Well… two symphonies down, seven to go (unless I decide to add Das Lied von der Erde and the Tenth Symphony… still open for discussion). Schedule for Symphony No. 3 will be as below:
- First movement–November 1-15
- Second movement–November 16-25
- Third movement–November 25-December 5
- Fourth movement–December 5-12
- Fifth movement–Decmeber 12-19
- Sixth movement–Decemeber 20-31
The Third is a larger piece still than the Second, and we’re coming up on some busy weeks, so we’ll see what actually happens.
To the question at hand, though:
It has been very difficult for me to examine the last movement of this piece objectively, because in listening to it, one is constantly overwhelmed by the grandeur and majesty of the piece. I feel compelled to compare this movement to the last movement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.
The similarities are quite striking, beginning with the opening of each piece, in both cases a titanic explosion of sound, making full use of the instrumental forces available to the respective composers. As is beginning to become clear, a trick Mahler uses is to bring back opening material verbatim after a fairly significant development. This is in evidence here as well, as this material will return, albeit in a slightly different form, more on which later.
One of the salient features of the last movement of Beethoven’s Ninth is the catalog or audition section, in which moments from each of the preceding movements are incorporated between recitative-like material from the double basses. Mahler does not exactly parallel this, but there is material that resembles much of what has come before. Indeed, a chorale from the opening movement reappears in a meaningful way, and much of the material of the symphony thus far seems to be related to the “Aufersteh’n” melody that forms the spiritual and musical heart of this finale, much as Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” melody is the core of his piece. Almost immediately after the opening statement, at m. 31, a bass line appears in the cellos and basses that cannot help but recall the scherzo’s moto perpetuo.
As sprawling as this piece is, there is also a tightness to the writing that is integral to its holding together and ability to hold the listener’s attention. Nearly every theme begins or ends with a rising fifth or a falling fourth, or incorporates this interval significantly. The two chorale tunes–the “Aufersteh’n” melody and the tune introduced in the first movement–have head motives that are related by inversion.
Measure 62 sees the first entrance of these two chorales in this movement. They are not in their final form, as though they await perfection, or, perhaps, they are in a state of pre-development. Mahler hints at this material and dances around it before a full presentation of it (mm. 62-96 are parallel to the more solidified and then more triumphant presentation of the same material beginning with the trombone chorale in m. 143).
This is another Mahler trick–transforming material through orchestration. I continue to marvel at the masterful approach to orchestration in this piece–the doubling, the clear string writing, the use of just the right parts of a massive orchestra. It is even as though Mahler knew that certain principal players would be tired in certain places, and allocated parts accordingly to have fresh performers available (this happens frequently in the brass).
The above-mentioned chorale at mm. 143ff is probably the first passage that pricked my ears many years ago. Trombones, tuba and contrabassoon, and later the rest of the brass, present both chorale tunes. The first is in Db major, and the second moves from Db major to C major, the overall key of the movement (like Beethoven’s Fifth, although the key of the piece is C minor, the last movement is in the major mode). Instead of being blended with other ideas, the chorale tunes are finally exposed, naked, without distractions, and we are forced to consider the basic material of the movement–or even of the symphony–in isolation. If it is true, as Russel Mikkelson has commented, that composers are bad poker players, here is Mahler’s tell, and he shows us all the cards.
The following sections relate to Beethoven’s Ninth in that they are variations on the “Aufersteh’n” chorale. Measure 220 begins a march-like section. A difference from Beethoven, though, is there is no hint of parody, as in the Turkish march found most of the way through the last movement of the Ninth. This music builds to m. 310.
Again, a reference to martial music–instead of Beethoven’s Janissary orchestra, we have essentially an offstage banda. Mahler, the opera conductor, seems to have borrowed this from Italian opera… anyone aware of any evidence for this? And the percussion is essentially Janissary percussion.
Measure 380 sees another theme–only appears once in the piece, but is highly memorable, and then the opening material returns, but this time in 2/2 instead of 3/8 (with some parts in 2/4). The music quiets itself to a return of what had been a short horn solo before–now a longer, more extensive passage that alternates offstage fanfares with birdsong material. The music is now centered on C#/Db. Mahler frequently seems to make this harmonic move.
At m. 472, the “Aufersteh’n” chorale makes its fourth appearance, as the full chorus enters for the first time. For the first time, the chorale is complete–the material on the text “Unsterblich Leben” is new to the listener. Measure 493 is a parallel passage to earlier music–a total of three times these two passages have been paired.
What follows is a cantata, a meditation on death and resurrection. It is, as I mentioned above, difficult to put into words. “Bereite dich zu leben!”–Prepare yourself to live. “Sterben werd’ ich, um to leben!”–I shall die so as to live! The sentiment is matched in beauty by the music. A favorite moment of mine is the entrance of the organ at m. 712 (I don’t think I’m alone in this).
In the end, the music is transcendant. I was discussing Orff’s Carmina Burana with a student a few days ago. There is wonderful music in that piece, and its popularity is deserved, but it pales in comparison to Mahler’s work. In a hundred years, which will survive? I think Mahler appeals to the human need to believe that there is more than this world, that there is something better than earthly struggles.