Marches, Songs, and Dances of the Night: A Listener's Guide to Mahler's Seventh Symphony
by Kelly Dean Hansen
FIRST MOVEMENT: Langsam - Allegro risoluto, ma non troppo
4/4 and 2/2 Meter, later 3/2. B Minor - E Minor.
The first movement of the Seventh is the most harmonically and tonally ambiguous movement Mahler ever wrote. It begins and ends in different (but related) tonal centers, and because it opens the work, this makes the Seventh the most difficult Mahler symphony to assign a "central" key. The extended introduction is in B minor, the main section in E minor, and the secondary theme initially in C Major (which is the symphony's ultimate goal, also the key of Nachtmusik I). More interesting is the fact that the entire 24-minute movement largely remains in these three key centers—B, E, and C, plus two more, G and E-flat. This reveals that the movement is built upon third relationships: C-E (or E-flat)-G-B, with C and G secondary to E and B. The sonata form is also fluid, since the opening of the development resembles a varied repeat of the exposition. Mahler also uses time signatures to delineate the characters of the basic ideas. Cut time is used for the faster sections, and 4/4 for the introduction and the slower secondary theme. Although an Allegro movement, there is perhaps an equal amount of slow and fast music.
The long introduction consists of two main ideas. First, over the dotted rhythms inspired by oars in the water, the jagged arioso of the tenor horn is played "with great tone." This instrument, whose distinctive sound somewhat resembles a cross between a horn and a trombone, is only used in the introduction and its later reprise. After the tenor horn melody is developed extensively by various instruments, the second idea, a memorable march tune, emerges that will return in the main body of the movement. A brief but forceful move to E-flat minor anticipates the main Allegro theme, and the tenor horn itself (back in B minor) returns to round off the introduction. The "rowing" dotted rhythms gradually increase in speed and intensity, introducing the main theme and moving from B minor to E minor.
It is not difficult to tell that the main Allegro theme is closely related in both character and contour to the tenor horn arioso of the introduction. The dotted rhythm even remains as a background, and the second half of the theme briefly turns back from E to B. Introduced by the strings, it now has a martial character. Before long, the momentum subsides in preparation for the secondary theme in C major, a beautiful melody played by the violins accompanied by horns. The full potential of this theme is not immediately obvious, and will be revealed at the end of the development. The melody contains several fermatas, or pauses, lending it an intensely yearning character. After reaching a climax, it is succeeded by the third or closing theme, which is none other than the march theme from the introduction, now in G major.
The march leads back to E minor and a nearly literal repetition of the main theme. De La Grange noted that this passage is both a varied exposition repeat and the beginning of the development section. Floros actually analyzes it as part of the exposition, beginning the development midway through de La Grange's "varied repeat," at the point where the repeat begins to vary. Here, the music moves to the opening B minor and remains there for some time, working with both the main and secondary themes, as well as the introduction material. Midway through the development (and the movement!), after La Grange's "varied repeat," comes the most interesting section of the movement, and clearly its "center." The music moves subtly back to 4/4 in preparation for another slowing of tempo. The tonality shifts away from B toward G. The closing or "march" theme suddenly appears, followed by previously unheard trumpet fanfares and signals.
These signals include the famous chains of fourths that sounded so modern to Schoenberg. They lead to a real slowing of the tempo, a return of the dotted rhythm, and the first motion to the key of E-flat. The march/closing theme is magically transformed into a solemn chorale, which Floros called a "religious vision." The chorale is interrupted twice, first by the fanfares that introduced it, and then by a brief quick passage in G for solo violin based on the main theme. The "religious vision" returns more intensely after this interruption, complete with fanfares and fourth figures. Here, the fourths sound even more modern, eerily anticipatory of now clichéd music often associated with space and science fiction TV and movies! In the midst of this, a harp glissando leads to the opening tonality of B, but it is now a resplendent B major, a broad and radiant transformation of the yearning secondary theme with continuing harp figures and undulating arpeggios in the low strings. If the previous passage was a "religious vision," than surely this B-major passage is heaven itself!
