Dagmar Pecková & Richard Samek - Mahler: The Song of the Earth (2018)

In contrast to Symphony No. 8, also known as the Symphony of a Thousand, another of Gustav Mahlers vocal-instrumental pieces, Das Lied von der Erde, speaks in a highly intimate language, full of tenderness and deep sorrow, mirroring the very essence of the artists soul towards the end of his days. The grief, reflecting the painful events in the composers life and expressed in a variety of shades in all the six songs, seems to dissolve at the end of the work in the repeated, atoned forever , a word opening up the infinite space following the life on earth. The internationally renowned Czech mezzo-soprano Dagmar Peckova has always cherished Mahlers music, as evinced by the highly acclaimed recordings she has made with Jiri Belohlavek, conducting the Prague Philharmonia. Her partners on the album are the tenor Richard Samek, whose voice is known to audiences at Europes prominent opera houses, and a chamber ensemble, instead of a large Romantic orchestra, for which Mahler scored the piece. In order to emphasise the works intimacy, Peckova opted for Schoenbergs chamber arrangement of Das Lied von der Erde. The recording has made the soloists dream come true, and thus added the final piece in the mosaic of her feted Mahler discography.