Catalogue

Summary:

“[The arrangement] works remarkably well…This performance under the greatly gifted Douglas Boyd is impressive…in this recording many interesting details come to light, and the soloists are both fine, without being overtaxed in the way that almost everyone is in the full orchestral version” ★★★★ – BBC Music Magazine

“Manchester Camerata’s nuanced, expertly balanced performance imbues the many oriental inflections with vivid brightness…Wedd meets head-one the high-lying heldentenor challenges of ‘Das Trinklied vom Jammer der Erde’. His strong tenor is commanding and intense in the vigorous animated passages, and equally arresting in the softer moments. A fresh-sounding interpretation awash with dramatic and tonal colour” ★★★★ – Classic FM

“even in chamber dress, mezzo-soprano Jane Irwin and the Manchester team capture its progress from objective narration to personal vision with rapt and compelling intensity … The arrangement undoubtedly takes on a life of its own. It refracts this great masterwork through a different prism lending its own special insights, and this performance is a comprehensive realization of its considerable merits” – International Record Review

“Schoenberg and Riehn make full use of the array of colours at their command. The tenor Peter Wedd, though powerful, shows himself capable of tender intimacy, while the mezzo Jane Irwin gives a moving account of the final Der Abschied. The Camerata play with distinction under the intelligent shaping of Douglas Boyd” – The Sunday Times

The 2010 Mahler in Manchester festival was “A sensory experience like no other,” according to The Sunday Times, not least for the Manchester Cameratas revelatory performance of Das Lied von der Erde in the scaled-down chamber version by Schoenberg. The poignancy of Mahler’s “Song of the Earth” is highlighted by the reduced forces: just 16 performers, including the distinctive chimes of harmonium, celeste and piano. The chamber arrangement came about through Schoenberg’s Vienna-based Association for Private Musical Performances, founded in 1918. Dedicated to exploring new music but short of funds, they made a number of chamber versions of larger works, of which Das Lied was one. Conducted by Douglas Boyd, Manchester Cameratas performance of this transcription loses nothing of the astonishing sonic allure of the original – an ideal memento of an enlightening festival celebrating the music of Mahler.

Tracklist:

GUSTAV MAHLER (1860–1911)
Das Lied von der Erde (arr. Arnold Shoenberg)

I. Das Trinklied vom Jammer der Erde (7:54)
II. Der Einsame im Herbst (9:51)
III. Von der Jugend (3:05)
IV. Von der Schönheit (6:52)
V. Der Trunkene im Frühling (4:24)
VI. Der Abschied (28:20)

Total duration: 60:32

Jane Irwin, mezzo-soprano
Peter Wedd, tenor
Manchester Camerata
Douglas Boyd, conductor

Recorded live in performance at Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, 30 January 2010
Producer: Andrew Keener

Engineer: David Hinitt