To celebrate the 150th anniverary of Gustav Mahler's birth, new works linked to the composer are premiered in Manchester's Bridgewater Hall. Colin Matthews was commissioned to produce a work for unacompanied voices, written for the Hallé Choir to be programmed with Mahler's 2nd Symphony.
What the composer says:
'Mahler has been the most important composer in my life for nearly 50 years, although his influence is rarely on the surface of what I write. Crossing the Alps is a case in point: not a homage to Mahler so much as a humanist response to the Second Symphony, a setting of words from Wordsworth's The Prelude for unaccompanied chorus.'
The Guardian (Colin Matthews), 10 January 2010
What the critics say:
'Matthews says he wanted to contrast Mahler's setting of the Resurrection Ode 'with an essentially humanist message.' This ten-minute piece - setting stirringly transcendental lines from Wordsworth's Prelude for eight-part chorus and a quiet, supportive organ - certainly didn't try to compete with Mahler for grandeur, or tunefulness. But I liked its mesh of constantly shifting, bitonal harmonies and its mystical atmosphere, well sustained by the Hallé Choir. It was rather like an updated version of Holst's Hymn of Jesus. And its musical response to the text was cogent and, at the end, quite moving.'
The Times (Richard Morrison), 1 February 2010
'Faced with the prospect of composing a companion piece to Mahler's Second Symphony, Colin Matthews turned to Wordsworth for inspiration. Written for the Hallé Choir, Crossing the Alps is a setting of a passage from The Prelude dealing with teh liberation of the imagination that comes with the awareness that 'our home is with infinitude and only there'. Matthews claims he did not wish to emulate Mahler, and that his 'essentially humanist message' is meant to contrast with the Second's idiosyncratic theology. Yet the choral writing has something of the majesty of the Symphony's resurrection chorale, and the work is deeply Mahlerian in its sense of wonder as its unfurling lines open on to unexpected harmonic landscapes. Conducted by Markus Stenz, it was sung with fervent expression and splendour of tone. It deserves repeated hearings.'
The Guardian (Tim Ashley), 1 February 2010
What the composer says:
'Mahler has been the most important composer in my life for nearly 50 years, although his influence is rarely on the surface of what I write. Crossing the Alps is a case in point: not a homage to Mahler so much as a humanist response to the Second Symphony, a setting of words from Wordsworth's The Prelude for unaccompanied chorus.'
The Guardian (Colin Matthews), 10 January 2010
What the critics say:
'Matthews says he wanted to contrast Mahler's setting of the Resurrection Ode 'with an essentially humanist message.' This ten-minute piece - setting stirringly transcendental lines from Wordsworth's Prelude for eight-part chorus and a quiet, supportive organ - certainly didn't try to compete with Mahler for grandeur, or tunefulness. But I liked its mesh of constantly shifting, bitonal harmonies and its mystical atmosphere, well sustained by the Hallé Choir. It was rather like an updated version of Holst's Hymn of Jesus. And its musical response to the text was cogent and, at the end, quite moving.'
The Times (Richard Morrison), 1 February 2010
'Faced with the prospect of composing a companion piece to Mahler's Second Symphony, Colin Matthews turned to Wordsworth for inspiration. Written for the Hallé Choir, Crossing the Alps is a setting of a passage from The Prelude dealing with teh liberation of the imagination that comes with the awareness that 'our home is with infinitude and only there'. Matthews claims he did not wish to emulate Mahler, and that his 'essentially humanist message' is meant to contrast with the Second's idiosyncratic theology. Yet the choral writing has something of the majesty of the Symphony's resurrection chorale, and the work is deeply Mahlerian in its sense of wonder as its unfurling lines open on to unexpected harmonic landscapes. Conducted by Markus Stenz, it was sung with fervent expression and splendour of tone. It deserves repeated hearings.'
The Guardian (Tim Ashley), 1 February 2010