I see most Mahler songs as being written with a male voice in mind in the sense that it's most often a male narrator. Sometimes that works in performances better than other times - in Kindertotenlieder the male voice in concert is extremely hard to bring out against the orchestra because of the range it's in, even though the texts are absolutely from the father's point of view. (I believe Mahler always had a male singer perform those songs in concert - even a tenor on one occasion in New York.)
I have the Bernstein/Hampson;
Me too, you will not be surprised to hear!
This disc also contains the
Rueckert Lieder...I think that
Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen is one of the two most beautiful songs ever written. (The other one is also by Mahler, it's
Wo die schoenen Trompeten blasen...which Hampson sings in a recording with Geoffrey Parsons.
My experience this afternoon testifies to the healing power of Mahler's Rueckert Lieder, esp. Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen....I was feeling really ill (having eaten a rather suspect take-away last night!
), and I switched on Radio 3 - it wasn't Hampson/Bernstein, it was
Christiane Stotijn, with the
Concertgebouw under
Haitinck, but the effect was the same...I lay on the bed with my eyes closed, and let Mahler heal my bruised sensibilities!
