On April 16, l'Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and music director Kent Nagano will release their latest recording, a collection of lieder by Gustav Mahler sung by German baritone Christian Gerhaher. CBC Classical is thrilled to give you the opportunity to stream the album in its entirety one week prior to its release.
The album includes three complete song cycles by Mahler: Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (Songs of a wayfarer), Kindertotenlieder (Songs on the death of children) and Rückert Lieder (five songs based on poems by Friedrich Rückert).
ListenMahler: Orchesterlieder
Full album stream until April 16, 2013
In a phone interview with CBC Classical, Nagano marvelled at how Gerhaher "makes it seem as if you're listening to these lieder in a much smaller chamber setting."
It's this intimacy that sets their remarkable new recording apart, an achievement made possible by three factors: the unique qualities of the soloist, the detailed playing of the OSM and the acoustic properties of Montreal's Maison symphonique, where the recording was made.
All three factors serve Mahler's vision. "The pieces themselves deal with very personal subjects, issues and emotions," said Nagano.
Gerhaher: attention to detail
Baritone Gerhaher is one of the world's leading exponents of German lieder, having built a career almost exclusively around recital and concert repertoire by Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Mahler and Wolf.
Nagano has known Gerhaher for years and was excited to bring him to Montreal for this project.
"What Christian Gerhaher is able to do through his diction and the way he forms the emission of his voice, he can maximize colour variation," said Nagano, "he can use different kinds of timbre through his vowels, and in this way he can shape and shade and really bring in an enormous amount of provocative content to the poems."
OSM: a very special artistic tension
One of Mahler's trademarks is his tendency to use very large orchestral forces, but to score sparingly. "Within this large palette of instruments," said Nagano, "Mahler usually only has a small section of the instruments playing at the same time; sometimes only one, two or three. So you don't use the orchestral forces necessarily for power, but you use them for shading, for different hues of shadows, different kinds of temperatures, and that is meant to support, and put into a musical context, the meaning of the words."
It's a rare orchestra whose musicians can pull off this kind of exposed playing. Nagano's hat is off: "It's a tribute to the virtuosic character and the musical discipline of the OSM, that they could perform at this level, being so near to the boundaries of what's possible on an instrument. And that, I think, you hear, as a very special artistic tension on this recording."
La Maison symphonique: an incredible instrument
Gerhaher's sensitive singing and the OSM's detailed playing would all be for naught if the recording engineers at Analekta were not able to capture them for us to hear. That's where the third factor comes into play: La Maison symphonique.
"Our new concert hall is an incredible instrument," admitted Nagano. "It's primarily because of the acoustical properties, but just as noticeable is the combination of the colours, the wood, the shape of the hall and the proximity that the public has to the stage. Nearly everyone feels that they're coming into a very intimate setting, a warm setting.
"Christian Gerhaher's interior, almost withdrawn, interpretation of these songs would only be possible in an acoustical setting like la Maison symphonique."
Purchase the album on Analekta's website.
Related:
Watch: Peter Lieberson’s Neruda Songs performed by Symphony Nova Scotia and Andrea Ludwig
Recital: baritone Gerald Finley sings Schumann, Ravel and Britten
Listen: Sondra Radvanovsky sings Verdi and Tchaikovsky with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra