M8 orchestra only?

[hrandall]

Hi, I'm a new member and very recent Mahler fan.

The 8th is among my very favorites, and I've been thinking it would be interesting to hear just the orchestral part of the symphony. Is anyone aware of such a thing? The only thing I can think of is that maybe someone has got recordings of a rehearsal without the vocals.

Thanks!

[waderice]

My personal reaction as to the likelihood of such a recording like this existing is extremely slim.  At best, you would only hear the orchestra part only while in a rehearsal, and virtually all rehearsal recordings I have seen/heard throughout my 40 years of classical music record collecting where a chorus is involved includes the chorus.  Most rehearsal recordings released commercially must have the consent of the conductor, and I seriously doubt that most any conductor would want a rehearsal recording of a choral work to exclude the chorus.

I was recently involved in performances of the Verdi Requiem, and the conductor wanted to rehearse a couple of sections with orchestra alone.  It was very interesting to hear the orchestra alone in these excerpts.

Wade

[hrandall]

Wade,

Thanks for the reply. I guess it's a long-shot. Maybe I'll need to make a large fortune, and hire my own orchestra. 

Cheers,
Herb

[Roffe]

Hm, Mahler karioke. Interesting thought. Just for you and your 850 (or so) closest friends. The idea is not totally new, though. In the LP era many moons ago, I once saw an LP called "Music Minus One" for a piano concerto (I think it was Beethoven's Emperor concerto) with just the orchestra. You were supposed to play the piano part yourself. Obviously, the series was not a success, since I've never heard or seen anything like it later.

Roffe

PS. I just googled "music minus one" and it still exists. A search for "Mahler" only gives 4 songs (Frühlingsmorgen, Liebst Du im Schönheit, Lob des hohen Verstandes, and Wer hat dies Liedlein erdacht?), no M8.

[James Meckley]

A search for "Mahler" only gives 4 songs (Frühlingsmorgen, Liebst Du im Schönheit, Lob des hohen Verstandes, and Wer hat dies Liedlein erdacht?), no M8.

Roffe,

Surely the ultimate Mahlerian "music minus one" experience would involve singing along with the piano rolls Mahler made of accompaniments to "Ging heut' morgen übers Feld" and "Ich ging mit Lust durch einen grünen Wald," as well as the fourth movement of Symphony No. 4. Modern recordings of these rolls are readily available, including one made on Mahler's own piano.

The "music minus one" concept was quite popular during the early LP and pre-LP eras. More common than piano concertos were recordings of chamber music, such as a string quartet with one of the four parts missing. Naturally sheet music was included. Each major label had its own series—for example, Columbia called its version "Add-A-Part." I just dug out from one of the darker corners of my collection a copy of Beethoven's op. 18, no. 6 string quartet performed by the Rothschild Quartet with the first violin part missing. It comprises four 12-inch 78 RPM discs, and the included sheet music is a two-line "condensed score," one line containing the first violin part, and the other containing the most important details from the other three parts. It has a copyright date of 1940.

James

[sperlsco]

Hi, I'm a new member and very recent Mahler fan.

The 8th is among my very favorites, and I've been thinking it would be interesting to hear just the orchestral part of the symphony. Is anyone aware of such a thing? The only thing I can think of is that maybe someone has got recordings of a rehearsal without the vocals.

Thanks!

The Inbal/Tokyo MSO M8 has the soloists recorded well back in the mix (thankfully in some cases).  This is about as close as you get to having an orchestra (plus chorus) only version whereby many of Mahler's orchestral details are wonderfully fleshed out -- especially his specialty instruments. 

[Roffe]

Link to Inbal/Tokyo Metropolitan SO M8 video:

http://videolicca.com/videos/awbLgMGuoZM/mahler---eliahu-%C4%B1nbal---symphony-no-8-mvt-2-1-2

Enjoy

Roffe

[hrandall]

Thanks so much for the replies - the "music minus one" idea with the Mahler piano rolls is fantastic. I haven't (yet) picked up a copy of that but added to my list. Also, I'm checking out the Inbal Tokyo M8 videos now and looking into getting the CD if I can find it somewhere.

I have a feeling this "free" Mahler board is going to end up costing me a lot of money! 

Thanks all!

Herb

[hrandall]

Pardon another newbie question - but I'm having trouble finding anyplace other than Amazon Japan that actually has the Inbal M8 Tokyo CD available. Can anyone recommend a good source for such Japanese releases with shipping to the US? I've ordered from Amazon UK with decent results, but never tried Amazon Japan.

Cheers,
Herb

[John Kim]

Pardon another newbie question - but I'm having trouble finding anyplace other than Amazon Japan that actually has the Inbal M8 Tokyo CD available. Can anyone recommend a good source for such Japanese releases with shipping to the US? I've ordered from Amazon UK with decent results, but never tried Amazon Japan.

Cheers,
Herb

Try

www.hmv.co.jp

They are reliable, fast (except for a high S&H fee) and have lots of sales going on now.

John,

[barry guerrero]

Actually, if you can find the Wagasuki M8 from Tokyo, that one is ALMOST a music-minus-one version; that's how far out the vocal soloists are. I rather liked it. Maybe HMV Japan still carries that one. I think it was on the Fontec label, but I might have that wrong.

[hrandall]

Thanks for the advice. I have the Inbal M8 Tokyo on its way from HMV. No luck with the Wagasuki - that one seems very difficult to find.

I'll post some feedback when I receive and listen to the Inbal M8.

Cheers,
Herb

[hrandall]

I received my Inbal Tokyo M8 today from HMV Japan - and am first of all amazed at how quickly it arrived here in the US. Listening to it now. The orchestra is definitely quite prominent in the mix. I like it very much so far. I'm grateful for the advice, thanks everyone!

Cheers,
Herb

[hrandall]

I even kind of like Inbal's humming most of the way through the recording. :-) Besides that, I'm definitely hearing more details from the orchestra than in other recordings.

Cheers,
Herb

[sperlsco]

I even kind of like Inbal's humming most of the way through the recording. :-) Besides that, I'm definitely hearing more details from the orchestra than in other recordings.

Cheers,
Herb

I hope you're enjoying the performance as well.  I've posted on this one several times, as it has far and away become my favorite of all M8's.