A "Song of the Earth" for Eternity
In my "topical" series of posts, I explore the link between topical subjects and music that could be associated with them. Today, I explore the subject of the climate and environment, which is surely one of the most topical subjects, these days - and its associated consequences regarding humankind's mortality.
In a week where it has been on the news that some climate activists have seemingly been at odds with the orthodoxies of the law, in which we have had a very well-publicised total solar eclipse, and in which (just today) the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has just ruled, stating that it is a violation of legal, human rights for countries not to do their due to protect people from the effects of climate change (source: BBC), the subject of the importance and power of Nature is not far from our collective conscious attention. I, personally, find that the obvious classical music piece to be truly fit to do justice to the subject of humanity's brief life on Earth, and its interaction with its, by contrast, eternal environment, Nature - and this piece is Gustav Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth).
It is the second time in a week that I feature Mahler's music - and, once more, there are so many great recordings of this piece available, I found … from the famous Kathleen Ferrier and Julius Patzak recording, with Bruno Walter conducting - to that of Anne-Sophie von Otter and Jonas Kaufmann, with Claudio Abbado at the helm of the Berliner Philharmoniker, amongst many others. Nevertheless, I have, this time, chosen the Dame Janet Baker and James King recording, with Bernard Haitink conducting the Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam.
James King is superb, drinking to the darkness of life and death, in the first movement - extolling youth, in the third movement, almost playfully so, were it not for a hint of regretful sadness at its transience - and, once more, in the fifth movement, returning to the theme of drinking, this time as a man who does not wish to be woken up from his blissful, drunken state … certainly not before spring arrives … and, perhaps, not even then.
Dame Janet Baker, for her part, is moving, pleading with the sun to return and shine upon the singer's life, in the second movement - extolling, on her part, beauty, in the fourth movement … with the customary Mahlerian malinchony, which she expresses so deftly … with incredible virtuosity in her singing, in the fast passages, returning to the slow tempo of the beginning, as she exposes the pretence of the "proud pose" of the young lady who, secretly, is in love with the handsome horse rider … with superb sensitivity in tone and dynamic colours. Her interpretation of the last movement, the legendary Der Abschied / The Farewell (which lasts longer than the other five movements combined), with its final nod to eternity, in Mahler's own words - is (for me) one of the pinnacles of both classical music itself, and of the recordings thereof.
The Concertgebouw Orchestra sound at their virtuosic and musical best, in this recording; and, therefore, a final word, for me, must rest with their collaboration with Maestro Bernard Haitink (their legendary conductor)'s unsurpassed musicality.
The Maestro has, firstly, a way with orchestral texture, so that everything comes through in its right balance, as if it were spring water … clear, throughout. It is well known that Maestro Haitink's sound engineer repeatedly refused to claim credit for this clarity of texture, present almost uniquely in the Maestro's recordings. "It's not me, it's Bernard", he is credited with often saying. This clarity is, unsurprisingly, also present here, in every note that is guided, magically so, to its full expressive fulfilment by the Maestro's charmed baton. This guidance is accomplished with such patience, clarity of sound and musical vision, as to render this recording, for me, at the very least, miraculous and deeply moving.
The soloists and orchestra play their parts to the full in this; however, the defining factor, for me, in this recording, is Maestro Haitink's own, unobtrusive, but extraordinary guiding hand, nobility of taste and musical heart - and the combination of all of this, together, create (for me) a Song of the Earth recording for, truly, eternity itself.