Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde

Since Quiapo has nearly stopped offerring classical music DVDs, I took the opportunity in Hong Kong to look for these items.

I picked up a copy of Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde (Song of the Earth) in Kowloon, a cycle of six songs for orchestra, alto and tenor, with the eminent Wagnerians Waltraud Meier and Torsten Kerl with Semyon Bychkov conducting the Cologne Symphony Orchestra.

Composed between his 8th ("Symphony of a Thousand") and 9th symphonies, Mahler used Hans Bethge's exquisite German translation of a Chinese poem about a melancholy dream world praising nature and its beauty.

The first song, "Das Trinklied vom Jammer der Erde" (Drinking Song of Earth's Sorrow) jolts one out of reverie: powerful introduction from the orchestra and equally jarring vocal entrance of the tenor sets the mood throughout. It has a gloomy and dark refrain which forebodes a far from cheerful ending for the entire work. In fact, the song ends with "Life is Dark, and so is Death."

The alto number, "Der Einsame im Herbst" (Autumn loneliness) picks up the gloom from the previous number. It almost sounds like a death wish. At this point, I couldn't help wonder why Mahler is so preoccupied with the concept of death. The soloist actually sings about the tiredness of heart and of loneliness, painted by her description of the mists of autumn.

This gloomy affair transforms into images of gaiety as the mood shifts to more lively scenes: the three songs that follow all celebrate the joys of youth, beauty and all that spring represents. Fanfares, harp glissandos and a powerful march project an image of young men riding along a bank on prancing horses as young innocent girls pick flowers while surrendering themselves to the sun and nature (people, these are from the text).

Gloom descends once again as the final, and the most extensive song, "Abschied" (Farewell) is characterized by heavy, depressing vocal and orchestral numbers that slowly but surely build up to a funeral march. Again, Mahler's vision of death permeates the whole work. The alto sings the final words almost voicelessly amidst the extremely gloomy bottom C. A farewell to life and to the world and all that is beautiful is clearly Mahler's message here.

Meier, a prime exponent of Wagner roles, was exquisite although I sometimes take issue with her top notes which I feel she struggles to hit. I have a DVD of her Isolde with Zubin Mehta and I found it a bit disappointing, especially with the Liebestod.

Torsten Kerl was impressive throughout although I felt he should've imbued it with more sensitivity.

I have no problem with Semyon Bychkov conducting, he clearly knows his way around. I felt some points could have been emphasized clearly, like the horse galloping scenes in the middle movements.