Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde
Marie-Nicole Lemieux (contralto), Andrew Staples (tenor), Les Siècles, François-Xavier Roth
The upside of period-instrument orchestral sound, with less heft than its modern counterpart, is the accommodating scope it gives to solo voices. Andrew Staples's contribution is a highlight;...
Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde
Marie-Nicole Lemieux (contralto), Andrew Staples (tenor), Les Siècles, François-Xavier Roth
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The upside of period-instrument orchestral sound, with less heft than its modern counterpart, is the accommodating scope it gives to solo voices. Andrew Staples's contribution is a highlight;...
About
On the border between genres, Das Lied von der Erde celebrates the intoxication of life as well as the serenity of renunciation – a far cry from Mahler’s early ‘Wunderhorn’ period. This later Mahler is portrayed by François-Xavier Roth and Les Siècles, following their critically acclaimed First and Fourth Symphonies released over the past few years. They approach this visionary work with their usual stylistic elegance, with two superlative singers – and as usual, with carefully chosen Viennese instruments of the period.
Contents and tracklist
Awards and reviews
May 2026
The upside of period-instrument orchestral sound, with less heft than its modern counterpart, is the accommodating scope it gives to solo voices. Andrew Staples's contribution is a highlight; his light-ish tenor is sensitively aware of the words of his three settings, with unaffected and winsome phrasing to match.
February 2026
Offering more than a changed perception of colour, Roth and the superb musicians of Les Siècles effect a rethinking of texture itself. Individual lines are uncannily clear, lending new prominence to Mahler's surreal juxtapositions...The vocal contributions align closely with this rebalanced sound world.
28th January 2026
Take the plangent colours of the brass and wind instruments or the characterful edge particular to gut-stringed violins: these only heighten the clarity of Mahler’s textures. Roth’s vocal soloists, the lambent contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux and the no-nonsense tenor Andrew Staples, provide their colour range...A bit of a lopsided interpretation, then, but it does have its rewards.