Just when it appears that this heavenly music is going to land on a satisfying cadence, it is interrupted in the most jarring manner possible—with the dotted rhythm and repeated notes of the introduction. Or is it so jarring? The music is already in B, the key of the introduction, and the dotted rhythms had been in the background of the entire "religious vision." Nonetheless, the interruption of the cadence abruptly ends the glimpse of heaven. The tenor horn returns for its arioso, and new solos on the trombone make the atmosphere more solemn than the opening of the movement—as it should be after the preceding music. Floros ends the development here, but de La Grange considers this reprise of the introduction to be a transition to the recapitulation, not part of it. This seems to have merit, for the introduction is not only highly varied, but the march theme does not appear at all. In addition, references to the secondary theme appear that were not in the original introduction, and the music remains largely in B major, not minor. The buildup to the fast tempo and the main theme is also much more full and rich.
The recapitulation of the main theme itself is also much grander than before, beginning with references to the "heavenly" music in the background. The second theme, having been transformed at the end of the development, retains much of the character of that transformation in its reprise, now not in C, but the other "secondary" key of G major. The march, previously in G, returns after a final turn to E. The majestic coda begins with a broadening of the meter to 3/2 coinciding with the appearance of the snare drum and other percussion. The dotted rhythm of the opening pervades this passage, the brass presenting the broadened main theme against high woodwind figures. The 3/2 passage concludes with a broadly triumphant rising trumpet figure, introducing the final flourish with the return to duple meter. A similar rising figure in the trumpet precedes the final joyous turn to major for the final five bars.
SECOND MOVEMENT: Nachtmusik I. Allegro moderato
4/4 Meter. C Minor/Major.
Rembrandt's "Night Watch" and the poetry of Eichendorff are often cited as indicators of the mood of this first "night music" movement. More a nocturnal march than a serenade, it is admired for its fine orchestral color and for its neat symmetrical form. The evocative introductory bars recur at important points, helping to delineate this symmetry. The main march sections alternate with two contrasting trio sections according to the following scheme where "I" indicates the introductory music: I-A-B-I/A-C-I-C-I/A-B-A-I. The sections marked "I/A" indicate that these particular returns of the main material are preceded by brief transitions based on the introduction. The movement also marks the closest link to the previous symphony, including two appearances of the cowbells and three of the "major-minor" chord motion that recurred as a motto throughout the Sixth.
The introduction itself consists of two elements: first, a set of horn calls and their answers, specifically marked by Mahler. The answers are given by a muted horn, creating the illusion of distance. Second, a distinctive "bird-call" music from the woodwinds. These bird songs increase in intensity, and are then combined with the "horn call" music, now given by the tuba. The introduction culminates in a huge descending chromatic scale over the first appearance of the "major-minor" motto. The bird call music will gain in importance over the course of the movement, trumping the highly distinctive main march theme in the end.
This main march is a pleasant tune which simply cannot be assigned to either the major or the minor mode. It is in C, but the tune uses the notes from the minor and major scales in about equal proportion. First given by the horns and imitated by the cellos, it is accompanied by a distinctive rhythmic pattern: DUM-da-da-DA-DA-DUM. First heard in the strings, playing with the backs of their bows, this rhythm had been previously used as the driving force behind the song "Revelge" from Des Knaben Wunderhorn. The march has a contrasting element that is first heard in the low strings. Almost more "march-like" than the main melody, this element will also gain in importance. Finally, the original march is given by the full orchestra before settling back down.
The first trio section, in the key of A-flat major, is in the character of a popular song. It is played by the cellos and accompanied at first by triplet rhythms in the horns. The song is in three distinct "verses" which are similar but not identical. It comes to a complete close and is followed by the first of the thinly scored "transition" sections based on the introduction. The horn calls and their answers return, and they are now accompanied by the first appearance in the symphony of the cowbells, far in the distance. A variant of the contrasting element of the main march overlaps the cowbells, and introduces the return of the march itself, now accompanied by figuration in the low strings derived from the "bird call" music. The "Revelge" rhythm is present again. The second half of the march moves to the violins, with the clarinets playing the bird calls, which continue as an introduction to the second trio after the march again subsides.
