Gustav Mahler Eighth symphony

Biography Gustav Mahler Born July 7, 1860 in Kalischt, Bohemia Jewish Parents had 12 children, only 6 survived childhood Taught himself piano at the age of 4 First performance at 10 14 years old when he began his first composition, inspired by the death of his brother Herzog Ernst von Schwaben (Duke Ernest of Swabia)

Biography cont. Attended two music schools New Town Gymnasium – Was unhappy there so returned after a short time. Vienna Conservatory – Graduated from here in 1878 Anton Bruckner was professor here, although he never was his teacher, he attended many of his lectures Made a living as a piano teacher for a short time Composed Das klagende Lied (The Song of Lamentation) during this time, 1880 Preferred to compose in 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 Wrote the music for the hymn without having the words When he received the words, and added them to the music, it all fit perfectly as if inspired by God One of the greatest classical works of all time Written to be performed with symphony and choir 2 choirs, children’s choir, violas, cellos, double basses, piccolos, flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns, trumpets, trombones, tuba, trumpets, trombones, timpani, cymbals, bass drum, tamtam, triangle, organ, harmonium, piano, harps, mandolins, bells

Eighth Symphony Debuted in 1918 Gustav Mahler’s last work that premiered in his lifetime Immediate success with encore performance the next night Taken across Europe for 20 more performances 1916 debuted in the US 1918 debuted in Vienna

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

Listening Guide TRACK 2 0:00 Track 2 Intro – Verse 1   0:00 Track 2 Intro – Verse 1 Soprano vocalist with string accompaniment, Tenor softly heard under her 0:18 Building Alto and Baritone join other vocalists 0:37 Strings Strings 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 Soloists Begin with a confused harmony as the tempo picks up a little, with strings and horns 1:55 Strings Picking up the tempo a little more still 2:00 Tenor with Strings on top, a hint of chaos 2:25 Break All instruments but vocals drop out 2:36 Strings Strings start back in with more vocals 2:59 Tempo Tempo seems to double with cutting spurts from violins 3:07 Chorus Chorus begins with all vocals joining the strings, horns and soloists, building intensity 3:38 Percussion Percussion hits to inspire horns powering through 3:55 Flutes Chaos begins on the top with flutes 4:00 Gong Begins the gong to give the impression of time and music quiets to ppp

Listening Guide TRACK 3 0:04 Verse 3 - Haunting   0:04 Verse 3 - Haunting Ppp men’s choir begins so gently with gong and violins 0:24 Verse 3 Women join the men with a single violin piercing and confusing over the vocals 0:42 Vocals take over Soothingly the vocals move slowly and begin to soar higher, soprano and mezzo soprano 0:57 Resolve A short lived resolution comes here 1:05 Confusion Start back with confusion using vocals and strings 1:21 Choir Choir echoes soloists with strings played over 1:40 Building Enter the horns with sharper vocals, building, ff 1:54 End of Verse 3 All instruments cut off together, break in all music 1:58 Horns section-Verse 4 Horns begin the 3rd verse with a new melody and new feeling 2:12 Chimes Begin to gong with the instruments as if to keep time for what seems a sporadic rhythm 2:46 Violin and Flute Strings 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 5 Heavy bass enters to begin another chaotic verse 3:47 Tenor Tenor starts this next movement of voices with strings and flutes 4:19 End of sound But 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 Alto Are in unison to take our focus, slow tempo 5:00 Tenor Tenor in harmony with alto, soothing and calm with the strings then flute 5:22 Vocalists Join in to compete with each other, alto and strings in unison 6:01 Horns Horns begin when Tenor stops again to warn us of something powerful coming

Listening Guide TRACK 4 0:00 Chorus   0:00 Chorus Horns pierce through with familiar chorus and strings are chaotic, tempo picks up 0:20 Chorus Choirs join with the familiar chanting, ff 0:43 Children’s choir First time we hear the children’s choir 1:01 Hook Begins the horns on a new pattern, which we hear later in the piece 1:12 Orgen Punches through with the choirs, horns and strings, everything is very confusing and tempo has a pretty fast speed 1:45 Verse 6 Men begin on a new pattern, still chaotic and fast with all instruments 2:21 Soprano Soprano 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 3:00 New pattern begins again 3:09 Strong soloists and horns Slower tempo, different rhythm 3:19 Hook Choirs begin to battle again 3:47 Children Start singing through to add to the chaos 3:59 Symbols Crashing symbols, pushing though at the hight of the excitement of the music, all instruments, fast tempo 4:32 Tempo We begin to hear the resolution again, and the instruments move to harmonize once more instead of conflicting each other.