Das Lied von der Erde

Das Lied von der Erde ("The Song of the Earth") is a large-scale work for two vocal soloists and orchestra by the Austrian composer Gustav Mahler. Laid out in six separate movements, each of them an independent song, the work is described on the title-page as Eine Symphonie für eine Tenor- und eine Alt- (oder Bariton-) Stimme und Orchester (nach Hans Bethges "Die chinesische Flöte") – "A Symphony for Tenor and Alto (or Baritone) Voice and Orchestra (after Hans Bethge's 'The Chinese Flute'"). Bethge's text was published in the autumn of 1907. Mahler's use of Tang dynasty Chinese motifs in the music is unique in his output. Composed in the years 1908–1909, it followed the Eighth Symphony, but is not numbered as the Ninth, which is a different work. Following the most painful period (1907) in his life, Mahler touches on issues of living, parting and salvation with this work. It lasts approximately 65 minutes in performance.

In 1960, 100 years after Mahler's birth, the prominent composer/conductor and Mahler champion Leonard Bernstein described this work "The Song of the Earth" as Mahler's greatest work, in Bernstein's "Young People's Concerts" television series. Dmitri Shostakovich put it on a pedestal above all other works.

Origins

Mahler conceived the work in 1908. This followed closely on the publication of Hans Bethge's volume of ancient Chinese poetry rendered into German, Die chinesische Flöte ("The Chinese Flute"), based on several intermediate works (see Text). Mahler was very taken by the vision of earthly beauty and transience expressed in these verses and chose seven (two of them used in the finale) to set to music. Mahler himself wrote: "I think it is probably the most personal composition I have created thus far." Bruno Walter called it "the most personal utterance among Mahler's creations, and perhaps in all music."

According to the philosopher Theodor W. Adorno, in Chinese poetry Mahler found what he had formerly sought in the genre of German folk song: a mask or costume for the sense of rootlessness or "otherness" attending his identity as a Jew. This theme, and its influence upon Mahler's tonality, has been further explored by John Sheinbaum. It is also claimed that Mahler found in these poems an echo of his own increasing awareness of mortality.

Mahler's experiences during the preceding summer (1907) are likened to the three hammer blows of his Sixth Symphony (written in 1903–1904). He was pushed to resign his post as Director of the Vienna Court Opera, through political intrigue partly involving anti-semitism. His eldest daughter Maria died from scarlet fever and diphtheria. In addition, Mahler himself was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect. "With one stroke," he wrote to his friend Bruno Walter, "I have lost everything I have gained in terms of who I thought I was, and have to learn my first steps again like a newborn".

Mahler had already included movements for voice and orchestra in his Second, Third, Fourth and Eighth Symphonies. However, Das Lied von der Erde is the first work giving a complete integration of song cycle and symphony. The form was afterwards imitated by other composers, notably by Shostakovich and Zemlinsky. This new form has been termed a "song-symphony", a hybrid of the two forms that had occupied most of Mahler's creative life.

Mahler was aware of the so-called "curse of the Ninth", the fact that no major composer since Beethoven had successfully completed more than nine symphonies before dying. He had already written eight symphonies before composing Das Lied von der Erde, which he subtitled A Symphony for Tenor, Contralto and Large Orchestra, but left unnumbered as a symphony. His next (instrumental) symphony was numbered his Ninth. That was indeed the last he fully completed, for only the first movement of the Tenth had been orchestrated at the time of his death.

The first public performance was given on 20 November 1911 in the Tonhalle in Munich, with Bruno Walter conducting and sung by Sara Cahier and William Miller. One of the earliest in London (possibly the first) was in January 1913 at the Queen's Hall, under Henry Wood, where it was sung by Gervase Elwes and Doris Woodall: Wood thought it 'excessively modern but very beautiful'.

Text

Four of the Chinese poems used by Mahler ("Das Trinklied vom Jammer der Erde", "Von der Jugend", "Von der Schönheit" and "Der Trunkene im Frühling") are by Li Bai, the famous Tang dynasty wandering poet. The German text used by Mahler was derived from Hans Bethge's translations in his book Die chinesische Flöte (1907). These 'translations' were in fact loose imitations of translations in Hans Heilman's 1907 book Chinesische Lyrik, and draw also upon Heilman's two sources in French translation from the Chinese. These French sources were Poésies de l'époque des Thang by Marie-Jean-Léon, Marquis d'Hervey de Saint Denys, and the Livre de Jade by Judith Gautier (Théophile Gautier's daughter and an intimate friend of Richard Wagner).

"Der Einsame im Herbst" is by Qian Qi and "Der Abschied" combines poems by Mong Hao-Ran and Wang Wei, plus several additional lines by Mahler himself.

