Michael's Music Mondays

For this weeks pick, I have selected a short section from Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 2 in C minor, "Resurrection". In its entirety, the symphony is nearly an hour and a half. This particular recording is a short four minute recording of what is known as the "brass chorale" section of the piece. It was recorded by the New York Philharmonic in 1988, conducted by Leonard Bernstein. You will notice that the video begins with just brass instruments (trumpets, trombone, horn, and tuba) and is later joined by strings.
Enjoy!



If this doesn't send chills through your entire body, I don't know what will.

I'm sure if you actually listened to it, you already know why it is so powerful, so I will go a little bit more in depth in my reasoning.

This is simply the greatest passage of music that a brass player will ever play. Having played it once before, I don't think I will be asked to play as loudly ever again. One of the loudest moments in the history of music occurs from 1:12-1:37 in the video.

Mahler uses a wonderful musical technique at the beginning of this section to create the effect of something coming from a distance. The only instruments playing at that point are horns, trombone, and tuba. The sound is regal, but ominous. This is created by both the instrumentation (brass) and the constant flip-flop between major and minor chords.

Mahler also writes a long crescendo (gradually get louder) through this section, so the music is always going somewhere. Different instruments are added to the mix until the crescendo reaches its climax at about 1:37. Up to that point, the music sounds very angry and dark, and it is as if sunlight finally burst through the clouds at that moment.

While the brass continues the regal chorale, the woodwinds and strings have these light flourishes throughout the second half that embellish the long notes in the brass. Towards the end, the sun slips back behind the cloud and everything begins to darken again. Instruments are taken away until finally the harp is left playing its lowest notes all by itself.

I do hope you've enjoyed having your mind blown by the power of music. Come back next Monday to see the next pick in the series!