This recording is something of an enigma. Stenz, in the latest instalment of his Mahler cycle with the Gürzenich Orchestra, opens the Second Symphony with crackling intensity. Right from the rousing cello line in the first few measures, the Cologne forces are captured in crystalline clarity, the recording quality rendering not only the sounds onstage but also the acoustical feel of the Cologne Philharmonie.

But between the first and second movements that intensity suddenly dissipates, as if the act of switching discs somehow punctures the air out of the performance. The Andante moderato carries little of the urgency of the previous movement; by the time the Scherzo comes around, barely a trace of the performance’s initial character remains.

The biggest disappointment, though, lies in the singing. Although the soloists are quite fine – mezzo-soprano Michaela Schuster in particular offers an effectively understated performance in “Urlicht” closely matching Stenz’s generally no-nonsense approach – the combined choirs simply never rise to the occasion. Emotionally flat and homogeneous in colour, the chorus is devoid of musical spark, making a marked contrast to the text’s exhortations to “rise again”.

Nor is the problem merely limited to the performance. Although the naturalness of the first movement is drained by the end, it’s not simply that we’re missing Mahler’s grandeur, we’re missing any sense of balance among the musical forces and their relationship to the hall. The dynamic range is uncomfortably wide and the chorus often seem to be performing in a different space, so diffused is their sound with the orchestral forces.

One could imagine a situation like this in a live performance, where concentration and momentum occasionally sag, but rarely have I encountered a recording that varies so widely from beginning to end.