Trio II is in F minor and is a plaintive duet between the two oboes with the "Revelge" rhythm really coming into its own, now played by the horns. The clarinets again intrude with the bird calls, now more in the style of fanfares, and lead to a large interruption of the oboe duet. This interruption consists of the entire second part of the introduction, again leading to the chromatic scale and the major-minor motto. It also marks the center of the symmetrical movement. The oboe music returns after the scale, now in the home key of C, and incorporating the English horn. The clarinets are even more assertive with their fanfares.
The transition back to the main section is perhaps the most magical passage of the movement. The low-string contrasting element of the march begins to assert itself quietly against fragments of the bird calls in the flute and strange interjections from the harp. Out of this, the march returns in a new splendor, played by the full orchestra. There are of course variations. The full woodwinds enter at a climactic point with a huge counterpoint of the birdsong music, and the march itself eventually acquires a new dotted-rhythm variant. The low-string element is heard again, with the bird calls now in the violins, the main march music in the winds, and the "Revelge" rhythm quite unexpectedly on the harp. The clarinets later take this rhythm, then the bird calls again.
The return of the first trio, again in A-flat, is also varied, and now includes the "Revelge" figure, which had been excluded from this section before, as well as a new countermelody in the winds that develops yet again into the bird calls. The main melody is played by the violins, then the flutes, the accompanying triplets taken by pizzicato violas. The entire section is much more rich and full than it was the first time around. At the climax, the cowbells make their second and last appearance, now within the orchestra. After a final abbreviated statement of the main march featuring the new dotted variant, the introduction music interrupts a final time, now serving as the movement's coda. The final statements of the "Revelge" rhythm are heard in the English horn and bassoons, and then the bird calls, now explicitly marked as such by Mahler, are heard in flutes, clarinets, and low strings. Finally, they pass to plucked violins and cellos, which are heard together with the final major-minor motto in the trumpets. This eerie and unexpected transformation of the music that has so pervaded and punctuated this movement leads to its close. Strokes on the cymbal and gong over a very low horn note are followed by a high unresolved "G" played as a harmonic overtone by the cellos. Since G is the note providing the strongest expectation of resolution in the key of C, this ending is not only strange, but seemingly incomplete. The march and the bird calls have been transformed in anticipation of the spookier mood of the following movement, the Scherzo.
THIRD MOVEMENT: Scherzo. Schattenhaft
3/4 Meter. D Minor.
While there are several Mahlerian symphonic movements that could accurately be described as "strange," some of them scherzo-type movements, it would be difficult to argue against the description of the Seventh's scherzo as the strangest of all. The German tempo marking means "shadowy," and coming between the two night pieces, it perhaps represents the darker, more eerie aspects of the nocturnal journey. The movement is also a "shadow" of the scherzi from the previous two symphonies. Formally simpler and much shorter than either, it incorporates both the wild dances typical of the Fifth's huge central scherzo and the "spooky" or "eerie" qualities of the one from the Sixth. To these it adds perhaps his most creative and colorful orchestration.
The form of the piece is much closer to the three-part classical scherzo than its predecessors in the Fifth and Sixth. The primary difference is that the entire main scherzo is given a varied repetition before the entry of the central trio section. The explicit "Trio" label found here is unusual for Mahler, and is also not to be found in the previous two symphonies. The trio is followed by a threefold reprise of the scherzo material, the last one gradually taken over by the trio music before the end.
