mahler 9 – I. Andante comodo

Stuttering, arrhythmic, heartbeat rhythms in the horn and cellos, hesitant fragments of a melody in the distant french horn, then the rocking of the harp, and the first ineffably sad song of melancholic longing in the strings accompanied by restlessly rustling sextuplets in the violas. It’s the opening of Mahler’s massive, elegiac Ninth Symphony, and I cannot think of another piece which begins in such a place of desolation as this one.

I find that the opening of this symphony is so sublimely evocative of all that has been that is now lost – both in the sense of personal loss and also relevant to societal loss as well. Consider that this work was written a few short years before the outbreak of World War I. Something was in the air, and all the great composers, artists, and writers felt the winds of change.

Here’s the opening section of the first movement:

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The rocking sextuplets in the violas and pizzicati in the cellos accompany the song of the horn and violins for a relatively short time before the first of what Berg referred to as “eruptions of a volcano”. What is so wonderful about this movement and its various emotions is that everything is connected so organically. You rarely are aware, as a listener, of the mechanics of the symphonic form that are going on, only that the rich tapestry that is scrolling aurally across your inner ear is constantly shifting from deep purples to flashes of white, and anguished passages of searing, incandescent reds with no seeming effort.

Here’s the buildup to the first ‘eruption’:

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Remember that sort of stuttering rhythm in the cellos in the first example? It’s thought by some commentators that this refers to Mahler’s heart condition which was diagnosed some time before. Well, that motive comes back, and with a vengeance later in the movement – and remember that gentle rocking two-note motif from the cellos? now it’s jackhammered into our skulls by the timpani:

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One of my favorite moments comes after one of the most devastating eruptions, when the 1st flute the 1st horn have this amazing, sinuous duet – beautifully played in rehearsal today by principal flute David Buck and principal horn John Cox:

Here’s that moment:

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This is a giant movement – close to 30 minutes in duration depending upon the tempo chosen by the conductor, and it very much exemplifies Mahler’s admonition that a symphony must be like a world encompassed.

Tomorrow, movement II.