Antoni Wit completes his Mahler cycle for Naxos with the Eighth Symphony in an aptly celebratory interpretation – one that communicates a real sense of occasion. Wit is propulsive in the symphony’s first part (setting the Latin hymn ‘Veni, Creator Spiritus’), despite some awkward moments. The huge cadence at the reprise of ‘praevio vitemus omne pessimum’ (beginning at 3'04" in track 7) fizzles out, for example, and the conductor sails through the magical key change that follows without registering its dramatic import.

The sprawling second part (setting the final scene of Goethe’s Faust, Part 2) is paced with a surer and more sensitive hand. Wit’s orchestra doesn’t have the sonic depth and brilliance of Solti’s Chicago Symphony, say, but the Polish musicians play with tremendous fervour. The orchestral prelude, depicting the craggy, wooded region where the scene takes place, is spine-chillingly mysterious. It is as if one were entering a new, supernatural world. Of the vocal soloists, only soprano Izabela Klosinska disappoints; her straight, boyish tone sounds out of place and is not always in tune. The rest are superb, and Piotr Nowacki (Pater Profundis) deserves praise for his intensely expressive singing.

It’s a pity that Naxos had to spread Wit’s Eighth over two CDs, as it ends up being more expensive than Solti’s high-voltage Decca recording (now on a single mid-price CD) and costs about the same as Rattle’s recent EMI account (also on a single disc). Solti still has the most impressive line-up in terms of soloists and chorus, and thus remains the preferred budget version. Wit’s achievement is considerable, however, and devoted Mahlerians will likely find it a source of pleasure and satisfaction.