The scherzo music consists of four elements. First is the skeletal introduction, beginning with an unusual duet between timpani and cello/bass pizzicato. The former plays on the third beat of each measure (including the very opening upbeat), the pizzicato strings on the downbeats. Mahler is very careful to differentiate between accented and unaccented notes. Gradually, wind instruments begin to enter on the middle beats before the violins begin the main scherzo theme. These few introductory notes, presented in the weirdest way possible, are enough to outline the primary key of D minor. The main theme (second element) consists of rapid and quiet triplet scale figures in the violins against a dotted rhythm in the winds and lower strings. More motivic than thematic, this material rises quickly to a brief climax before settling back down.
The third element enters against the continuing string triplets. It is a plaintive melody marked "klagend" ("lamenting"), presented by flute and oboe. The fourth and final element is a waltz, clearly identified by the characteristic repeated chords on beats two and three. It is a rather grotesque waltz, though, making the corresponding waltz theme from the Fifth's scherzo sound like Johann Strauss by comparison. As with so many other passages in this symphony, the waltz is in a mixture of major and minor modes. The first presentation of the major-minor waltz is rather short, and it is followed by a varied repetition of all four elements. This time, the introduction introduces a bit more rhythmic variety, as well as the interesting tone color of horns playing with the timpani beats. The main theme features another strange sound, that of a solo string bass, and underneath the "klagend" melody, the principal violist plays the first of three large solo passages in the movement. The major-minor waltz is now expanded, incorporating the other two elements of the scherzo and rounding off with a new and very distinctive descending figure, passing from oboes to clarinets to bassoons and given the extraordinary marking "kreischend" ("shrieking"). The "kreischend" figure will gain importance in the trio and then the return of the scherzo. A brief return to the string triplets of the main theme after the "shrieking" serves as a transition to the trio.
The trio seems at first to be completely removed from the scherzo, with its sweet oboe melody in the major mode. This melody is however a clear variant of the "klagend" theme from the main section. Two phrases of the trio theme are presented, each one followed by a parenthetical reference to the "kreischend" figure just heard. Then comes a surprise. A new element, serving as the central section of the trio, is a clear reference to the primary rhythm of the first movement! This reference provides a continuous link through the odd-numbered movements, since the finale also makes reference to the first movement at the end. In addition to the first movement reference, this new element is also clearly linked to the major-minor waltz from the main scherzo. It includes the second large viola solo, and incorporates a few more references to the "kreischend" figure before the principal theme of the trio returns, played in a new and even warmer variant by the cello section. It is yet again rudely interrupted by the "kreischend" material, which ends the trio section.
The reprise of the main scherzo section is threefold, but only the second of these repetitions is complete. Talia Berio calls the first and third ones "false recapitulations." Indeed, the first of these, immediately following the trio, includes only a brief statement of the main triplet material (and none of the introduction) before a variant of the "klagend" melody is heard in E-flat minor, amazingly the first divergence from the home tonality of D. This motion away from D, and the absence of the waltz, make this return "false." The "true" reprise comes with a very loud timpani stroke and the introduction material, now including descending chromatic scales played by pizzicato strings. The main triplet element is presented by the solo viola's last and largest appearance. The "klagend" passage reverses the roles of the instruments, the strings now taking the lamenting melody and the winds continuing the triplet motion. The major-minor waltz is again extended with material from the other two elements, but now moving briefly to B-flat minor, the second and final divergence from D. As expected, it is rounded off with the "kreischend" figure again.
The third reprise (the second "false" one) begins with the most extraordinary orchestral gesture of all. The cellos and basses are instructed to play a pizzicato B-flat and to pluck the strings so hard that they rebound against the fingerboard. This technique, now known as the "Bartók pizzicato" because that composer used it so much, is used here for the first time in western music history, long before Bartók made it his own. Mahler marks the stroke fffff, a Tchaikovsky-like superlative that is very atypical of Mahler. It precedes another brief passage of the main triplet material, and the "klagend" phrase is omitted. The major-minor waltz, however, is now combined with the final version of the trio theme that had been played by the cellos, now rather coarsely transformed as it is blasted by trombones and tuba against the waltz theme in the strings. With the trio music introduced, it now provides the material for the rest of the movement. While the rhythm of the waltz remains in force, the reference to the first movement, which was clearly related to the waltz in the trio, is now heard, along with the "kreischend" figure, before the trio theme returns for a final time, now again in the cellos and with the original warmth. This warmth dissipates quickly now, as the waltz rhythm, the first movement references, and shadows of "kreischend" become more and more skeletal and bare. The final sound is the same as that which opened the movement: a timpani stroke followed by pizzicato strings (now a chord from the violas rather than a single note from the lower strings), a final punctuation after the music dies away.
