Video Transcript

Ben Zander:

I am going to stop you because this is a long movement and it’s not a performance class so much as a discovery class. So first of all, we’re going to applaud because it’s a beautiful thing. So Daye, is how you pronounce it? So Daye, do you know who this boy is? Do you have any idea who he is, what’s his background?

Daye Lim:

Well, I researched as he experienced what the heaven are like, and he’s like-

Ben Zander:

What happened before he got to heaven? This is really rather important because he died of starvation. That’s what it was. He died of starvation because his mother couldn’t bake the food. And he said, “Mother, mother, mother, mother, save me, save me, save me,” and he died. So he’s coming to this moment in a state of utter deprivation and despair. He wakes up, “Wow, it’s heaven!” And he is overcome with joy and excitement. He can’t believe it. The reason I stopped you was because I realized you didn’t know that.

Daye Lim:

No.

Ben Zander:

And I didn’t want to go on hearing somebody sing something that they didn’t know. Right? When you sing, when you know, then it’s going to be quite different.

Okay, so how old is this kid? He’s about 11. No, I just invented that, but that’s my thought. He’s about 11 and he led a totally deprived life, and now suddenly dancing and singing. It’s going to be a completely different life. So you have to help a little because you’re very slow, very, very slow. So now we have to go (singing) that’s the joy and spontaneity of heaven. Do you know which instrument this is playing there?

Daye Lim:

Clarinet.

Ben Zander:

Clarinet. Do you know another piece in which a soprano and a clarinet play together in a most magical way? Do you know any other piece that which the clarinet and the soprano live and love together? Shepherd On The Rock, Shepherd On The Rock. Schubert, Mahler’s favorite composer. So Mahler knew all of music. He knew everything, every piece of music that had ever been written. And he Schubert is here. This is Schubert one, two.

Can you do really pianissimo because it’s marked P, P, P. P, P, P. Not there, but that’s some professor. That’s a professor. This is Mahler.

Always go back to the original score. If you’re a pianist, go back to the score and find out what the composer wrote and which instrument it is. Yeah, there it is. P, P, P. One, one, two, three. I can play softer than that. Viennese dotted rhythms. (singing) Little slide.

Just so you know, in the cello. Isn’t that funny? Little_… Yeah. You can’t really do that. You just imagine. Have you ever played, Mahler, heard Mahler play this on the piano?

You haven’t heard Mahler play this on the piano? There’s a recording of Mahler playing this on the piano. It’s fantastic. It’s a piano role. It’s really interesting because it’s so free that you think, “How would any orchestra ever play that?” And of course they don’t. But I was very_… When I discovered this thing, I was just dumbfounded, “There’s Mahler playing.” I closed my eyes. He’s sitting right there playing. Oh, it’s amazing. Once again.

Daye Lim:

(singing)

Ben Zander:

Right. Now, this boy, that’s much better. Now is something happening? This is a boy with lederhosen, right? He’s wobbling like a bird. Isn’t that amazing? It’s so beautiful. And he’s just enjoying, enjoying the joy and ease that suddenly he’s never experienced before. Never in his life. He’s been a deprived kid. He’s never had enough to eat. And imagine you’ve woken up and you’ve just discovered yourself in heaven, literally in heaven, you sing (singing) I can’t sing, of course, but you understand. So do just before two, one bar.

Daye Lim:

(singing)

Ben Zander:

No, too slow. Good. If you could get your voice out (singing) otherwise you just disappear into that sound. Come forward a little bit. Okay? One bar.

Daye Lim:

(singing)

Ben Zander:

Now. Now we’re talking. Look at her face. She got it. Isn’t that great? You made a contact. And it’s no longer about your singing and your voice. It’s all about them and what they’re getting, the experience that they’re having. Behind this young man, when I did this once, years and years and years ago with my youth orchestra, I did it with a boy, a boy soprano. And it was an amazing thing. Leonard Bernstein was furious. He thought he was the first person to do it with a boy, but he wasn’t. And the boy was fantastic. And he’s grown up to be a major singer now. He’s an important singer. When he was boy, he was 12. He was up in the balcony, on the golden balcony and he was hidden. And we played the first three movements. And then (singing) suddenly this boy, this cherub appeared. (singing)

It’s amazing. It’s amazing sound. If you could be more boyish, more like a boy. Can you walk like a boy? I don’t think so. Do you know boys walk completely differently from women? You know that?

Daye Lim:

Yeah.

Ben Zander:

They kind of walk like this. Yeah. Yeah, I like that. No, it’s a little bit too_… (singing) yeah, now it’s more like_… Yeah, we’re getting there. We’re getting there. Put on some lederhosen and you’ll be right there. Okay, great. I’m so glad you’ve just eased up because you’re so tight. You’re so worried. You think it’s about you. It’s not about you. If only we musicians could get that. It’s nothing to do with us. We’re just a vehicle. It’s about this kid. It’s about the discovery of heaven if you’ve starved to death. That’s what it does. It’s about joy. It’s about incredible exuberance. So should we try that?

