Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde
Jane Henschel (mezzo-soprano) & Gregory Kunde (tenor)
Houston Symphony, Hans Graf
From the first, scything horn cry, it's evident that this is going to be a Song of the Earth of real orchestral distinction...their lean but incisive quality makes for some real chamber-musical...
Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde
Jane Henschel (mezzo-soprano) & Gregory Kunde (tenor)
Houston Symphony, Hans Graf
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From the first, scything horn cry, it's evident that this is going to be a Song of the Earth of real orchestral distinction...their lean but incisive quality makes for some real chamber-musical...
About
In 1907 Mahler suffered a series of severe losses. Following pressure, he resigned his position as Director of the Court Opera in Vienna. After his elder daughter Maria died, he himself received the diagnosis of a severe heart condition. During the summer of 1908, Mahler sketched Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth), a ‘symphony for two vocal soloists and orchestra’. The texts, taken from Hans Bethge’s The Chinese Flute, are concerned with the themes of transience and loss, culminating in the overwhelming Der Abschied (The Farewell). The Houston Symphony and Hans Graf have recorded Zemlinsky and Berg on Naxos 8572048; ‘tonally sumptuous and emotionally expansive’. (Allmusic.com)
Contents and tracklist
Awards and reviews
February 2012
From the first, scything horn cry, it's evident that this is going to be a Song of the Earth of real orchestral distinction...their lean but incisive quality makes for some real chamber-musical moments with the wind and brass, many of which tenor Gregory Kunde sensitively shares...Kunde can manages the impossibly high tessitura and never forces his voice.
January 2012
Although Jane Henschel, a frequent performer of Wagner and Strauss, finds herself on familiar ground, it's Gregory Kunde - generally a bel canto tenor - who remains the standout. I'm not sure how much of Kunde's refined elegance would soar above the orchestra in a live performance, but this is the first Das Lied recording in a long time that made me wish Mahler wrote more for the tenor.
3rd November 2011
the Houston Symphony proves itself a highly competent band
