Mahler Symphony No. 7 - 1st Movement - Listening Guide
The movement is in sonata form. It begins with a slow introduction in B minor, launched by a dark melody played by a baritone horn. The accompanimental rhythm was said to have come to Mahler whilst ro...
18 Mar 202159min
Mahler Symphony No. 7 - 2nd Movement - Listening Guide
The movement opens with horns calling to each other. The second horn is muted, however, to create the illusion of distance. Scampering woodwinds imitating somewhat grotesque bird calls pass off into t...
18 Mar 202138min
Mahler Symphony No. 7 - 3rd Movement - Listening Guide
There is an undercurrent of night about the spooky third movement; while “Scherzo” means “joke”, this movement is remarkably spooky and even grim. If the first ‘Nachtmusik’ possessed a friendly mood d...
18 Mar 202126min
Mahler Symphony No. 7 - 4th Movement - Listening Guide
The fourth movement (the second ‘Nachtmusik’) contrasts with the first in that it illustrates a more intimate and ‘human’ scene. With its ‘amoroso’ marking and reduced orchestration (trombones, tuba a...
18 Mar 202135min
Mahler Symphony No. 7 - 5th Movement - Listening Guide
Boisterous timpani joined by blazing brass set the scene for the riotous fifth movement. The long, arduous first movement, after three shorter movements developmental in mood, is finally equalled by a...
18 Mar 202156min
Mahler Symphony No. 8 - Intro - Listening Guide
“Try to imagine the whole universe beginning to ring and resound. There are no longer human voices, but planets and suns revolving” (Gustav Mahler). Part I is based on the (sacred) Latin text of a 9th...
18 Mar 202123min
Mahler Symphony No. 8 - 1st Movement - Listening Guide
Veni Creator Spiritus (“Come Creator Spirit”) is a hymn believed to have been written by Rabanus Maurus in the 9th century. When the original Latin text is used, it is normally sung in Gregorian Chant...
18 Mar 20211h 7min
Mahler Symphony No. 8 - 2nd Movement - Listening Guide
The second part of the symphony follows the narrative of the final stages in Goethe’s poem-the journey of Faust’s soul, rescued from the clutches of Mephistopheles, on to its final ascent into heaven....
18 Mar 20212h 26min
