Word by Word

There are certain singers with whom you cannot discern any effort at all. Communication through music is entirely natural to them and the effect is therefore totally beguiling. Christian Gerhaher is one such singer. Nigh passive in his delivery, he nonetheless imbues every note and word with an understanding that is simultaneously hard-earned and uncomplicated. And by getting out of the way of the score he allows the music to communicate afresh, hitting you with its full emotional power, as on this slaying new recording of Mahler's orchestral song cycles.

So unhistrionic is Gerhaher that the effect of listening to an entire recital or recording can be rather draining, as you are faced with emotion without fabrication. There's therefore nobody better at communicating the of pain of the Austro-German world of Lieder. Gerhaher and his pianist Gerold Huber's 2009 recording of Mahler's Songs made for a particularly destroying experience. While the addition of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and Kent Nagano on this new disc raises the dramatic bar somewhat, Gerhaher maintains his quietly lamenting approach.

Like Huber, however, Nagano makes sure that the performances never lapse into the self-indulgent, choosing predominantly brisk speeds. The playing is, however, superb, captured at live performances in the Mason symphonique de Montréal in January 2012, with the woodwind particularly shining, not least Pierre-Vincent Plante on the cor anglais. But like Gerhaher himself, the orchestra never intrudes, merely allowing Mahler's near-narratives to emerge note by note, word by word.

And that's the other main quality here, the texts. Each syllable has been subtly considered, thereby reaping much greater interpretative rewards than any grandstanding. Whether balancing the kinesis and hesitation of 'Wenn mein Schatz Hochzeit macht', the delirious fervour of 'Oft denk' ich, sie sind nur ausgegangen!' or the subdued pain of 'Und ruh' in 'Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen', Gerhaher judges the songs flawlessly. These may be paler performances, but who said pain was colourful? To my mind this recording rivals the very best within an ever-growing Mahler discography. Click here to order a copy.

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