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5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating for Fassbaender's singing, and the Klagende Lied remains a classic October 23, 2007
By Santa Fe Listener HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
This 1989 account of Das Klagende Lied became an instant classic, especially among British critics, the moment it appeared. Decca's sonics are excellent, and Chailly marshals his forces expertly. The Berlin Radio Sym. Orch., an ensemble he greatly improved during his tenure there, plays vividly, and both chorus and soloists are outstanding. I'm not sure that Chailly finds the most impact in the first movement, the weakest of the three (Mahler excised it from the performing edition in later years), and the gruesomeness of the second and third movements could be more grotesque. Chailly doesn't outdo Boulez's gripping acocunt on Sony for sheer brilliance. Even so, this deluxe version remains among the best overall.

I was more drawn to Fassbaender's traversal of Mahler's three song cycles, along with a trio of songs selected from Des Knaben Wunderhorn. She comes into direct competition with two other great mezzos, Janet Baker and Christa Ludwig, both on EMI. They are more womanly and yielding in their approach, and more varied in their emotional range. (Fassbaender is unable to be humorous or ethereal, two moods that Mahler frequently calls upon in his songs.)

But Fassbaender adds an anxious edginess, almost like a Berlin cabaret singer, that brings Mahler into the garish expressionist world of Schoenberg and Berg. Her plaintive tone suggests tragedy and heartbreak, even when she's supposed to be singing rapturously. The voice was in excellent shape in 1988-89, and although this Lieder eines Fahrenden Gesellen isn't as biting and anguished as Fassbaender's earlier account with Sinopoli on DG, it's searing enough to burn your ears. Chailly's accompaniment is decidedly less cutting; it exhibits his customary polish and refinement. In my judgment soloist and conductor mesh best in Kindertotenlieder, with the Fahrenden Gesellen cycle as runner-up.