Daye Lim:

Yeah.

Ben Zander:

And good if you do once more_…

Daye Lim:

(singing)

Ben Zander:

Remember what you’re talking about. That’s the earthly sorrow. What happened to him when he was on earth?

Daye Lim:

Starved.

Ben Zander:

Right. So that in the background. In the background, that’s there, right? We enjoy heavenly joy to avoid the earth. That’s what this is about. Isn’t that great? Here we go. (singing)

Daye Lim:

(singing)

Ben Zander:

No trouble. No earthly trouble in heaven. Remember, you remember the earthly trouble. So the first phrase was great. Can you be a little softer so that she can come out? If I were conducting the orchestra, I said_… Once more.

Daye Lim:

(singing)

Ben Zander:

Yes.

Daye Lim:

(singing)

Ben Zander:

Good, good. Everything is in the softest peace. Be very calm, very legato. That was great.

Daye Lim:

(singing)

Ben Zander:

Can I suggest this? I never do this, but can I suggest an effect here, which is you do it without vibrato.

Daye Lim:

Okay.

Ben Zander:

So when you get to this (singing) really white, strange sound, could you do it? And if you could do, let me show you this. In the cello, the cellos are going_… So beautiful. That’s what’s happening. While she’s singing. That’s the way to play that. Very delicate. Can we try it?

Daye Lim:

(singing)

Ben Zander:

Oh, isn’t that beautiful? That D sharp? Get it a little higher. Yeah, right up next to the E. So it scrunches. Once again, and one_…

Daye Lim:

(singing)

Ben Zander:

This is somebody with a fantastic ear. And he went, “Oh, I love that.” No, most people would notice the difference. But the people who love music and who feel music, they respond to every little nuance, every element, every consonant, everything they respond to. Isn’t that great? Thank goodness for people like that. Otherwise, we’d be just swimming around in the desert. Do it again. Once again.

Daye Lim:

(singing)

Ben Zander:

Now, this gentleman was thinking, “Wow, that_…” Look at him. Look at him. I mean, he was thinking, “My goodness, my goodness. Wow. That was beautiful.” And that’s what we want. We want always to have something that we’re saying that people say either, “Oh my goodness,” or, “Wow,” or some reaction that is different. And he got it. I mean, look at him. Look at him. Can you see? Isn’t that amazing? I mean, music is such an incredible thing because it’s the most social activity ever devised by human beings because it brings people together like that over a non vibrato sound. It’s kind of a miracle, isn’t it? But I love that aspect of music. It’s a social activity involving people. Okay, you’re doing beautifully. That was great.

Daye Lim:

(singing)

Ben Zander:

Now this is totally different. Totally. We’re living an angel’s life. Wow. And it’s faster and it’s exciting. Complete change of mood. And the mood you created was spectacular. So let’s just do the last two bars before two and now suddenly.

Daye Lim:

(singing)

Ben Zander:

Wow. That was beautiful. Great, great. Fantastic. Great. Terrific. Don’t be a singer. Just like I tell, don’t be a cellist. Be available. Totally. That was great. That was great. I wish we could do the whole song because I look at my clock. Let’s just go. But that was beautiful, it’s just an old church, Italian oil painting suddenly in the middle. This little boy’s been jumping around. And when I recorded this, it was a wonderful singer called Camilla Tilling. She was the soprano. And I had a whole session with her alone in Glyndebourne. I remember, we worked and she was leaping around like dancing like this while she was singing. It was incredible. And it comes out on the recording, you can hear her. I mean, she isn’t actually dancing while she’s singing, but she could. It has that feeling. So let’s just go on.

Daye Lim:

(singing)

Ben Zander:

Yeah. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. What’s happening here? He’s killing the lamb. Even in heaven, they kill things. And this boy is a farm boy, so he knows about killing animals. So he’s killing the animals and there’s blood everywhere. And he’s rolling up his sleeves. And so just can we do that? Can you get a little bit tougher? Have you ever killed an animal like a pig or anything like that? No. No. Exactly. What a pity.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could really experience these songs fully? Okay, here we go. Two bars.

Daye Lim:

(singing)

Ben Zander:

That’s the oxen. That’s the oxen dying, right? And the lamb. Those animals are dying. So everything’s got to be exaggerated, Mahler, everything is going to be exaggerated. And when you exaggerate as much as you can, it’s not enough. It’s never enough. For Mahler, it’s never enough. Isn’t that great? I mean, we know about Mahler, he lived absolutely_… You couldn’t go on a walk with Mahler because he ran. He walked so fast like that, people had to run to keep up with him. Isn’t that amazing? And he talked so fast, and he was a swimmer and he was a mountain climber, and he was a total being. And he believed that the whole world should come into his symphonies. The symphony should be about the whole world, including death and blood and oxen and everything. I know you’re miserable about it, but let’s try it again. Roll up your sleeves. Here, clarinets here.

