EIGHTH SYMPHONY Gustav Mahler

Biography Gustav Mahler Born July 7, 1860, Kalischt, Bohemia Jewish 11 siblings, 6 survived childhood At 4, taught himself At 10, began performing 14 years old began first composition

Biography cont. Attended two music schools  New Town Gymnasium  Vienna Conservatory  Became piano teacher  In 1880, composed Das klagende Lied (The Song of Lamentation) Summer composition shacks

Biography First – 1888 Second – Between 1888 and 1894 Third – 1896 Fourth – 1900 Fifth, Sixth & Seventh – 1901 to 1905 Eighth – 1906 Ninth – 1908 Tenth – Began working on it in 1910, incomplete

Eighth Symphony Written in only 8 weeks in 1906 Inspired by a hymn One of the greatest classical works of all time Written to be performed with symphony and choir

Eighth Symphony Debuted in 1918 Last work premiered in lifetime Immediate success Taken across Europe for 20 more performances 1916 debuted in the US 1918 debuted in Vienna

Mahler’s Handwriting

Listening Guide TRACK 1 0:00 IntroductionFirst two cords from the organ, preparing the listener for the power that is soon to follow 0:04 Chorus Intro – ChorusTwo choirs, all parts, 1 st and 2 nd, Soprano, Alto, Tenor Bass 0:08 Percussion and HornsEchoing the familiar phrase throughout the entire symphony 0:13 Stings enterAdds to the foreshadowing chaos that will happen 0:17 Men’s voices onlyOverlapping the women, the men echo the pattern of the women vocals 0:25 Women overlapOverlapping the men with the echo, as they build up the battle and intensity 0:38 Stings and menString orchestra pushes through with the men vocals and still build on the energy 1:12 Begin to resolveAll instruments begin to hold notes longer and slowly the volume backs down to p

Listening Guide TRACK 2 0:00 Track 2 Intro – Verse 1Soprano vocalist with string accompaniment, Tenor softly heard under her 0:18 BuildingAlto and Baritone join other vocalists 0:37 StringsStrings overtake the vocals with a familiar rhythm 1:03 Verse 2 cont.Choir echoes the verse from the vocalists, p, with some soft horns 1:22 Verse 2 cont.Haunting vocal from soprano 1:33 Verse 2 cont.Choir echoes again, p 1:45 SoloistsBegin with a confused harmony as the tempo picks up a little, with strings and horns 1:55 StringsPicking up the tempo a little more still 2:00Tenor with Strings on top, a hint of chaos 2:25 BreakAll instruments but vocals drop out 2:36 StringsStrings start back in with more vocals 2:59 TempoTempo seems to double with cutting spurts from violins 3:07 ChorusChorus begins with all vocals joining the strings, horns and soloists, building intensity 3:38 PercussionPercussion hits to inspire horns powering through 3:55 FlutesChaos begins on the top with flutes 4:00 GongBegins the gong to give the impression of time and music quiets to ppp

Listening Guide TRACK 3 0:04 Verse 3 - HauntingPpp men’s choir begins so gently with gong and violins 0:24 Verse 3Women join the men with a single violin piercing and confusing over the vocals 0:42 Vocals take overSoothingly the vocals move slowly and begin to soar higher, soprano and mezzo soprano 0:57 ResolveA short lived resolution comes here 1:05 ConfusionStart back with confusion using vocals and strings 1:21 ChoirChoir echoes soloists with strings played over 1:40 BuildingEnter the horns with sharper vocals, building, ff 1:54 End of Verse 3All instruments cut off together, break in all music 1:58 Horns section-Verse 4Horns begin the 3 rd verse with a new melody and new feeling 2:12 ChimesBegin to gong with the instruments as if to keep time for what seems a sporadic rhythm 2:46 Violin and FluteStrings are plucked and short spats from a flute 3:10 “Smooth violins and gentle flute take us down to a smoother rhythm 3:25 Verse 5Heavy bass enters to begin another chaotic verse 3:47 TenorTenor starts this next movement of voices with strings and flutes 4:19 End of soundBut only for a moment, as we have a chance to breath 4:20 Verse 5 cont.Strings and all soloists compete with the melodies 4:51 Strings and AltoAre in unison to take our focus, slow tempo 5:00 TenorTenor in harmony with alto, soothing and calm with the strings then flute 5:22 VocalistsJoin in to compete with each other, alto and strings in unison 6:01 HornsHorns begin when Tenor stops again to warn us of something powerful coming

Listening Guide TRACK 4 0:00 ChorusHorns pierce through with familiar chorus and strings are chaotic, tempo picks up 0:20 ChorusChoirs join with the familiar chanting, ff 0:43 Children’s choirFirst time we hear the children’s choir 1:01 HookBegins the horns on a new pattern, which we hear later in the piece 1:12 OrgenPunches through with the choirs, horns and strings, everything is very confusing and tempo has a pretty fast speed 1:45 Verse 6Men begin on a new pattern, still chaotic and fast with all instruments 2:21 SopranoSoprano soars over with the orgon, powerfully, with one choir singing p under 2:30 Verse 6 cont.All instruments join again, very chaotic, fast past 3:00New pattern begins again 3:09 Strong soloists and hornsSlower tempo, different rhythm 3:19 HookChoirs begin to battle again 3:47 ChildrenStart singing through to add to the chaos 3:59 SymbolsCrashing symbols, pushing though at the hight of the excitement of the music, all instruments, fast tempo 4:32 TempoWe begin to hear the resolution again, and the instruments move to harmonize once more instead of conflicting each other.

Sources Wikipedia.org. Mahler, Gustav. ef-Cooke7_2-0 ef-Cooke7_2-0 Carr, Jonathan (1998). Mahler: A Biography. Woodstock, New York: The Overlook Press. Franklin, Peter, Deane Root, ed., Mahler, Gustav, Grove Music Online