Jo
Vincent, Soprano
Concertgebouw Orchestra
Conductor: Willem Mengelberg
Recorded
live on 9th November, 1939 onto 78rpm acetate discs.
Download ID: 226984
(Duration
57'01")
Play
sample movement:
Jo
Vincent
Mahler's
Fourth Symphony, written 1899-1901 and first performed under the composer's
baton in Munich in 1901, is perhaps the most immediately approachable
of his symphonies. Scored for a more modestly proportioned orchestra than
elsewhere in his repertoire, and with a pastoral innocence which can sometimes
serve to mask dark shadows and undercurrents, it really is a most delightful
work.
The finale,
where we hear the soprano singing words from Des Knaben Wunderhorn
(a collection of German folk poems dear to Mahler), was originally intended
for his Third Symphony; instead it became the seed from which his fourth
was to grow. Themes derived from the finale are heard through the first
three movements, and yet are written in such a way as to successfully
foreshadow that movement. In overall scale the Fourth Symphony is certainly
more approachable than its immediate predecessor; its four movements run
here to just over 55 minutes - contrast this with the hundred-minute,
six movements of the Third.
This recording
is remarkable in many ways. With regard to sound quality it is simply
the most high fidelity recording I've ever heard from the 1930's. Recorded
at a live concert (you'll hear the conductor's batton taps at the very
start) onto 78rpm acetate discs, it has full frequency range and a huge
dynamic range. Although subsequent playing and handling was to damage
those discs, by careful, painstaking, and hugely time-consuming restoration
work we have been able to restore sections of the recording previously
lost under surface noise to something approaching their former glory.
We have also tackled some of the sonic inadequacies of the microphones
of the day to restore a more even tonal balance to the recording. The
net result is quite astonishing to hear - as clean and clear as it must
have sounded to the audience at the Concertgebouw in November 1939.
Willem
Mengelberg
Secondly
we have to look to the performance, as this is one which is simply unique.
Mangelberg had been a close friend and associate of Mahler's; he had been
present at the premiere of this symphony; the two conductors (for conducting
was for what Mahler was chiefly known during his lifetime) worked on the
score together, adding timing marks, annotations and fine detailed notes
throughout.
We cannot
know how Mahler paced the work, how he handled the phrasing, or whether
Mengelberg's interpretation is even close to that of Mahler. Some will
find his almost ceaseless tempo changes impossible to take (and hence
we have no review from Bill Rosen!); for others here is a whole new insight
into this marvellous piece of music which will both delight and inform
at the same time. Personally, I love it!
For those
who purchase the download of this recording - or listen to the streamed
MP3s - we have taken the unprecedented step for a recording of this vintage
of treating is as we would a hi-fi LP and issuing it as a very high quality
LAME-encoded MP3, using the "extreme" preset with a variable
bit rate between 200-240kbps. In our studio listening tests we found this
to be indistinguishable from the original, uncompressed master recording.
