Sir Colin Davis may not be an instinctive Mahlerian like Leonard Bernstein or Klaus Tennstedt but he is usually at his best in big choral works and this is certainly one of the finest Eighths of recent years. It contains so much that it is good that one regrets all the more the failings which must, finally, preclude a general recommendation. Sir Colin gives us a glowing, pastoral, sometimes episodic interpretation, less operatic than Solti’s and at the opposite pole to Claudio Abbado’s clear-headed, eminently sane (if rather too cautious) reading. Davis is surprisingly urgent in Part 1; the overwhelming final surge is quite the most exciting thing I’ve heard from him in a long time. That this is an (edited) concert performance must be a factor; and there are few of the ensemble lapses traditionally associated with live recording. One can quibble – it’s a pity the Bavarian percussion section doesn’t boast a better-tuned bell from 7'21'' – but the quality of the playing is uncommonly high, the Bavarians even outclassing their colleagues in Berlin, London and Chicago. Try sampling the exquisite articulation from the woodwind at the start of Part 2, the wonderfully confident horn playing later on in the bars leading up to fig. 20, the fragmentary string figures accompanying Pater profundus’s solo (even if Davis does fight shy of Mahler’s extravagant portamentos). The first 20 minutes of Part 2 come across as somewhat bland in Abbado’s performance. Davis prefers strongly contrasted tempos: the opening is daringly slow, with the bass-line well caught. It helps too that his choruses have more presence than Abbado’s, partly a question of recording balance, and that Leiferkus and Pape engage with the text rather than merely declaiming it. Throughout, the choral singing is impressive, the Tolz boys sounding more confident, more rhythmically incisive than for Abbado. The apocalyptic E major of “Accende lumen sensibus” blazes out with overwhelming fervour.
So a clear first choice? Unfortunately not. The performance is compromised by some woefully inadequate solo singing from the women. I see that I described Abbado’s team as “light-toned”, but at least they can sing pianissimo when required (which is often, despite the Symphony’s gargantuan sobriquet), beautifully, and in tune – qualities sadly absent here. The opening “Imple superna gratia” doesn’t bode well: Alessandra Marc’s soprano is not unendearing but she is also wobbly, squally and just too loud (the score reads p dolce espressivo). Worse is to come in Part 2. Goethe’s trio of anagogic penitents make for some truly purgatorial listening and Sharon Sweet’s Poenitentium and Ning Liang’s Maria Aegyptiaca are plainly not up to the job (Liang has to take the low G at fig. 138 on “deine Nahe nicht verweigerst”). True, the otherwise exemplary recording doesn’t help. Although it lends a natural sense of space and perspective to chorus and orchestra, conveying the feeling of massive forces in a large hall without fussing over the projection of orchestral detail one would rarely catch in live performance, the soloists are brought uncomfortably close. This is not merely unflattering (accentuating vibrato), it can be absurd (making every intake of breath clearly audible). I should say that Kasarova and Heppner more than justify their star status. But DG’s balance for Abbado’s soloists is much more realistic. This could – should – have been a stronger contender. As it is, I can imagine many listeners yearning once again for the security of Solti’s unbeatable vocal line-up. Others, moved, as I was, by Davis and the Bavarian Radio SO in the Fourth (RCA, 7/96), will know not to miss this generous, warm-hearted Eighth. It is being issued as a two-CD set for the price of one but you should be able to find it at mid price during its first month of release – a very real bargain.'