for a long period. No water allowed on stage.
> 
> _Maestro_ wants the vocal entrance of the chorus to be real subtle. Accordingly, we will still be seated when we start singing (Mvt 5 rehearsal # 31). We will not actually stand until just before rehearsal # 42 (_Was enstanden ist..._).


I heard this in Sydney late last year, and the Philharmonia Choir sat totally still for the first hour of the concert. Hands on knees, everyone in concert black - NO-ONE MOVED for the whole first hour. An excellent display of being effectively totally invisible.

When they stood (same place as you will I expect) they were swift and silent.
Very impressive indeed.

Of course, there needed to be twice as many of them, but you can't have everything...
cheers,
GG


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## Lunasong (Mar 15, 2011)

We had our first rehearsal with the orchestra tonight. It was fascinating to be in the middle of all these musicians~truly the best seat in the house! The off-stage musicians play behind the shell right behind where I'm standing on the riser so it was a super-cool surround-sound effect to hear their part. I estimate about 120 players and 120 singers on stage. It's roomy enough to hold us all (our shell is moveable).

The above logo came with a promotional email I received, and I also received a postcard in the mail (with my tiny picture on it from our last performance...). There will be some press in the next couple days as well.


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## Moira (Apr 1, 2012)

Lunasong said:


> Last night's rehearsal was much like the previous week's. We worked on measures 517-536, first practicing by speaking the parts and then singing. Once again, we initially did just about every variant of incorrect pronunciation our director could think of, then learned the correct way. There must be method to this madness.
> 
> We were encouraged to write the English words in our scores so that we would know the meaning of the words while we were singing them.


This rehearsal diary is so interesting. Thank you for doing this.

I am wondering about the methodology of doing it wrong first. In didactics the thinking is for the teacher never to do it 'wrong' as an illustration, especially first, because some idiot, I mean, dear learner, will absorb that wrong way. It is difficult to unlearn things.

You make me miss singing in a choir.


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## Lunasong (Mar 15, 2011)

Thank you, Moira.

Our director has frequently used this technique of doing it wrong first, then doing it right. Perhaps the emphasis on "This is wrong--this is right" prevents the incorrect method from being absorbed.

He said a cute thing the other night. He was discussing the difference between singing with a piano (even temperament) and singing with an orchestra, and how the interval between pitches gets taller as you go up the scale and narrower as you go down. I wish I could remember exactly how he said it, but he related it to spiritual Heaven and Hell, and how the distance into Heaven seems a lot further than to Hell.
He also used a good illustration: The distance of a half step on a piano is only one crack between keys. On a violin, it's (yeah) far, and on a double bass, it's (yeah) far. There's lot's of room to adjust pitch, just like in voice.

We are rehearsing again with the orchestra tonight.


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## Vaneyes (May 11, 2010)

Lunasong said:


> ....We are rehearsing again with the orchestra tonight.


Warning: Practice makes perfect.


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## Lunasong (Mar 15, 2011)

press article #1
Mostly historical background about Mahler and the symphony, with a focus on program intent and Mahler's reported bipolar disorder.

press article #2
Quotes from the conductors and musicians, with some details about the mechanics of the off-stage sections.

"...everyone gets to shine. No one onstage leaves Mahler's Second feeling their talents have been underutilized."
Neal Gittleman, Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra musical director

_"Scherzo" translates roughly to "joke," and Resurrection's third movement was a whirling scherzo whose opening tympani thunderclaps would jar awake anyone foolish enough to have dozed off. 
_ Ha ha this is so true. The dynamic ranges in this symphony are amazing. It gets incredibly loud on stage at times. Constant exposure as an orchestral musician to these volumes must lead to hearing loss.


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## Lunasong (Mar 15, 2011)

Performance notes from last night.

I had forgotten, and at no time in our rehearsals did someone mention, the 5 minute pause between Mvts 1 & 2. It was mentioned in the audience announcements. What an interesting experience! After an initial flurry of coughs and shifting, the ambient sounds did settle into silence. I wonder if Mahler's "Five Minutes" was an inspiration for John Cage (are there other instances of "silence" written into the score or performance instructions?). One of the trumpet players put his phone with a countdown timer up on his stand where I could see it, which may have impaired some of the sense of meditation for me. I suppose I could not look at it, but one's eyes are DRAWN to it!

The orchestra re-tuned between the 2nd and 3rd movements. Our choral director had an epiphany last night! He says he just thought about that our orchestra tunes to A:442, while of course, we've been rehearsing at A:440 (optimistically) and probably flatter than that in our rehearsal room at university. It makes a difference when your ear and body becomes accustomed to one pitch and then you are required to adjust (see post #23).

The third movement had a false start, and _Maestro_ stopped the orchestra and started over after just a few measures. I had never before seen this with a professional orchestra, but I'm sure it turned out for the better. I didn't hear anything "wrong" with the first start, but the second start was better. Considering the music moves directly into the 4th movement, it's best to start with confidence that everything is right.

I want to discuss the fourth movement _Urlicht_ "Primal Light" in a separate post. This is the alto solo, and deserves its own spotlight in this vocal forum.

For the fifth movement, the soprano soloist starts back in the corner with the chorus, then moves through the orchestra to the front to share the stage with the alto soloist. It is an effective piece of staging, along with the different performance location used each time the brass plays offstage (interesting Wiki article).



