G. Mahler - Symphony 3 - 6th Movement - A Descriptive Walkthrough (C. Abbado & Lucerne FO) 

Mahler's music is Heavenly

Thank you!!! 😭😭😭

ABABA Form Thematic material A 00:00 Theme A1 - warm and gentle embrace of Love 1:26 most vulnerable moment of the theme 1:50 Theme A2 - a sibling of Theme A1, higher in register. Humility and peace. Theme A1 sings quitly underneath Theme A2, making for gorgeous counterpoint, as if 2 angels are taking to each other. 3:08 Linking material to Thematic Material B Thematic material B 3:25 Theme B1 - shy and timid in character, now in a minor key in contrast to major themes A1 and 2 4:03 Theme B1 layers on top of itself, searching for the right path forward 4:33 Mahler slightly modifies Theme B1 , now making it more willing to explore new territory 5:20 some uncertainty is forming…. 5:31 Have we wondered out to dangerous territory? Uncertainty grows! 6:11 words can’t explain the beauty of this resolution. Theme B1 finds its piece. With this resolution we start the linking material back to Thematic Material A. 6:30 Mahler uses fragments of theme A1, teasing its return 6:55 Music gathers strength, which is expressed by using lower , richer registers then before in this motif (00:43). 7:20 We start to ease back into… Thematic material A 7:40 Theme A1 in its initial form is softly played by the cellos underneath clarinet solo theme A2 , now in an inverted form. The 2 voices again represent Love and the Devine, but now with vivid expression. The appearance of A is rather short lived as again we turn to… Thematic material B 8:52 Theme B1 now appears in the brass, cooler in tone, embellished by different supporting motifs, again layering on itself 9:21 first appearance of Theme B2! A simple, down to earth tune full of humility 9:48 The theme now gets a lively pulse, forming a dance of sorts, which gains momentum, but melts back to… 10:23 theme B1, which after slight hesitation gains an unsettled character, switching between worry and comfort 12:04 an incredibly moving embrace of Love… 12:30 which is suddenly crushed! 12:43 strings outcries of desperation… 13:01 a chilling resolution of peaceful major, as we enter the linking material to A…how intimate this music is. 13:50 Mahler again teases fragments of Theme A1, which grows to the comeback of the outpouring which was crushed minutes ago - how fearless the music is… 15:07 Only to be crushed again. The most devastating moment of the movement 15:50 out of nothing a flute appears. This solo might be one of the loneliest solos in the romantic repertoire 16:17 Violin tremolo and cello pizzicato translate hits of uncertainty and suspicion, but… Thematic material A 16:30 We find a noble return of theme A1, now in a chorale form. Chorale flows seamlessly with nothing in its way… 18:22 Gorgeous harmonies played out again by low brass 18:42 the longing, bitter sweet rise for the ultimate embrace of Love 19:06 Coda Triumph! Themes A1 and A2 (inverted again) sing together expressing heavily beauty of Love 20:34 A typical Mahlerian pull back of dynamics before concluding the monumental movement.