Top row: Morris Robinson, Emily Pogorelc, Clay Hilley. Bottom row: Julie Miller, Alexandra LoBianco, Michael Redding.
Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 is nicknamed “Symphony of a Thousand.” In fact, only a little more than half that number perform on the Overture Hall’s stage for the final weekend of the Madison Symphony Orchestra’s season.
Conductor John DeMain, a passionate Mahler fan, in past years has run a complete series of the composer’s symphonies. But this mastodonic Eighth is the biggest spectacle of them all, and DeMain chose it for the final concert of his 25th year with the MSO.
Following the formidable precedent of Beethoven with his Ninth Symphony, Mahler used solo and choral voices in his Second, Third, and Fourth Symphonies. He returned to the idea for his Eighth, but on a more massive scale: two huge adult choruses plus a children’s choir, with eight soloists and enlarged orchestra.
For texts, Mahler chose two totally unrelated poems. For his Part I, he used the early Christian hymn Veni Creator spiritus. Maher clearly had no idea of how to treat Latin poetry. He breaks the eight stanzas into phrases and fragments in chaotic fashion. For his Part II, however, Mahler chose to set poetry of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, specifically the final scene in Part II of the writer’s dramatic tragedy Faust, obliquely portraying the redemption of Faust and Gretchen.
Goethe’s writings, and especially Faust, are part of the German birthright, like Dante is for Italians, Cervantes is for Spaniards, and Shakespeare is for English-speakers. Mahler was deeply respectful of Goethe’s verse structures. The complexity and scope of Faust Part II may elude non-German speakers, and a thorough roadmap is required for others. Michael Allsen’s program notes give some guidelines, and English translations of the texts are projected as surtitles. For the smashed-up Latin, they can provide only passing bits and pieces. But for the German they are quite explicit, even identifying the “characters” singing.
For many listeners, the real attraction is the score’s gigantic sound and kaleidoscopic colors. The combined forces of two choral groups (the Madison Symphony Chorus and the Choral Union) plus the Madison Youth Chorus make mighty sounds. The eight soloists are excellent: I particularly appreciated the gruff but impressive Pater Profundus of Morris Robinson, and the heldentenor Doctor Marianus of Clay Hilley. Predictably gorgeous is Emily Birsan as Una Penitentium; Birsan also sang the title role in Madison Opera’s Rusalka last weekend.
The MSO sounds marvelous, and Maestro DeMain has a real barn-burner on his hands.
The concert will be repeated May 4 at 8 p.m. and May 5 at 2:30 p.m.x
