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Das klagende Lied, Mahler’s musical coming-of- age, is a chilling fable of jealousy, murder and magic. An eerie woodland and a lively wedding ceremony are the centrepieces of a cantata of vast sonic imagination – a foretaste of the symphonies to come, heard here in its original three-part version. Mahler’s sonic scope meets its match in the musical spectacle of Pierre Boulez’s ‘majestic processional’ Rituel in memoriam Bruno Maderna. Dedicated to the composer’s long-time colleague and friend, the work transforms the concert hall into a temple, in which the audience is immersed in the sounds created by eight groups of musicians.

Russell Thomas © Fay Fox