We owe the discovery of these hitherto unknown works
of Mahler to the assiduous detective work of the Dutch Mahler scholar
Dr. Willem Van Helder and the preparation of the scores to the indefatigable
British Mahlerites Peter and Matthew Marks. In his excellent notes Van
Helder recalls last year’s Utrecht Symposium when the first ever performance
of the "Versuch für Orchester" drew a standing ovation
from the audience for what was a performance by a largely student orchestra.
As a member of that audience myself I can only say I too joined in enthusiastically
though I did have doubts as to the wisdom of presenting what was such
a slight work on its own in a concert. Mahler is known for the considerable
length of his symphonic works so it must be said that a fully scored
orchestral work by him lasting just thirty-two seconds might seem like
short change at the best of times. With no other items on the programme
it seemed brief in the extreme. However, such is the power and reach
of this tiny work that its place in the canon seems secure. A work of
such extreme concision places Mahler even more firmly into the trend
leading towards the brevity of Webern and so represents a major discovery
in Mahlerian scholarship; though I would suggest that it would be better
if it was followed by another work of Mahler in the concert hall in
the future. At Utrecht we were hardly settled into our seats before
we were out of them again. Fortunately the symposium management had
laid on a considerable amount of refreshment and entertainment and I
was taken especially with the lavish selection of gateaux and tortes
that had been flown in from Vienna especially for the occasion. The
Sacher Torte was particularly memorable with the most divine chocolate
that I have tasted in many a year - truly Mahlerian in its richness
and variety. As too was the marzipan topping to a particularly delicious
creation by one Vienna’s most celebrated Pastry Chefs that had been
called "Wunderhorn Cake" by him for the occasion. Though I
must say that I thought the stylised caricature portrait of Mahler that
was etched in the inch-thick, diamond-hard crystal icing in cochineal
was a trifle near the knuckle.
It now seems certain that the "Versuch für
Orchester" was written in 1904, from the same
period as the Sixth Symphony, and that it probably records in music
a domestic incident at Mahler’s summer residence in Maiernigg. Though
precisely what that domestic incident was we may never know for sure.
However, the middle bars contain a very precise figure on horns that
the Marks brothers suggest does alliterate to the word "Gesundheit"
and the opening crescendo on timps followed by a crash on two sets of
cymbals and bass drum even suggests the sound of a large sneeze. It’s
certainly one theory but not one that I share. The fourteen-second closing
section, effectively the scherzo, is scored for a series of low and
fruity fff blows on trombones and tubas and we can only speculate
as to their significance. In all, this is a major discovery in Mahlerian
research and I was pleased to see that all proceeds from this recording
will go to the Rhinitis Research Fund based in Ashby-de-la-Zouch. Joan
Collier’s performance on this recording takes a full second longer than
the one heard in Utrecht. I should know, like many Mahlerites that night
I had my stopwatch running. On that occasion the British conductor Jamie
Hubble failed to really plumb the depths. Joan Collier does much better
and clearly the extra second helps a great deal. However, I can see
Mahlerites discussing for a long time in the future the precise clock
timing this work demands. One particular comment I heard after the first
performance struck me with particular force. "Lenny would have
made the minute," someone said, though it was a noted British critic
not known for his appreciation of Bernstein’s talents.
The unfinished "Phantasie auf englischen Themen"
dates from Mahler’s one and only visit to London in 1892 when
he appeared at Covent Garden to conduct Wagner’s Ring. It is unlikely
that he would have heard these tunes anywhere else. For example, a song
about a bunch of coconuts must have been quite a novelty to the young
man from Vienna. If this is the case he perhaps heard these familiar
tunes during a sojourn into the East End of London. The Third Variation,
for example, with the only known use by Mahler of the spoons, even suggests
to me the presence of Pearly Kings and Queens. Analysis of stains on
the manuscript by scientists at Vienna University have identified the
DNA of the common eel and a chemical constituent of the gelatinous substance
used to prepare them prior to cooking in certain cockney recipes of
the time. So just as the raspberry juice stains on a Mozart opera MSS
suggests Mozart wrote the work in a Summer house, the corresponding
stains on this score of Mahler’s might point to composition in a jellied
eel shop. The hammer blow in this section of course looks forward to
the Sixth Symphony. It is sobering to ponder the possibility that the
hammer blows later in the Sixth Symphony might, on this evidence, in
fact relate back to the shattering of a coconut shell rather than to
the negation of a cruel fate as we always thought. As ever, Mahler is
full of surprises. Perhaps the most memorable variation is the fourth
where Mahler sets "Klopfen Sie sie in der alten Kentstraße"
to his familiar Ländler rhythm and very effective it is too. Incidentally
the original manuscript score contains at this point a pencilled-in
comment not in Mahler’s hand. Graphologists consulted by Dr. Van Helder
are of the opinion that the writing is that of Bruno Walter and that
means the score must have been shown to him years later suggesting it
stayed dear to Mahler. As to the words themselves, the Marks brothers
at least are convinced these translate as: "Oh hell, Gustav, not
another bloody ländler!" The fifth theme clearly recalls the
First Symphony’s third movement. Indeed, apart from a different tune,
this is to all intents and purposes the same scoring as that movement
from the wiry opening double bass solo to the café band interjections.
In the symphony Mahler used a tune we know as "Frére
Jacques" but which Mahler himself knew as "Brüder
Martin". Here it is not "Brüder Martin"
but "Mütter Braun" that is featured with
the café band interruptions on the words "Unter der Tabelle
gehen Sie, ee-ay ee-ay ee-ay-ee" staying in the mind for many
days. A pity the work was never finished as I am sure the finale would
have pulled together the various themes of the work in a particularly
Mahlerian way. Perhaps at some point there will be a performing version
of the finale based on what Mahler may have done with it. My friends
Peter and Matthew spring to mind, so one day we may actually see the
concert billing: "Mahler’s Phantasie auf englischen Themen completed
by The Marks Brothers" on our programmes. We may never know why
Mahler didn’t finish the fantasia. Perhaps his return home cured him
of his interest in English melodies. I attended the first performance
of this work in Manchester late last year, again under Joan Collier,
and I knew then that, as with the "Versuch für Orchester"
I was in the presence of genuine Mahler. There were no cakes
that night, though, which was a pity.
This release is also a good shop window for the talents
of emerging conductor Joan Collier. A note by her in the liner booklet
dedicates this recording to her late husband who died so tragically
in Utrecht last year choking to death on a piece of cake icing. As a
recent newspaper headline announced following her London debut: "Joan
Collier, Joan Collier, the widow to watch!" The Beauchamp Philharmonia
really gets deep into the crevices of the music and deserve great success.
The CD is completed by a fine illustrated lecture from
Dr. Van Helder recorded at the Utrecht Symposium. In it he talks about
and plays fragments from other works by Mahler that he has discovered
over the years. These include a proposed setting of poems by William
Blake, an opera on the Dreyfus case, and the only known suggestion that
Mahler considered writing a concerto. If only he had told us what the
featured instrument was going to be. I cannot share Van Helder’s suggestion
that this would have been the Glass Harmonica.
Not to be missed.
Tony Duggan
See also
Tony Duggan's Mahler pages
