Urlicht

Mahler: Symphony No. 2, 'Resurrection' for soprano (Sibylla Rubens), contralto (Iris Vermillion), chorus (MDR Rundfunkchor Leipzig) and orchestra, revised 1896. Text: Des Knaben Wunderhorn.
Live recording where Roger Norrington tries to recreate the sound world which Mahler might have expected. The most striking features of this strategy are the 'German seating' (with violins opposite each other and basses across the back of the orchestra) and the 'Pure Tone' normal with all orchestras until the 1920s. Pure tone offers unanimity of sound, transparency, telling harmonies, and the possibility of far more engaged phasing and dynamics.