Chinese scholars had a headache finding for the sources of the texts when the work was premiered in China on May 1998, as Mahler's translations were too different from the Chinese equivalents, especially for "Der Einsame im Herbst" and "Von der Jugend".

The score

The Universal Edition score of 1911 for Das Lied von der Erde shows Mahler's adapted text as follows. (Mahler's German text is also rendered here into English.)

1. Das Trinklied vom Jammer der Erde. Schon winkt der Wein im gold’nen Pokale, Doch trinkt noch nicht, erst sing’ ich euch ein Lied! Das Lied vom Kummer soll auflachend in die Seele euch klingen. Wenn der Kummer naht, liegen wüst die Gärten der Seele, Welkt hin und stirbt die Freude, der Gesang. Dunkel ist das Leben, ist der Tod.	The Drinking Song of Earth’s Misery. The wine beckons in golden goblets, but drink not yet; first I’ll sing you a song. The song of sorrow shall ring laughingly in your soul. When the sorrow comes, blasted lie the gardens of the soul, wither and perish joy and singing. Dark is life, dark is death.
Herr dieses Hauses! Dein Keller birgt die Fülle des goldenen Weins! Hier, diese Laute nenn’ ich mein! Die Laute schlagen und die Gläser leeren, Das sind die Dingen, die zusammen passen. Ein voller Becher Weins zur rechten Zeit Ist mehr wert, als alle Reiche dieser Erde! Dunkel ist das Leben, ist der Tod!	Master of this house, your cellar is full of golden wine! Here, this lute I call mine. The lute to strike and the glasses to drain, these things go well together. A full goblet of wine at the right time is worth more than all the kingdoms of this earth. Dark is life, dark is death.
Das Firmament blaut ewig, und die Erde Wird lange fest steh’n und aufblüh’n im Lenz. Du aber, Mensch, wie lang lebst denn du? Nicht hundert Jahre darfst du dich ergötzen An all dem morschen Tande dieser Erde! Seht dort hinab! Im Mondschein auf den Gräbern Hockt eine wild-gespenstische Gestalt – Ein Aff’ist’s! Hört ihr, wie sein Heulen Hinausgellt in den süßen Duft des Lebens! Jetzt nehmt den Wein! Jetzt ist es Zeit, Genossen! Leert eure gold’nen Becher zu Grund! Dunkel ist das Leben, ist der Tod!	The heavens are ever blue and the Earth shall stand sure, and blossom in the spring. But you O man, what long life have you? Not a hundred years may you delight in all the rotten fragments of this earth. See down there! In the moonlight, on the graves squats a wild ghostly shape, An ape it is! Hear you his howl go out in the sweet fragrance of life. Now! Drink the wine! Now it is time comrades. Drain your golden goblets to the last. Dark is life, dark is death.
2. Der Einsame im Herbst. Herbstnebel wallen bläulich überm See; Vom Reif bezogen stehen alle Gräser; Man meint, ein Künstler habe Staub von Jade Über die feinen Blüten ausgestreut.	The Lonely One in Autumn. Autumn fog creeps bluishly over the lake. Every blade of grass stands frosted. As though an artist had jade-dust over the fine flowers strewn.
Der süße Duft der Blumen ist verflogen; Ein kalter Wind beugt ihre Stengel nieder. Bald werden die verwelkten, gold’nen Blätter Die Lotosblüten auf dem Wasser zieh’n.	The sweet fragrance of flower has passed; A cold wind bows their stems low. Soon will the withered, golden petals of lotus flowers upon the water float.
Mein Herz ist müde. Meine kleine Lampe Erlosch mit Knistern, es gemahnt mich an den Schlaf. Ich komm’ zu dir, traute Ruhestätte! Ja, gib mir Ruh’, ich hab’ Erquickung not!	My heart is tired. My little lamp expires with a crackle, minding me to sleep. I come to you, trusted resting place. Yes, give me rest, I have my daily solace not!
Ich weine viel in meinen Einsamkeiten. Der Herbst in meinem Herzen währt zu lange. Sonne der Liebe willst du nie mehr scheinen, Um meine bittern Tränen mild aufzutrocknen?	I weep often in my loneliness Autumn in my heart lingers too long. Sun of love, will you no longer shine to gently dry up my bitter tears?
3. Von der Jugend. Mitten in dem kleinen Teiche Steht ein Pavillon aus grünem Und aus weißem Porzellan.	Of Youth. In the middle of the little pond stands a pavilion of green and white porcelain.
Wie der Rücken eines Tigers Wölbt die Brücke sich aus Jade Zu dem Pavillon hinüber.	Like the back of a tiger arches the jade bridge over to the pavilion.
In dem Häuschen sitzen Freunde, Schön gekleidet, trinken, plaudern. Manche schreiben Verse nieder.	Friends sit in the little house well dressed, drinking, chatting. some writing verses.
Ihre seidnen Ärmel gleiten Rückwärts, ihre seidnen Mützen Hocken lustig tief im Nacken.	Their silk sleeves glide backwards, their silk caps rest gaily at the napes of their necks.
Auf des kleinen Teiches stiller Wasserfläche zeigt sich alles Wunderlich im Spiegelbilde.	On the small pond’s still water-surface, everything shows whimsical in mirror image.
Alles auf dem Kopfe stehend In dem Pavillon aus grünem Und aus weißem Porzellan;	Everything stands on his head in the pavilion of green and white porcelain.
Wie ein Halbmond steht die Brücke, Umgekehrt der Bogen. Freunde, Schön gekleidet, trinken, plaudern.	Like a half-moon is the bridge its arch upturned. Friends well dressed, drinking, chatting.