FOURTH MOVEMENT: Nachtmusik II. Andante amoroso
2/4 Meter. F Major.
If the first "Night Music" is a nocturnal march or patrol, and if the Scherzo is a stylized picture of the spooky or "shadowy" elements of the night, then this second Night Music is an even more stylized serenade. It is so stylized, refined, subtle, and delicate, in fact, that its pure "serenade" character seems to be almost a parody of itself. This creates a certain emotional detachment that sets the movement apart from, say, the overt intimacy of the Fifth Symphony's Adagietto movement. Nowhere was Mahler more understated or masterful in his orchestration than here. The bright brass, except for horns, as well as all percussion, are entirely absent, and the winds, though prominent, are reduced. Most notably, Mahler for the first time calls for the "intimate" plucked-string instruments—guitar and mandolin. As noted by Schoenberg, who greatly admired this movement, while the parts for these are not at all virtuosic or brilliant, their sound is vital for the character of the piece, and far more than mere "color" or "effect." The harp sometimes works with them to create a "plucked trio" in addition to playing its usual role.
The form of the piece, while clear-cut, is difficult to define. It has elements of both sonata and ternary form. There is a development section, but there is also a contrasting "trio," and while the trio is not a tonally closed section (as would be expected in a ternary form), the main section is (which would not be expected in a sonata structure). This creates a similar ambiguity in structure as was seen in the Scherzo. An expanded ternary form with an added development and a modulating trio section is probably the most accurate description of the form. The outer sections themselves reveal a clear A-B-A'-C-A'' structure. As in Nachtmusik I, there is a mixed major-minor feel to these main sections, but it is not as pronounced as it was there.
One of the most stylized elements of the piece is the opening string "refrain" beginning with a sweeping octave leap and coming to a complete close in three measures. This refrain marks important structural points in the outer sections, and while often varied, is always recognizable. Following the first refrain, the guitar and harp provide a background to fragmentary accompanying figures in the clarinet and bassoon. When the actual main "theme" (A) is finally heard from the horn and oboe, it is clear that these fragments, which resemble birdsong (a connection to the first "Nachtmusik"), are both anticipatory and derivative of that theme. The refrain, hinted at by the cello, appears again played by the solo violin and oboe, introducing the second element (B), which is a warm string melody. The third refrain is played by solo cello, and is followed by a slightly varied statement of A with the mandolin making its first appearance. Now the refrain is heard again, but higher and with more intensity, from the first violin, and section C, marked "Graziosissimo," follows. It is characterized by octave leaps and rapid descending figures, with prominent repeated C's from the guitar. The final appearance of A in the closed structure is played by the oboe, and is melodically inverted while the figures from C continue from the solo violin. Right before the end of the main section comes a remarkable chromatic solo violin passage marked "melancolisch" and then "veloce." This quick acceleration, with a clarinet interjection at the end, leads to a sudden pause before the music resumes and comes to a calm close in F.
The development section begins as the serenade reaches its final cadence. The first section begins with a low chromatic progression in both bowed and plucked strings based on the first three notes of the principal theme. This continuous half-step motion is quite unusual for Mahler, and creates a darker atmosphere as the distinctive fragments of the inverted form of the serenade theme enter. Here is the first time we hear the three plucked-string instruments (including harp) playing together, the mandolin introducing its distinctive tremolo for the first time. In the outer sections, the guitar is more prominent, but in the development and trio, the mandolin comes to the fore. The middle part of the development marks the first major modulation, to A-flat major, and introduces a new and brighter melody, the mandolin actually playing a melodic role here. The music reaches its first climax before moving to G-flat major for a return of the low chromatic progression, which closes the section.
