Search - Gustav Mahler, James Levine, Berliner Philharmoniker :: Gustav Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde - Jessye Norman / Siegfried Jerusalem / Berliner Philharmoniker / James Levine

This is one of the towering masterpieces of 20th-century music. It followed Mahler's Eighth Symphony, but to avoid the ominous, superstition-laden association evoked by the number nine, he called it "a symphony for contralto, tenor, and orchestra." Yet the shadow of death hovers over it: Mahler had recently lost his beloved older daughter and had himself been diagnosed with a heart ailment that presaged a limited life span. The work, symphonic in its structure and masterful use of the orchestra, is a setting of six songs selected from "The Chinese Flute," a collection of Chinese poetry freely translated by Hans Bethge. Both words and music emanate a sense of the transience of human life in contrast to the permanence of the universe; their pervasive loneliness, sorrow, and resignation are lit up by flashes of drunken, hopeful oblivion and visions of beauty and companionship. The end fades into the everlasting blue distance. This live recording is terrific. Levine again proves his kinship with Mahler, following him from the depths of despair to the heights of sublime resignation. The microphones favor the singers, allowing the tenor to let his beautiful lyrical voice soar over the orchestra and bring out the songs' defiance, humor, and desperation. Jessye Norman, in peak form as a true alto, sings gloriously, with thrilling intensity and inward expressiveness, finally melting into the orchestra. --Edith Eisler