Get in the Robot, Gustav!
*Spoilers for Neon Genesis Evangelion and related works included.*
After the trials of Mahler’s first symphony (background on Mahler Symphony №1), we catch up with our hero, Definitely Not Mahler, in a bit of a dismal place. Confronted with the inevitability of death, to put it mildly, “our guy is not doing well.” Commonly referred to as the “Resurrection Symphony”, Mahler Symphony №2 takes on topics of life, death, what comes after, and what was it all for?
Mahler reaches some conclusions too. Throughout the symphony Mahler takes us through states one might experience in the lead up to death through different perspectives but in the 5th and final movement chooses to confront the listener not just with the prospect of death but of the final death — dubbed the “Last Judgement” of all things. This is a question that I believe all people have at least had a few thoughts on, “what happens in the end?” and Mahler provides us with a peculiar answer of no judgment at all.
As discussed in the podcast, “Embrace Everything”, funded by the Kaplan Foundation, Mahler drew from really everything he could to come up with these answers (2:47–3:13). From various world religions, texts, and through simply living life Mahler opens the final movent with a true cry of anguish (returning from Mvt. 3) and then over the next half hour guides us to true elation.
There is another massive and influential work that asks some of these questions and provides some other conclusions through similar means. Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995)(as well as End of Evangelion and several other versions of the ending of this series we do NOT have time to get into), we catch up with our hero, Shinji, in a bit of a dismal place. Confronted with the inevitability of death, to put it mildly, “our guy is not doing well.” To give a brief description, Evangelion is a story that occurs between apocalyptic events which asks the question, “how much psychologic trauma can you give a 14-year-old before they decide another apocalypse is better than living like this?”
Like Mahler 2, we go on quite a journey to arrive at that question. As can easily be imagined, Shinji did not lead an easy life. Being abandoned by his father, Gendo, only to suddenly be summoned by him and immediately sent to war as the “Third Child” (the 3rd “recruit” in the anti-apocalypse project) against the beings set on causing the destruction of humanity, Angels.
Not all the Angels appear as giant monstrous figures, however, and this is especially the case of the 17th Angel and also Fifth Child, 15-year-old “human” Kaworu Nagisa. As mentioned previously, there are a few other children the burden of humanity has been placed upon. It may come as a surprise, but Gendo, father of the year award nominee, was not at all times the most truthful of figures. The goal of the other Angels was to reunite with the 1st Angel, Adam, and bring about the scenario Mahler describes in the 2nd symphony, final judgment.
The forces behind Gendo, a shadowy organization of various world leaders, wished to control the outcome of this into what was called the Human Instrumentality Project which sought to combine the souls of all humanity and bring about a new collective existence through this resurrection. The organization of course only wanted this for its own and sought to sacrifice the rest of humanity, and Gendo only wanted this for himself to reunite with his deceased wife, Shinji’s mother, Yui.
Both the plans of the organization and Gendo are destroyed, however, as Kaworu and Shinji become very good friends until Kaworu’s awakening as an Angel whereupon he tries to unite with Adam, only to discover the Angel Gendo had been keeping in the basement this whole time was the 2nd Angel, Lilith all set to the tune of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, mvt. 4, “Ode to Joy”.
Like Mahler, Evangelion takes inspiration from this iconic piece to illustrate the true climactic moments with this music leading us to the final judgment in Evangelion at the hands of Shinji who (in some versions of the ending) comes to a similar conclusion to Mahler. As in the 2nd symphony, forces of heaven and Earth intermingle preceding the resurrection. As Mahler described, “The earth trembles — just listen to the drum roll, and your hair will stand on end. The last trumpet sounds. The graves spring open and all creation comes writing out of the bowels of the Earth with wailing and gnashing of teeth. Now they all come marching along in a mighty procession. Beggars and rich men, common folk and kings. The church militant, the popes all give vent to the same terror — the same lamentations and paroxysms for none is just in the sight of God.”(23:25–24:22) And this is just what happens in Evangelion.
This is not to suggest that these works are necessarily related so intentionally, and of course, these are not the only times these themes appear in art. There is, however, a connection to classical music to the world of Evangelion. Shiji’s theme (almost similarly to Mahler Symphony 1, mvt. 3’s minor-key Frere Jacques introduction) is based on a minor version of the “God Save The Queen” melody (which was arranged here to incorporate Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto 2, mvt.1). In fact, if you look at this particular concert you will find all sorts of references to classical music including some solo Bach, an extremely extended and honestly quite dreadful Canon in D arrangement, Handel’s “Hallelujah”, and the opening piece of the concert, Beethoven’s Symphony №9. So while I would not go so far as to say, “the creators of Evangelion remade the finale of Mahler 2” or even necessarily that it inspired any part of the show or its music, but that the two are connected in some way through the messy way art propagates itself in culture over time.