The arrival of the contrasting "trio" section after the development represents a sudden shift of color from the dark ending of the inserted development. The horn and cello play a new and broadly flowing melody in the new key of B-flat, the clarinets introducing a new "birdsong" with repeated notes and the harp becoming very prominent. Like the development section, the trio is in three parts. Here the middle section moves to E-flat minor and the violins play an expressive passage in their lower register, the mandolin making its only appearance in the trio (from which the guitar is absent). The return of flowing melody, now in the home key of F, leads to a radiant moment, with harp arpeggios, that comes to rest on an unexpected A-major chord.
From this transfigured moment, the emergence of the opening refrain, introducing the return of the main serenade, seems jarring, being completely unprepared. The restatement of the main section follows the same pattern as before (A-B-A'-C-A"), but there are of course major differences. Notable among these are the augmented note values of the refrain preceding section B, and most importantly, the working up of the C section to a huge and exhilarating climax. This culminates in a high chromatic trill progression in the violins and abruptly recedes, a high C emerging in the violins, which is then rapidly repeated against the backdrop of horn, mandolin, and the final return of the inverted A melody in the oboe. The accelerating "melancholy" passage is significantly omitted.
De La Grange calls the coda one of the greatest by a master of coda composition. The main melody is played by the cellos as the clarinets and bassoon begin to play trills and arpeggiated chords are heard from the guitar. A high F is then sustained by the violins against thematic fragments from English horn, clarinets, and bassoons. This dies away, and the high F is repeated, staccato, like the C that emerged from the earlier climax. The bassoon plays one last shadow of the accompanying figures before the clarinet, so predominant in the movement, begins a last low, sustained trill. The low strings and flutes interject into this trill, and as the clarinet rounds it off, dying away, horns and bassoon help punctuate two final strummed chords from the guitar. This is the most peaceful moment in the symphony, a point of complete repose. No greater contrast could be imagined for the exuberant daybreak of the finale that immediately follows.
FIFTH MOVEMENT: Rondo-Finale. Allegro ordinario
4/4 Meter, also 2/2, 3/2. C Major.
The Rondo Finale is the most controversial movement Mahler ever wrote. Its checkered reception history is dealt with in Stan Ruttenberg's essay. Clearly the daybreak after the marches, songs, and dances of the night, it is also ambiguous in almost every way possible. It is both simple and complex, profound and banal, joyous and disturbing. The rondo structure is very clear, much more so than in the corresponding movement of the Fifth. Rondo form is based on a continual return of the "main theme," and the rondo theme group is heard no less than eight times. There are really only two episodic themes that alternate with this rondo group, regularly "taking turns" except for the brief developmental passage following the fourth rondo section. But the rondo itself is so rich in material and diverse that each repetition is vastly different from the others. Some commentators try to differentiate between "variations" and "refrains," but this is really not necessary. What we have is a simple rondo structure introducing more and more variation on each return. The bright C-major tonality resolves the ambivalence of the C minor/major of the first Nachtmusik and completes the "progressive" move from B to C. While C major dominates the movement, A major and minor are also very important, as are four more distant "flat" keys (A-flat, G-flat, B-flat, and D-flat).
The rondo theme consists of four main elements: (1) an introductory fanfare section presented first by the timpani, then the horns. Tonally ambiguous, the C major is not confirmed until the entry of the (2) joyful principal melody in the trumpets. This is immediately followed by the (3) horn chorale reminiscent of Wagner's Meistersinger and accompanied by rushing woodwind figures. Finally, there is a (4) downward broken scale figure, again initially presented by the horns, that will be varied greatly in the course of the movement and whose "banality" and possible overuse is the most criticized element of the movement. The initial statement of the rondo material closes with more fanfares derived from the introduction.
