Mahler: Symphony #3/Bach: Suite (arr. Mahler)
Chailly/Concertgebouw/Lang
Decca SACD
$18.99 USD

I've found Chailly's previous Mahler installments to be a little
frustrating: He's got the Concertgebouw, a great acoustic, a great
recording team; he's got a great sense of line and a keen enough ear to
make the most of Mahler's innumerable orchestral felicities.  What's the
problem?  Chailly's product is just a little too polite, well-heeled and
plush for my tastes.  Sheer beauty of the playing aside, his performances
can be just plain boring at times.  In the case of the new 3rd I'm happy
to report that, with a few exceptions, there's an added vibrancy,
earthiness, and frission, that sets this performance apart from the rest
of the cycle in a very satisfying way.  A few observations follow regarding
the symphonic movements that appeal to me the most.  I will leave it to
Mahlerians to dissect the symphony in whole and we'll have to see if
white smoke comes out the chimney.

Chailly, being a colorist, finds much to unearth in the first mov't.
Mahler's pre-nature rumblings and grumblings are especially interesting
and multi-hued; even the quiet percussion interjections are invested
with an unusual amount of character.  As nature awakens the Concertgebouw
woodwinds and strings play gorgeously, but are adequately rustic as well.
It is in the great midway march that I feel that Chailly loses a touch
of momentum, (did Mahler request such a measured pace here?), and when
that first great climactic outburst comes, it's huge, expansive, and
well-balanced, but it doesn't make the lights dim, so to speak, as I
think it should.  (Though it's so well accommodated by the surround
recording.maybe I'm just used to having my teeth set on edge at such
moments.) No complaints from this point on: the pacing, the playing, and
the holding together of Mahler's extraordinary kaliedoscopy of events
is spellbinding.  (In surround, you will be treated to a snare drum that
retreats into the back of the hall at one point!  Another Mahler directive?)

The 3rd mov't is a favorite of mine.  Chailly and the Concertgebouw
respond well to Mahler's wind-dominated writing and the dreamy posthorn
solo-in surround at least-finally sounds as if it's coming from far o'er
the hills.  The coda--a shriek, horns and arpeggiated harps suggesting
grand and mysterious vistas, and then the gargantuan, strangely indifferent
caprice of an ending--never fails to amaze me.  While the moment is BIG,
Chailly keeps it all in line, quite literally.  Just like my minor
complaint with the outburst in the first mov't, here too I wouldn't have
minded a more dramatic punctuation-a hitting of the reset button; Chailly
seems more concerned with keeping the finish-line in view through the
spectacle.  Architecture-first listeners may well prefer Chailly's
approach; I like a little more indulgence.

The Bim-bam 5th mov't is a lot of fun.  In surround the Children's
choir arcs around each side of the listener, with Ms. Lang in the
center.  Lang's voice is dark and rich, much like the overall sound of
this recording.  I've never heard the chromatically-sliding brass material
sound so menacing, though the bass-drum and gong are presented--here and
elsewhere--hyper-realistically.  (I happen to like it that way.)

The opening strings of the 6th mov't play with an unusual amount of
intensity, and the light and shade with which they invest the music
makes the first half especially interesting.  When the brass takes over
this chorale-like melody towards the end of the mov't, I found myself
marveling over the sheer lyricism of their playing, esp.  the lead
trumpet.  Gorgeous.  The final grand iteration of this material is just
right: every quarter note is leaned upon just enough to keep things
clearly delineated, but not so much so that the music sounds plodding.
In surround the final drum and cymbal crash before the coda electrifies
the air in the room!  One last special moment: the quiet string tremolo
that ushers in the coda has a rustic quality that clearly harkens back
to the 1st mov't, bringing everything full-circle.  Wait 'till you hear
the last luminous chord that closes the piece....

This is a performance I'll keep, and it's a must-hear in surround.
The rear-channel levels are well-nigh perfect-I can't hear anything,
(unless there are specific antiphonal effects), yet the front-to-back
and left-to-right stage width is increased dramatically.  Maybe Decca
will have another golden age of recording with SACD surround.  (Yes,
Mahler prefers SACD to DVD-A.  After all, he said that visuals of the
mountains which inspired this symphony aren't necessary, the music alone
says it all..)

A technical note: This is the first surround recording in which a center
channel, or at least a re-direction of the center channel material, may
be necessary.  I've been going without a center channel, with no problems
so far; however with this recording, I could sense an ever-so-slight
"hole" in the middle of the soundstage which disappeared after re-directing
the center material to the left and right speakers.

John Smyth
Sac, CA