Mahler and Purcell: what an odd coupling. Sir John Barbirolli conducts both composers with mixed results. His own heavy-handed arrangement for strings, woodwinds, and horns of some Purcell favorites lacks finesse and drive. The solemn conducting doesn’t make things better, although the emotional impact of the music still emerges in places (the Largo from Dido and Aeneas with the English horn replacing the voice in “Dido’s lament”). In Mahler’s First Symphony, Barbirolli’s nonchalant direction results in sloppy ensemble playing and dubious phrasing from the Hallé Orchestra, notably some shameless, cheesy “effects” from the strings in the last movement. The conductor overdoes the “doch nicht zu schnell” (but not too fast) tempo marking of the second movement, and the final “stormy animation” sounds earthbound and messy, elevating neither the listener nor the music. The new transfer (first stereo release) of this 1957 recording efficiently reveals the multi-layered sound perspectives of Mahler’s first masterpiece.