4. Von der Schönheit. Junge Mädchen pflücken Blumen, Pflücken Lotosblumen an dem Uferrande. Zwischen Büschen und Blättern sitzen sie, Sammeln Blüten in den Schoß und rufen Sich einander Neckereien zu. Gold’ne Sonne webt um die Gestalten, Spiegelt sich im blanken Wasser wider, Sonne spiegelt ihre schlanken Glieder, Ihre süßen Augen wider, Und der Zephir hebt mit Schmeichelkosen das Gewebe Ihrer Ärmel auf, führt den Zauber Ihrer Wohlgerüche durch die Luft. O sieh, was tummeln sich für schöne Knaben Dort an dem Uferrand auf mut’gen Rossen? Weithin glänzend wie die Sonnenstrahlen; Schon zwischen dem Geäst der grünen Weiden Trabt das jungfrische Volk einher! Das Roß des einen wiehert fröhlich auf Und scheut und saust dahin, Über Blumen, Gräser, wanken hin die Hufe, Sie zerstampfen jäh im Sturm die hingesunk’nen Blüten, Hei! Wie flattern im Taumel seine Mähnen, Dampfen heiß die Nüstern! Gold’ne Sonne webt um die Gestalten, Spiegelt sie im blanken Wasser wider. Und die schönste von den Jungfrau’n sendet Lange Blicke ihm der Sehnsucht nach. Ihre stolze Haltung ist nur Verstellung. In dem Funkeln ihrer großen Augen, In dem Dunkel ihres heißen Blicks Schwingt klagend noch die Erregung ihres Herzens nach.	Of Beauty. Young girls picking flowers, picking lotus flowers at the riverbank. Amid bushes and leaves they sit, Gathering flowers in their laps and calling one another in raillery. Golden sun plays about their form reflecting them in the clear water. The sun pictures their slender limbs, their sweet eyes, and the breeze teasing up the warp of their sleeves, directs the magic of perfume through the air. O see, what a tumult of handsome boys there on the shore on their spirited horses. Yonder shining like the sun’s rays; between the branches of green willows trot along the bold companions. The horse of one neighs happily on and shies and rushes there, hooves shaking down blooms, grass, trampling wildly the fallen flowers. Hei! How frenzied his mane flutters, and hotly steam his nostrils! Golden sun plays about their form reflecting them in the clear water. And the most beautiful of the maidens sends long looks adoring at him. Her proud pose is but a pretense. In the flash of her big eyes, in the darkness of her ardent gaze beats longingly her burning heart.
5. Der Trunkene im Frühling. Wenn nur ein Traum das Leben ist, Warum denn Müh’ und Plag’!? Ich trinke, bis ich nicht mehr kann, Den ganzen, lieben Tag!	The Drunkard in Spring. If now a dream life is, why work and worry? I drink until I no more can, the whole, blessed day!
Und wenn ich nicht mehr trinken kann, Weil Kehl’ und Seele voll, So tauml’ ich bis zu meiner Tür Und schlafe wundervoll!	And if I can drink no more, as throat an soul are full, then stagger I to my door and sleep wonderfully!
Was hör’ ich beim Erwachen? Horch! Ein Vogel singt im Baum. Ich frag’ ihn, ob schon Frühling sei, Mir ist als wie im Traum.	What do I hear on waking? Hark! A bird sings in the tree. I ask him if it’s spring already, To me it’s as if I’m in a dream.
Der Vogel zwitschert: Ja! Der Lenz ist da, sei kommen über Nacht! Aus tiefstem Schauen lauscht’ ich auf, Der Vogel singt und lacht!	The bird chirps; Ja! The spring is here, it came overnight! From deep wonderment I listen; the bird sings and laughs!
Ich fülle mir den Becher neu Und leer’ ihn bis zum Grund Und singe, bis der Mond erglänzt Am schwarzen Firmament!	I fill my cup anew and drink it to the bottom and sing until the moon shines in the black firmament!
Und wenn ich nicht mehr singen kann, So schlaf’ ich wieder ein. Was geht mich denn der Frühling an!? Laßt mich betrunken sein!	And if I can not sing, then sleep I again. What to me is spring? Let me be drunk!
6. Der Abschied. Die Sonne scheidet hinter dem Gebirge. In alle Täler steigt der Abend nieder Mit seinen Schatten, die voll Kühlung sind. O sieh! Wie eine Silberbarke schwebt Der Mond am blauen Himmelssee herauf. Ich spüre eines feinen Windes Weh’n Hinter den dunklen Fichten! Der Bach singt voller Wohllaut durch das Dunkel. Die Blumen blassen im Dämmerschein. Die Erde atmet voll von Ruh’ und Schlaf. Alle Sehnsucht will nun träumen, Die müden Menschen geh’n heimwärts, Um im Schlaf vergess’nes Glück Und Jugend neu zu lernen! Die Vögel hocken still in ihren Zweigen. Die Welt schläft ein! Es wehet kühl im Schatten meiner Fichten. Ich stehe hier und harre meines Freundes; Ich harre sein zum letzten Lebewohl. Ich sehne mich, o Freund, an deiner Seite Die Schönheit dieses Abends zu genießen. Wo bleibst du? Du läßt mich lang allein! Ich wandle auf und nieder mit meiner Laute Auf Wegen, die von weichem Grase schwellen. O Schönheit! O ewigen Liebens – Lebens – trunk’ne Welt! Er stieg vom Pferd und reichte ihm den Trunk Des Abschieds dar. Er fragte ihn, wohin Er führe und auch warum es müßte sein. Er sprach, seine Stimme war umflort. Du, mein Freund, Mir war auf dieser Welt das Glück nicht hold! Wohin ich geh’? Ich geh’, ich wand’re in die Berge. Ich suche Ruhe für mein einsam Herz. Ich wandle nach der Heimat! Meiner Stätte. Ich werde niemals in die Ferne schweifen. Still ist mein Herz und harret seiner Stunde! Die liebe Erde allüberall blüht auf im Lenz und grünt Aufs neu! Allüberall und ewig blauen licht die Fernen! Ewig... ewig...	The Farewell. The sun departs behind the mountains. In all the valleys the evening descends with its shadow, full cooling. O look! Like a silver boat sails the moon in the watery blue heaven. I sense the fine breeze stirring behind the dark pines. The brook sings out clear through the darkness. The flowers pale in the twilight. The earth breathes, in full rest and sleep. All longing now becomes a dream, weary men traipse homeward to sleep, forgotten happiness and youth to rediscover. The birds roost silent in their branches. The world falls asleep. It blows coolly in the shadows of my pines. I stand here and wait for my friend; I wait to bid him a last farewell. I yearn, my friend, at your side to enjoy the beauty of this evening. Where are you? You leave me long alone! I walk up and down with my lute on paths swelling with soft grass. O beauty! O eternal loving-and-life-bedrunken world! He dismounted and handed him the drink. of Farewells. He asked him where he would go and why must it be. He spoke, his voice was quiet. Ah my friend, Fortune was not kind to me in this world! Where do I go? I go, I wander in the mountains. I seek peace for my lonely heart. I wander homeward! My place. I’ll never wander far. Still is my heart, awaiting its hour. The dear earth everywhere blossoms in spring and grows green anew! Everywhere and forever blue is the horizon! Forever ... Forever ...

