Boulder – A great performance of Gustav Mahler’s crowning masterpiece, “Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth),” is a never-forgotten, transformative experience.
If Saturday evening’s MahlerFest XX presentation of the work at Macky Auditorium did not fully attain such an exalted level, it was nonetheless a rare and deeply fulfilling concert – one of which the festival can be justifiably proud.
The concert gave listeners the opportunity to hear a towering performance by one of the reigning baritones of our time, Thom as Hampson.
The Mahler devotee came here at least in part as a tribute to the often-underappreciated festival, which, despite a shoestring budget and volunteer leadership, has persevered in its mission to annually honor its namesake.
“Das Lied” is a musical hybrid that is perhaps best described as a song symphony – six orchestral songs based on German free-verse translations of Chinese poems. Begun in 1907 after the death of Mahler’s elder daughter and the discovery he was suffering from a heart ailment, it is a profound meditation on life and death.
Most versions of “Das Lied” feature a tenor and mezzo-soprano, but this one made use of the unusual combination of tenor and baritone, taking advantage of Hampson’s presence, and he did not disappoint.
With a big voice suffused with agile, elegant resonance, the baritone seemed at one with this music, insightfully responding to its every nuance, from the vulnerability and melancholy of the second section to the high spirits of the fourth.
But the soul of this work lies in the final section, “Der Abschied (The Farewell),” and Hampson and conductor Robert Olson captured the essence of this time- stopping music, which begins ominously with a series of death knells and ends on an uplifting, redemptive note.
Although overpowered at times by the orchestra and inevitably overshadowed by Hampson, tenor Jon Garrison nonetheless commendably held his own as the other soloist.
The MahlerFest Orchestra, a volunteer group of professional and semi-professional musicians, delivered its usual committed, focused playing.
Setting the mood for “Das Lied” was the first half’s Adagio from Mahler’s Symphony No. 10.
Fine arts critic Kyle MacMillan can be reached at
303-954-1675 or kmacmillan@denverpost.com.
