Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)
Symphony No 2 in C minor ‘Resurrection’ (1888-94, arr. José Luis Turina)
Christina Landshamer (soprano), Karen Cargill (mezzosoprano)
Orquesta y Coro Nacionales de España/David Afkham
rec. 2021, Auditorio Nacional de Música, Madrid
INAEM OCNE8436552740095 [2 CDs: 85]
In October 1971 the combined forces of the Orquesta y Coro Nacionales de España gave a concert at the Teatro Real in Madrid of Mahler’s Symphony No 2 ‘Resurrection’ under its then principal conductor Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos. Fast forward fifty years and the intention was to repeat that gala performance with their current principal conductor David Afkham. However, with the world cautiously emerging from the covid pandemic the problem was how to perform this epic work whilst also observing the required restrictions of social distancing. The pragmatic solution was to commission a new performing edition of the work from composer José Luis Turina (the grandson of Joaquín Turina) which required just half – roughly 55 instead of 110 – players and a choir of 80 thereby conforming to the then-current health protocols. It is the live performance of this ‘chamber’ version from October 2021 that is given here.
Of course the catalogue groans under the weight of tens if not hundreds of performances of this work which has become one of those pieces which are seen as testing the musical ‘virility’ of orchestras and interpreters. The argument put forward by Turina in his extended and well-written liner is that this new version can have a performing life beyond Covid in allowing ensembles and indeed venues previously not of a scale to accommodate this work to perform it. That is indeed a legitimate and very reasonable point – the history of music is littered with works we consider ‘big’ being performed by small – possibly too small – groups. But there is surely a gulf between available performing editions that can be played and enjoyed live and the necessity to preserve those practical compromises for posterity on disc.
Of course if the interpretation offers such insights and revelations then the altered format might be less of an issue. The truth of this performance is that it is a well played, well recorded (percussion is especially well caught but I did wonder if the reduced brass were supported by spotlighting at climaxes) but musically rather plain-faced affair. As an exercise in reorchestration it is a virtuoso triumph. Turina explains that his aim was to leave as much of the ‘surface’ sound of the orchestra as unchanged as possible with the inner voicings and instrumental doublings tweaked and altered to maintain the sense of a body of orchestral tone but with half the available instruments. He chooses a rather odd (unfortunate?) analogy – to quote directly from the liner; “my work was to a certain extent similar to a taxidermist’s; in the end what we see is the outer shell of a stuffed animal, with all its details, but the inside has nothing to do with the original.”
Unfortunate because to my mind taxidermy takes a beautiful living entity and makes it a pale frozen cipher of its former self. I do not intend to go through the work movement by movement detailing audible changes. They are there – the addition of an orchestral piano to bring fuller textures is apparent although not distractingly except for a couple of moments in the finale. The main issue for the listener is one of tonal weight. Simply put if you have half the number of any instrument playing loud or soft there is a significant loss of audible ‘mass’. This is not a question of technical expertise – throughout the Orquesta Nacionales de España plays very well indeed. There are a couple of very minor and passing ensemble blips that are completely reasonable in a work of this scale and difficulty and a live performance. Interestingly it is as much the moments of hushed intensity that lose their impact as the obviously grandiose passages. In part the responsibility for this sense of the underwhelming must lie with conductor David Afkham. He has been the principal conductor of this orchestra since 2014 so clearly they have an ongoing and productive creative relationship. But as an interpreter of Mahler he is straightforward to the point of plainness. By no means is anything exaggerated or inappropriate but neither is it characterful. Too often choices feel self-conscious or simply safe rather than musically organic so portamenti, for example, are applied but because they should be not because they must be. Phrasing is tasteful rather than revelatory. Generally tempi are perfectly reasonable although I found quite often specific passages were emotionally light due to choices that failed to underline the sense of exaggeration or extreme that is prevalent in so much of Mahler’s music.
Of course there are many attractive moments too – the scale of the performance allows the second movement Andante moderato sehr gemächlich to have a lovely unaffected lilt that is very appealing. The total playing time runs to 84:56 which is pretty standard – very similar to Bernstein’s CBS/NYPO recording, quicker than Tennstedt’s EMI/LPO but six or so minutes slower overall than Klemperer, Neumann or Kubelik. The consequence of this is it requires a second disc which allows the listener to obey the stipulated five minute break between the first and second movement should they so wish. However it also means the set is marketed online around the £16.00 mark for the two discs. The Urlicht receives an attractively rapt and intimate performance with mezzosoprano Karen Cargill a clear-voiced and articulate singer. This is an occasion where the reduced string group play with admirable attention to the letter and dynamic of the score but the lack of numbers means the result sounds thin rather than hushed.
Likewise the underpowered opening to the Finale shows up the relative lack of dynamic range – if this represents the dead awakening at the Last Trump its a rather civilised affair. Indeed this extended closing movement suffers from a sense of anticlimax. Again not due to anything “wrong” from any of the performers. The strings are perhaps slightly more ragged than elsewhere but generally the playing is still very good, the soloists are well matched and fresh voiced and the choir sing with accuracy, energy and purpose. Afkham’s direction is again perfectly good if lacking any moments of awe. Most seriously, as in the first movement, there is a sense that he does not build tension through passages. This might have something to do with the scale of forces he has available but there is also a disappointing sense of summits not climbed and ultimate release not achieved. The “Great Call” section is a case in point which remains stubbornly earthbound here rather than the visionary experience it can be. Or take the miraculous choral entry; Langsam miserioso/“Aufersteh’n, ja aufersteh’n wirst du”; Afkham’s tempo is suitably slow and the choral singing impressively quiet. But from that effective start he does not build the music with the subtlety and nuance others find. At random I compared this with Klemperer’s famous EMI/Philharmonia recording which was released on LP a remarkable sixty years ago this year. The flexibility in phrasing and the gradation of dynamics and emphasis are simply way beyond this new version. Out of curiosity I re-read Tony Duggan’s review of the Klemperer here which articulates brilliantly the qualities that should be present in an all-consuming Mahler performance that this one – for all its musical and technical sophistication – lacks.
As mentioned there are a few slight performing flaws indicative of the live recording along with some very faint “noises off” from the audience. Enthusiastic applause retained at the end is the only significant contribution by the audience. The liner in Spanish and English by José Luis Turina is interesting and valuable as far as it explains how he made the arrangement choices he did. Sung texts are included in German, Spanish and English too. In isolation and for the listener unfamiliar with the work this would still impress. But for collectors with established favourites already in the library there seems to be little or no point to add this performance. One for admirers of the artists involved or Resurrection Symphony completists only.
Nick Barnard
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