Mahler: Das Lied Von Der Erde

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

Gustav Mahler
Das Lied von der Erde (arr. Schoenberg/Rhien)

Last year's Mahler in Manchester festival was "A sensory experience like no other," according to The Sunday Times, not least for the Manchester Camerata's 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 Camerata's 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.

critical acclaim for Douglas Boyd's and Manchester Camerata's live performance of Das Lied von der Erde
"a deeply affecting experience." - The Sunday Times (London)
"A vivid performance from Manchester Camerata" - Gramophone
"Douglas Boyd and his players made luscious timbres to surround the singing of Peter Wedd and Jane Irwin, and between them caught Mahler's vivid sound pictures with imagination and richness. There was a dramatic quality, too - perhaps the greatest gain from this version of a piece usually heard in sumptuous full-orchestra guise." - City Life (Manchester)

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