Harding/BRSO M6 (BR Klassik)

[barry guerrero]

Has anyone else taken a listen to this? I think it's really very good. It's not how I'd conduct the work. But the more I hear it, the more I like it.

https://play.spotify.com/album/6bNUPwEhXiH2Z1yf59I7y4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u97ei2mmJ_Y

[Russell]

It is indeed very good--I like it a lot.  (I downloaded the 48/24 files from ProStudioMasters.)  But did you notice that Harding (?) adds a soft bass drum tap to augment the pizzicato strings at the very end?  Never heard it done that way before (and I don't like it!).  (It's sort of like the timpani thwack that some conductors add at the end of the first movement of the Rachmaninoff 2--I don't think it's in the score, and I don't like it either.)

Russell

[James Meckley]

But did you notice that Harding (?) adds a soft bass drum tap to augment the pizzicato strings at the very end?  Never heard it done that way before (and I don't like it!).

Hi Russell,

The bass drum tap at the very end of Mahler 6 is in the score (at least it's in the 1998 Critical Edition). It's an eighth note, marked piano.

James

[Russell]

Hi Russell,

The bass drum tap at the very end of Mahler 6 is in the score (at least it's in the 1998 Critical Edition). It's an eighth note, marked piano.

James

Good to know, James--thanks!  Harding's is the first recording in my experience to make that bass drum tap so prominent there--in fact, you can hardly hear the pizzicato strings.

Russell

[barry guerrero]

I think it's interesting that the movement begins and ends the same way, orchestration wise, although the dynamic markings are different. Also, the beginning note is a "C", not an "A". The beginning doesn't settle into A-minor until the soft tuba solo. But it's all interesting none the less - to me, anyway.

[akiralx]

Yes, this is an excellent M6, especially the Scherzo and Finale - some wonderful orchestral timbres especially from the brass.  A muscular performance, superbly played and recorded. 

Not sure I can figure out the cover though - was Harding attached to a cardiogram during the sessions?

[James Meckley]

Not sure I can figure out the cover though - was Harding attached to a cardiogram during the sessions?

It appears that he was, as was the percussionist in charge of the hammer. Here's my interpretation of the design elements on the cover:

We're looking at the spot in the Finale when the second hammer blow sounds—this is marked by the vertical orange line extending from top to bottom. At the very top of the cover is the time index. The thick black line below that is the audio waveform (or envelope, if you prefer) as displayed in the engineer's DAW monitor. The next group of lines (marked "Dirigent") are graphs produced by the conductor's heart monitor. The next cluster of lines (marked "Hammer") are graphs produced by the hammer operator's heart monitor. Finally, at the very bottom of the cover are the measure numbers corresponding to all of the above. And, of course, the block of German text contains Mahler's instructions as to the intended sound of the blows.

James