GraemeG said:


> When they stood (same place as you will I expect) they were swift and silent.
> Very impressive indeed.


Unfortunately, this didn't work out as we hoped. After more than an hour of butt-stick, when we rose, our (flimsy folding) chairs rose with us and fell back down to the risers with a horrible clatter. I'm sure we'll be instructed to put a hand down on the chair as we rise tonight.


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## Moira (Apr 1, 2012)

Again so interesting. 

Sympathies with the chair clatter.


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## Lunasong (Mar 15, 2011)

from _The Symphony: A Listener's Guide_ by Michael Steinberg

The sardonic _Fischpredigt_ scherzo (3rd mvt) skids into silence, and its final shudder is succeeded by a new sound, the sound of a human voice. In summoning that resource, as he would in his next two symphonies as well, Mahler consciously and explicitly evokes Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. _Urlicht_, whose text comes from _Das Knaben Wunderhorn_, is one of Mahler's loveliest songs and full of Mahlerian paradox too, in that its hymn-like simplicity and naturalness are achieved by a metrical flexibility so vigilant of prosody and so complex that the opening section of thirty-five bars has twenty-one changes of meter. The chamber-musical scoring is also characteristically detailed and inventive.

_Urlicht_

O Röschen rot!
Der Mensch liegt in größter Not!
Der Mensch liegt in größter Pein!
Je lieber möcht' ich im Himmel sein.
Da kam ich auf einen breiten Weg:
Da kam ein Engelein und wollt' mich abweisen.
Ach nein! Ich ließ mich nicht abweisen!
Ich bin von Gott und will wieder zu Gott!
Der liebe Gott wird mir ein Lichtchen geben,
Wird leuchten mir bis in das ewig selig Leben!

_Primal Light_

O little red rose!
Humankind lies in greatest need!
Humankind lies in greatest pain!
How I would rather be in heaven!

There came I upon a broad path
And and angel came and wanted to turn me away.
Ah no! I would not let myself be turned away!

I am from God and shall return to God!
The loving God will grant me a little light,
Which will light me into that eternal blissful life!

The peace that the song spreads over the symphony like balm is shattered by an outburst whose ferocity again refers to the corresponding place in Beethoven's Ninth. Like Beethoven, Mahler draws on music from earlier in the symphony; not, however, in order to reject it, but to build upon it. He arrays before us a great and pictorial pageant. Horns sound in the distance (Mahler referred to this as "the crier in the wilderness"). A match is a suggestion of the Gregorian _Dies irae_ is heard, and so is other music saturated in angst, more trumpet signals, marches, and a chorale. Then Mahler's _größ Appell_, the Great Summons, the last Trump: horns and trumpets loud but at a great distance, while in the foreground a solitary bird flutters across the scene of destruction. Silence. From that silence there emerges again the sound of human voices in a Hymn of Resurrection. A few instruments enter to support the singers and, magically, at the word _rief_ (called), a single soprano begins to float free.

Lines about the vanquishing of pain and death are given to the two soloists in a passionate duet. The verses beginning with "Mit Flugeln, die ich mir errungen" (With wings I won for myself) form the upbeat to the triumphant reappearance of the chorale: "Sterben werd' ich, un zu leben!" (I shall die so as to live!") and the symphony comes to its close in a din of fanfares and pealing bells.


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## Lunasong (Mar 15, 2011)

Our director said, "Take more than a hundred people, dress them in black, stick them under hot lights, and cook for over an hour...and what do you get? A little bit of ***-piration..." A negotiation with the musical director was made to rise a bit earlier at a "louder" part in the score, and we were successfully silent.

We had several native speakers complement us on our German.

Anyway, last night was magic! and, @Vaneyes, darn near perfect. I cried when it was over, it was so fulfilling.

This concert will be webcast in August and I'll post a notice when a bit closer to that time.


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## Vaneyes (May 11, 2010)

Bravo, Lunasong.


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## Moira (Apr 1, 2012)

So glad you enjoyed it. We, the audiences of the world, rely on performers to do their thing for love or for money so we can enjoy ourselves.


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## emiellucifuge (May 26, 2009)

Great thread!


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## Lunasong (Mar 15, 2011)

Listen to streaming audio broadcast of this concert today @ 10 AM US-EDT (8.5 hours from now) on http://dpr.org/ Click on the '"Listen 
live" link on the upper left of the page.


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## Crudblud (Dec 29, 2011)

I'm afraid I missed it. Is the concert available to listen via some sort of archive service anywhere?


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## Wandering (Feb 27, 2012)

Lunasong said:


> Listen to streaming audio broadcast of this concert today @ 10 AM US-EDT (8.5 hours from now) on http://dpr.org/ Click on the '"Listen
> live" link on the upper left of the page.


Wish I could have heard it. Also wish it were archived as Crudblud asked. On August 19th The Aspen Music Festival performed a live Mahler 8th. It was broadcast via colorado public radio. I enjoyed the performance.


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## Lunasong (Mar 15, 2011)

I am sorry that it is not available on archive.


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## Wandering (Feb 27, 2012)

Lunasong said:


> I am sorry that it is not available on archive.


Your apology has given me the strength to find somehow, someway to go on.


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