Totenfeier (before R. 7- R. 10)
10)
Begins with (less) strings, timp roll, and
adds horns
1st and 2nd horns hand countermelody to 3rd
and 4th. This is accentuated by an
arpeggiated harp chord.
“sighing” woodwind figure passes from
flutes to oboes
During the above passages, the 1st and 2nd
violins wind through the end of the initial
melody, and provide accompaniment
chords.
Both sections end with a 1-5-1 statement in
the trumpets, in octaves.
Key Change- R.8
English horn solo, accompanied by strings
and bassoons
EH passes to oboe, with flutes, BCl, and
bassoon accompanying, and then viola and
cello taking over the melody under that
accompaniment
Clarinet duet emerges, accompanied
sparingly by harp, bassoons, horns, BCl, EH,
oboe, and violins in turn.
R. 9
Violas and Cellos take melodic figure,
accompanied by horns, bassoons, and the
other strings
The orchestra prepares for an extended
Bass Cl/EH duet. Violas and 2nd Violins wind
through serpentine eight note figures
(violins drop out), and cellos and basses
play a percussive dotted-eight/16th figure.
As the solo section continues, previously
heard figures are played in the horns, along
with a moving viola line.
With the end of the solo, most of the upper
woodwinds, the horns, and the upper
strings begin to phase in, building to a
pseudo-tutti moment at rehearsal 10.
Symphony no. 2 (R. 7- after R.
Begins with strings, timp roll, and adds
horns
1st and 2nd horns hand countermelody to
horns 3-6 (more). The same harp
accentuation occurs, this time split between
two players
“Sighing” figures pass from oboes to
clarinets
The 2nd violins initially are part of the mix
for the strings in this part, but once Mahler
brings more horns into the mix, he actually
cuts the upper strings down to only a few
players in the 1st section, with one player on
each note.
SAME
Key Change- R.8
English horn solo, accompanied only by
strings.
EH passes to oboe, accompanied only by BCl
and flutes, before passing to the violas and
cellos. (The bassoon later takes over for the
bass clarinet)
Clarinet duet remains, but accompaniment
becomes much more sparse, using only
harp, oboe, strings, and horns.
R. 9
Cellos alone take the melody, later
dovetailing into the viola part. They’re
accompanied only by violins and horns.
The orchestra prepares for this solo (in the
same pairing) in a similar way, with violas,
cellos, and basses providing the bulk of the
accompaniment.
The solo continues similarly, and the horns
accompany in the same way as they do. The
biggest difference here is that the violas
drop off of their moving line as the horns
enter.
The solo ends, and the same upper wind and
string forces being to phase into the
orchestra. However, in context of the
movement overall, this is a much less
Almost all of the forces Mahler asks for in important climax point in the symphony
this piece are used at this moment, Though than in Totenfeier. So by contrast, the
the real “arrival” doesn’t occur until impact at Rehearsal 11 seems larger.
Rehearsal 11