Mahler Symphony No. 8 - Intro - Listening Guide

“Try to imagine the whole universe beginning to ring and resound. There are no longer human voices, but planets and suns revolving” (Gustav Mahler).

Part I is based on the (sacred) Latin text of a 9th-century Christian hymn for Pentecost, Veni creator spiritus (“Come, Creator Spirit”).Part II is a setting of the words from the (secular) closing scene of Goethe’s Faust. The depiction of an ideal of redemption through eternal womanhood (das Ewige-Weibliche).

The two parts are unified by a common idea, that of redemption through the power of love, a unity conveyed through shared musical themes.

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A listening guide of Symphony No. 8 - Intro with Lew Smoley.