A rather “heavy” looking programme was a delightful experience. The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, under the baton of Riccardo Chailly, were in good form.

The opening of Messiaen’s Et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum really did sound from “out of the depths”. The percussionists and wind players together created a wonderfully moving experience.

The restated chant-like wind passages, with rasping brass and the sometimes frantic, other times static percussion produced a mesmerising sound world.  Messiaen’s desire to portray something of the meeting between the human and divine elements of life and death was certainly achieved. A neighbouring member of the audience remarked to me afterwards that he felt almost the whole hall had been in a meditative state. Anyone who says that Messiaen’s music cannot touch the soul should have experienced this performance.

The longer part of the evening was given over to Mahler’s  Symphony No 6 in A minor.

This four movement symphony showed the full orchestra in all its glory.  The symphony demands large resources which were all deployed well at different times throughout the piece, the two harpists adding an ethereal element, not unlike the mysterious cowbells heard at points away from the main body of the orchestra. Mahler makes precise technical demands of many of the instrumentalists, widening his already large palette of individual colours. I am afraid I found the view of one of the percussionists climbing a step at the back of the staging to deliver the two enormous hammerblows demanded towards the end of the final movement rather comic.  I know that was not Mahler’s intention and I am sure it was not the intention of the musicians either but do wonder about the placing of the instrument in such a strategic position!

Throughout the symphony there was drama, pathos, doom and uplift. A superb performance was given by an outstanding group of musicians. My only criticism is that I would have liked the concert to have ended with the Messiaen rather than the Mahler. SP