# Can anyone explain the emotional story behind this Mahler 5 segment?



## macgeek2005 (Apr 1, 2006)

Mahler 5, 3rd movement, Bar 241 (Langsamer) to bar 285.

First it's this really haunting quiet stuff, mostly in the winds, and then at bar 251 the violins come in with that motive, fortissimo, and then it just builds up to these cosmic chords at 270 and 274, with the four horn calls in between them.

This whole section seems to operate on a completely cosmic level to me, and I was trying to figure out for a while what it seems to describe, and I finally came upon an image that seems to fit perfectly.

241 to 250 is like pre-existence. Energy in an endless void. At 251, particles begin racing around, colliding, building tension. This continues all the way until 270, when the big bang happens. The calls between the horns describe the rapid expansion of the universe, and the second chord at 274 further emphasizes the impact of the explosion.

Things then calm down with the solo horn (earth forming and cooling), and at 282 - 285, man awakes.

The power of this music is beyond my ability to put into words, but perhaps simply by describing the images that come to my mind, you'll get a sense of how it sounds to me.

But in any case, I'm greatly curious to know what Mahler was thinking.. this music obviously has something very concrete and powerful behind it, whether it's what I imagine or not.


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## Llyranor (Dec 20, 2010)

Can you link us to a video at the part you're describing for those of us who are horribad at music theory?


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## macgeek2005 (Apr 1, 2006)

Well, I can't find a recording on youtube that delivers it well, so here's a download link to the segment, performed by the San Francisco Symphony and MTT.

The Langsamer begins a second after the beginning of the track... you'll know what I mean.

https://www.yousendit.com/download/T2dkSXQzcVhGOFQ0WjhUQw

The violin motive (particles beginning to race) starts at 0:17, and the initial "big bang" is at 0:39.


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