MUSIC: Mahler 2nd Symphony Finale (Bernstein/LSO)

 SUBLIME DIVINE ECSTASY

The best gift of Music I can offer you

This Music inspired today's photo set

This piece starts out really slow at first
And you might say, "BORING - NEXT!"
But STAY WITH IT
It builds and builds and builds
To one of the most intensely sublime climaxes I've ever experienced

I'm asking for 9 and a half minutes 

of your time and undivided attention

To truly listen to the finale of

Gustav Mahler's Symphony #2 "Resurrection"

This is the Sound of Ecstasy

Overwhelming, Powerful, Unbridled JOY

And like the drug Ecstasy

You'll probably want to hug and kiss everyone

When you finish listening to it

:  )

This symphony depicts judgement day

When all souls are freed from death

To rise to enter into eternal spiritual bliss

Here's an excerpt from what Mahler said:

"...The last trumpet sounds; the trumpets of the Apocalypse ring out. In the eerie silence that follows, we can just barely make out a distant nightingale, a last tremulous echo of earthly life. The gentle sound of a chorus of saints and heavenly hosts is then heard: “Rise again, yes, rise again thou wilt!” Then God in all His glory comes into sight. A wondrous light strikes us to the heart. All is quiet and blissful. Lo and behold: there is no judgment, no sinners, no just men, no great and no small; there is no punishment and no reward. A feeling of overwhelming love fills us with blissful knowledge and illuminates our existence.” (Source)

I first listened to this when I was 15 years old

I'd get tingles down my neck and spine

Everytime I listened to the amazing climax

Now that I am older

I cannot listen to this without tears and gasps

The more I've listen to it, 

the more sublime it has become for me

I realize this music may be a bit heavy

But I believe if you really give it a chance

And truly listen to all of it

You will begin to love it, too

Don't let anything stop you

Turn off your phone

Get rid of any distractions

This is supremely special

(It's how I feel about it anyway)

Don't let the slow beginning turn you off

Stay with it

By the end you may (hopefully) be thanking 

God, Mahler, YouTube, me - the Universe

:  )

I hope you get something special

From your journey with this music

 I often suggest that you listen to the music

while you continue viewing AOMMD

Not today

If you have time,

First

Listen and watch Bernstein conduct

(Watching him is a joy in itself)

Then
Listen to it viewing the photo set below
And if you are game

Listen again with your eyes closed

The more you hear this music

The more you will get out of it

Quotes from YouTubers about this performance:

-

"Just look at Bernstein's expression...

he's the embodiment of music itself?"

-

"It is perhaps the most sublime comfort music can offer: the hope that there is something beyond, something transcendent.  Maybe the belief that we are more than the sum of our parts.  Perhaps that spark of the divine that is in each of us found its expression in this music.  Whatever it was/is, it is magnificent." 

-

"This one symphony has done more to give me strength through hard times than any other music I have ever heard."

-

"I played this for my wife some 15 years ago.  She described it as "the angels opening the doors to heaven." 

-

"If I hear this live I am sure I would die."

~*~

Only 9 minutes and 16 seconds long

Gustav Mahler 

(1860-1911)

Symphony No. 2 in C minor, "Resurrection"

End of Movement 5  (The Finale)

Leonard Bernstein, conducting

Sheila Armstrong, soprano

Janet Baker, mezzo-soprano (she sings first)

Edinburgh Festival Chorus

London Symphony Orchestra

YouTube Direct Link: https://youtu.be/tf5fM1i3MGQ

NOTE: Headphones may give you the best sound quality

Depending on how your audio is set up

Whatever gives you the best sound, go with that

I LIKE IT LOUD!!!!

:  )

YouTube Direct Link: https://youtu.be/hBt-zZlUbEY

~*~

There is ampther video of the same performance
That is a bit better video quality
But the audio is just a millisecond behind their movements
So I finally decided to post this one
If you would like to see the other video on YouTube
Here is the link:

YouTube Direct Link: https://youtu.be/tf5fM1i3MGQ