London Philharmonic Orchestra

Grisey: Quatre chants pour franchir le seuil
Mahler: Symphony No. 5

Vladimir Jurowski: conductor
Allison Bell: soprano

As he arrived at his Fifth Symphony, something was changing inside Gustav Mahler. Gone was the gentle, singing enchantment that had influenced his first four symphonic works. Suddenly Mahler’s orchestra was fighting for life, punching out with declamatory force and declaring a love that was so strong it hurt. Few works have the impact and beauty of the Fifth Symphony, but Gérard Grisey’s songs are also quite special. These meditations on death through poetry from four distinct cultural traditions use techniques to extend the expressive range of conventional harmonies, creating an extraordinary and luminous canvas of sounds that has proved unfailingly alluring.