Concert review: Mahler Eight

Published on Sunday 5 September 2010 17:30

Mahler Eight **** Usher Hall, Edinburgh

Mahler's mighty Eighth Symphony - the so-called "Symphony of a Thousand" - brought the Usher Hall orchestral programme to a glorious finish on Saturday.

Everything was augmented to cope with the sheer numerical demands of the music: an enlarged Edinburgh Festival Chorus; the same RSNO Junior Chorus that had appeared in Mahler Three a few days beforehand; the increased forces of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra with offstage brass among the audience; and eight star-studded soloists; all under the magisterial direction of Donald Runnicles.

But this was more than a performance where size was all that mattered. Through its mighty journey from the earthbound hymn Veni Creator Spiritus to the sublime heaven bound vision that ends the Faust setting of Part 2, Runnicles shaped the detail and painted the big picture equally well.

Sure, there were thrills galore along the way. The electrifying opening by the chorus had that sense of physical impact we are hearing more and more as a result of Christopher Bell's uncompromising training.

When the full ensemble of soloists topped the climaxes, the sensation was mind-blowing. The soaring presence, high in the Gods, of ethereal soprano Nicole Cabell as the Mater Gloriosa, was spellbinding.

But there were moments of great sensitivity, too, particularly in Part 2, where the golden might of bass John Relyea and crystalline purity of soprano Erin Wall stood out.

Spreading the offstage brass around the dress circle didn't work balance-wise (I had an earful of three trombones). Otherwise, a night to remember.