Symphony No. 3, in D minor, for contralto, women's chorus and orchestra
Mina Ballotine (contralto)
Chorus and Orchestra of I.N.R., Belgium
Conductor, Franz-André
Mahler described his Third Symphony as * a musical poem embracing all stages of development in progressive order, from inanimate nature to the love of God.' It is in two parts. Part 1 is an extensive opening movement, with the alternative titles ' Pan awakes ' and ' Summer marches in.' Part 2 consists of five shorter movements: ' What the flowers of the field tell me '; ' What the birds and beasts of the forest tell me '; What night tells me ' (a setting for contralto of Nietzsche's poem ‘Midnight,’ expressing the hopes and fears of mankind); ' What the morning bells tell me ' (in which boys' and women's choruses sing the old German folk-poem ' Three Angels were singing '); and finally ' What love tells me.' Deryck Cooke