Aurora Orchestra/Collon review – reduced Mahler still packs a punch

The Guardian

07-04-2025

Back when Mahler's symphonies were still rarely played in Britain – and, yes, there really was such a time – Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth) was the most familiar of his major orchestral works. Much of that was the legacy of Kathleen Ferrier's inimitable recording of Das Leid's final song, Der Abschied (The Farewell) under Bruno Walter before her early death in 1953. But then came the Mahler renaissance of the 1960s and performances of The Song of the Earth – in effect a six-movement song symphony for tenor and alto – became part of the new and much more varied Mahlerian picture.
Renewed interest in chamber reductions of Mahler has been part of this change. Iain Farrington's version of Das Lied for the Aurora Orchestra is the latest example, and formed the centrepiece of this spring-themed concert under Nicholas Collon. As with Arnold Schoenberg's 20th-century version, completed by Rainer Riehn, the reduction is abrupt, with just a handful of solo strings and winds in place of a full orchestra. But most of the detail is still there, allowing the winds to be heard with particular clarity, and, under Collon's fluent and vigorous direction, it still packs a true Mahlerian punch.
Sometimes indeed, in the confined spaces of the Kings Place hall, the pummelling felt too fierce. Few tenors can expect much mercy from the conductor in Mahler's explosive first song, and Andrew Staples duly did his best to be heard, but the words were close to being lost in the mezzo's fourth song, Von der Schönheit (Of Beauty) too. Fleur Barron is a rich voiced mezzo, projecting the darker music of Der Abschied with noble effect, but it was a good idea to know the texts already in order to distinguish important passages.
Before the interval, Collon offered two characteristically interesting springtime contrasts. Lili Boulanger's 1917 miniature, D'un Matin de Printemps, pulsed gently and delicately, while Jean-Féry Rebel's Les Élémens of 1737 struck sparks. The Rebel was an opportunity to celebrate one of the French baroque's most daring pieces of harmonic experimentation, with its grinding lower strings, its daring Berlioz-level orchestral harmonies and its joyful birdsong, energetically delivered by the Aurora's percussionists.