The first episodic theme ("B") is a pastoral, almost musette-like melody, whose similarity to Lehar's Merry Widow waltz has drawn some unfortunate and unfair derision. Its first entrance is in the key of A-flat, which follows the C-major ending of the rondo with a shocking abruptness without mediating modulation. The second return of the rondo theme returns to C major and begins with the Meistersinger quotation and includes a quicker 3/2 string variant of the broken scale theme. 3/2 meter is also used for the second episodic theme ("C"), whose first appearance, also in C, is marked Grazioso and almost seems like a parody of a minuet. This second subsidiary theme is almost always associated with the broken-scale figure, which accompanies it here. After a brief move to D major that develops the broken-scale passage, the third rondo section follows. More developed than the second, it features a strong statement of the broken-scale figure in the strings. The second statement of the pastoral theme B is radically changed and appears in the closely related key of A minor (the first of a very few appearances of minor in this movement). It now also incorporates the ubiquitous broken-scale figure, which is now associated with all three themes. The fourth rondo statement is quite short, beginning with the "Meistersinger" theme and using the fast version of the broken scales. Here the alternating pattern of episodic themes is broken for the most developmental passage of the movement. Both B and C are heard, the former in an abbreviated form of its A minor version, and the "minuet" C, also in A (major), using less of the broken scales than before and presented on strings instead of winds. A sudden loud interruption of the introductory fanfares diverts the music to the distant D-flat major, which will be an important key later and where the minuet continues for a few bars before the loud intrusion moves suddenly back to A. Now comes a forceful return of the broken scales in unison on the strings, leading into a flurry of scales and arpeggios. Back home in C major, what sounds like a new statement of the main rondo turns out to be the only real development section, combining the rondo, the fanfares, and the "minuet." But this is a very brief "development" indeed, which does not even move away from the home key.
The next three statements of the rondo theme, however, are not in that home key. The first (fifth overall) is in A, where all three themes have now been heard. It rather remarkably combines the fanfares, the main rondo melody, and the broken scale figures vertically, even including an "intruding" statement of the "minuet" on the trumpet. The fourth and final statement of "B" is in the distant key of G-flat. Closer to its original form, it is extended joyfully. The sixth rondo statement, in B-flat, brings the first introduction of the unpitched "low bell sounds" familiar from the sixth symphony. Rather short, it includes the strong unison statement of the broken scales and the succeeding scale/arpeggio rush. The minuet "C" now makes its third appearance. The trumpets almost mockingly play it in B-flat before a motion to C, where it is extended, the broken scale still making its mark. The main rondo theme makes an intrusion on the trumpet before the minuet ends, and yet another unison statement of the broken-scales follows, now with "Meistersinger" interjections from the horns.
The seventh rondo statement in D major again uses the loud bells, and the end is now near, but the inevitable surprise must come first. The rondo theme has barely begun before we hear something that should be familiar-the main theme of the first movement! Remaining in its original minor mode, its presentation is the most modulatory in the whole movement. Moving down the chromatic scale, it is heard in D, C-sharp, and C minor. While the first-movement theme is clearly recognizable, the broken scales are almost continually present under it. The "key descent" continues after some bell-ringing with the final unison broken-scale statement in B major and the first-movement theme, gaining energy, in B-flat minor, where the descent ends with a turn to D-flat major. The first-movement theme is now played radiantly ("strahlend") in what sounds like a final apotheosis. But the music must return home to C, and the way this is done is the final surprise: the minuet theme "C" jarringly shifts both key and character in a manner similar to the first appearance of "B." The interruption of the huge cadence with the quiet minuet is very disconcerting, but it doesn't last long. With the home key now reached, the minuet is interrupted as rudely as it had entered with a huge descending D-flat scale-Mahler couldn't resist one more brief key shift. Now the entire rondo theme is heard in the first full statement since the beginning, crowned at the end by the first-movement melody and the ringing of not only the "low bells," but also the cowbells, heard for the first time since Nachtmusik I. Mahler plays a final joke with the very last chord, introducing a rogue G-sharp and a quick decrescendo before the final C-major punch.
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