Daye Lim:

(singing)

Ben Zander:

That chord. Yes, that chord. I love that chord now.

Now you’ve got to remember, he’s talking about all the food that’s up there in heaven. And food means a lot to him because you’ve never seen any. Just if you can just be so full, and don’t make a laundry list of all the food. Every piece of food is worth it. It’s something special. So you have to say, “It’s just so exciting, so exciting.” And you have to be very spontaneous about it. Head, eyes, everything wide open. Imagine you’re surrounded by tables of food and wine and, oh, it’s too much. It’s too joyful. We’ve got to get a sense from your singing of what life was like for that boy in heaven. And we don’t get it yet. We don’t get it, but it’s coming. Very soft in the orchestra at tempo primo. So do two bars before tempo primo. And if you can just be abundance. Do you understand what I mean? Be abundance. Everything about you is abundant. It’s full. It’s glorious. Breathing, open like that. Here we go. Two bars.

Daye Lim:

(singing)

Ben Zander:

That’s better.

Daye Lim:

(singing)

Ben Zander:

Good. This is a wonderful word in German. It means cheeky. And you’re right, it’s being cheeky. You’re talking about apples and berries. And these are the fun things of life. Imagine a five, 11-year old talking about his toys because the 11-year old within society never has to worry about where his food is coming from. He’s worried about his toys, particularly around Christmas. This kid can’t believe his luck. He just can’t believe his luck. “Oh my God. Apples, berries.” He’s just ecstatic. So can we try from there?

Daye Lim:

(singing)

Ben Zander:

Can you do me a favor? When you do_… jump up in the air, right? One, two, three.

Daye Lim:

(singing)

Ben Zander:

San Mahler’s the cook. Isn’t that lovely? I would try, and it may not be right for your voice, but I would try to do this like an old-fashioned choral from the Renaissance and do it without vibrato. Should we try that? You have a gorgeous voice. Absolutely gorgeous. Let’s try from there. Da-de. Yeah.

Daye Lim:

And as soft as you can.

Ben Zander:

And I would tell the flute, the two flutes and the clarinets also no vibrato and the horns and trumpets and no vibrato. That’s magical. Magical. You’re great. Now let’s do the final section. We just have time.

Daye Lim:

(singing)

Ben Zander:

Right. Now you’ve come into a different world. Before he’s talking about food. Now he’s talking about food for the soul. Music. This is the central point. This is where when we did it with the boy, he couldn’t do this. He couldn’t really get into this. He could do the food better than anybody, but he couldn’t do this. And this is for a grownup, but it’s a moment of incredible peace. And again, Schubertian, very sublime. There is no music on earth like the music in heaven. And Mahler actually manages to have created something like heavenly music. That’s extraordinary. So just try right on where she comes, upbeat to the 13. Two, three.

Daye Lim:

(singing)

Ben Zander:

Can you imagine 11,000 young girls dancing in a dream? Just make it, eat it. Eat it. Eat the beauty of the words. It’s an amazement. Amazement of what you’re describing. One more time. Two, three. Good. Feel locked. And she’s a little plump. Good. Beautiful. Two, three.

Daye Lim:

(singing)

Ben Zander:

I just want to say one thing to you. This is one of the most beautiful phrases that Mahler ever wrote, the end of the symphony. You have to be conscious of the rhythm because some people are playing triplets and some playing a duplets. And if you go off and play in your own world, they can’t do that. So be very disciplined about that. Would you do after 15, one, two, three, four bars? And there’s three in the violins, two in the cellos. Three, four.

Daye Lim:

(singing)

Ben Zander:

And so on. Good. Bravo, bravo. Beautiful, beautiful. Great, great, great. Well done. Well done. I want you to get what this applause is about. It’s not saying bravo, it’s not saying you have a beautiful voice. It’s not saying congratulations on your train. It’s not saying anything. They’re saying, “Thank you for being available,” isn’t that right? That’s what they say. I can feel it. That kind of applause is not bravo. Thank you. Thank you for living. Because you could easily say, “Look, I’m a singer and leave me alone.” Many singers do that. Maybe most singers do that. “Leave me alone. I’m a singer.” I go_… And you didn’t do that. You jumped, you danced, you sang, you loved, you cried. You did all of that. And that’s what Mahler calls us to do. Music calls us to do that, life calls us to do that. And they know that, and they say, “Thank you for doing it for us.” Isn’t that incredible? You do it for them.

Daye Lim:

That’s touching for me too.

Ben Zander:

Yes, exactly. Beautiful.