Daniele Gatti conducted succesffully Mahlers powerfull 8th Symfoni Friday June 10th at Theatre du Chatelet, as a part of the seria ”Tout Mahler par Gatti” which is going on during the periode from 2009-2012.

The Symphony No

. 8 in E-flat major by Gustav Mahler is one of the largest-scale choral works in the classical concert repertory

. Because it requires huge instrumental and vocal forces it is frequently called the “Symphony of a Thousand“, although the work is often performed with fewer than a thousand, and Mahler himself did not sanction the name. The work was composed in a single inspired burst, at Maiernigg in southern Austria in the summer of 1906. The last of Mahler’s works that was premiered in his lifetime, the symphony was a critical and popular success when he conducted its first performance in Munich on12 September 1910.

Mahlers 8th Symfoni, applaus, Theatre du Chatelt. Paris. Foto: Henning Høholt

The 8^th Symfoni at Theatre du Chatelet was performed with Orchestre National de France, where Daniele Gatti is Musicchief, Choire and children choire of Radio France and from Sächsiche Staatsoper, Dresden
. Soloists were the three sopranos: Erin Wall, with wonderful high tunes, Mélanie Diener and Kerstin Avemo
. Christine Knorren, mezzo-soprano, Marie-Nicole Lemieux, alt, and Nikolai Andrei Schukoff, tenor with great expression and a very good sound, Detlef Roth, baryton and James Morris, bass. Luch Héry was playing 1^st. violin.

The structure of the work is unconventional; instead of the normal framework of several movements, the piece is in two parts. Part I is based on the Latin text of a 9th-century Christian hymn for Pentecost, Veni creator spiritus (“Come, Creator Spirit”), and Part II is a setting of the words from the closing scene of Goethe´s Faust
. The two parts are unified by a common idea, that of redemption through the power of love, a unity conveyed through shared musical themes.

The symphoni is opening very powerfull, and needs a very large orchestra and choire, and to top the choire, powerful singing soloists, who can help bringing the toplines out to the audience. This was well organized, but I had the feeling that in the very beginning the coordination between the orchestra and choire was not perfect, but very fast Gatti found the controle and it wound to me like it worked perfect.

Daniele Gatti, foto Radio France (?)

During the way the compositions is building up the choireparts headed by powerful soloists, which topped and attact the main lines, very well done. I was waiting for that the roof started to fly of Theatre du Chatelet, it was nearly so that it seemed that the theatre is too little to so much power. Still with all this power mr. Gatti managed to keep it organized and well controlled. But as usual I appreciate the pianissimo parts. Which very well is contrasting the enormous earthcrace parts, some times it sound like music for a vulcano blow out.

After the big blowout in the first part, the second part opens contrasting with pianissimo and well sounding is giving us all a possibility to lean back, to relax and enjoy also this part of Mahlers composition fairy tale with shining violins and obos on the top, where the choire pizzicato is followed by by soloparts from Detlef Roth, baryton, James Morris, bass, Christine Knorren, mezzo,Nikolai Andrei Schukoff, tenor, Mélanie Diener, 2^nd soprano and Erin Wall, 1^st soprano in delicious combinations with soloparts by soloviolin, harps and others. The trio between 1^st soprano, mezzo and alt was beautiful performed followed by a wonderful solopart by the 2^nd soprano in combination with violin soloparts, bringing us forward to the magnifique finale.

Mahler had been convinced from the start of the work’s significance; in renouncing the pessimism that had marked much of his music, he offered the Eighth as an expression of confidence in the eternal human spirit. In the period following the composer’s death, performances were comparatively rare. However, from the mid-20th century onwards the symphony has been heard regularly in concert halls all over the world, and has been recorded many times. While recognising its wide popularity, modern critics have divided opinions on the work; some find its optimism unconvincing, and consider it artistically and musically inferior to Mahler’s other symphonies. However, it has also been compared to Beethoven’s Ninth Symphoni as a defining human statement for its century.

The frensh audience, and some tourists are privilliged to get such great possibilities to enjoy this kind of large works. It is not in every city or capital that they are so privilliged. And in deed, the audience loves it.