Hallé/Stenz

Faced with the ­prospect of ­composing a ­companion piece to Mahler's Second ­Symphony, Colin ­Matthews turned to Wordsworth for ­inspiration. ­Written for the Hallé Choir, Crossing the Alps is a setting of a ­passage from The ­Prelude dealing with the ­liberation of the ­imagination that comes with the awareness that "our home is with infinitude and only there". ­Matthews claims he did not wish to ­emulate Mahler, and that his ­"essentially humanist ­message" is meant to ­contrast with the ­Second's ­idiosyncratic theology. Yet the ­choral writing has something of the ­majesty of the ­Symphony's ­resurrection ­chorale, and the work is deeply ­Mahlerian in its sense of wonder as its ­unfurling lines open on to unexpected ­harmonic ­landscapes. Conducted by Markus Stenz, it was sung with fervent ­expression and splendour of tone. It ­deserves repeated hearings. Stenz's interpretation of the Second was tremendous if unusual. Rather than treat it as an anguished, introverted ­dialogue between faith and doubt, he presented it as a big sacred drama that has affinities with the ­ apocalyptic ­Requiems of Berlioz and Verdi. ­Measured speeds and steady ­momentum lent it something of the formality of ritual. Given that the work has a ­reputation for turbulence, one was struck by how serene much of it is: ­Urlicht, heart-stoppingly sung by Katarina Karnéus, became the spiritual centre of the piece. The second movement, more waltz than minuet, could have done with more edge, otherwise you couldn't fault it. It's ideally suited to the Hallé's weighty sound; they played it to perfection.