Instrumentation

Das Lied von der Erde is scored for a large orchestra consisting of piccolo, three flutes (the third doubling on second piccolo), three oboes (the third doubling on English horn), three clarinets, E-flat clarinet, bass clarinet, three bassoons (the third doubling on contrabassoon), four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, bass tuba, percussion (timpani, bass drum, side drum (omitted in the revised score), cymbals, triangle, tambourine, tamtam, glockenspiel), celesta, two harps, mandolin, and strings. Mahler deploys these resources with great restraint: only in the first, fourth and sixth songs does the entire orchestra play at once, and in some places the texture almost resembles chamber music, with only a few instruments playing.

Mahler's habit was to subject the orchestration of every new orchestral work to detailed revision over several years: though the musical material itself was hardly ever changed, the complex instrumental 'clothing' would be altered and refined in the light of experience gained in performance. In the case of Das Lied von der Erde, however, this process did not occur: the work's publication and first performance occurred posthumously.

The scoring also calls for tenor and alto soloists. However, Mahler also includes the note that "if necessary, the alto part may be sung by a baritone". For the first few decades after the work's premiere, this option was little used. On one occasion Bruno Walter tried it out, and engaged Friedrich Weidemann, the baritone who had premiered Kindertotenlieder under Mahler's own baton in 1905. However, Walter felt that tenor and baritone did not work as well as tenor and contralto, and he never repeated the experiment.

Following the pioneering recordings of the work by baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau under conductors Paul Kletzki and Leonard Bernstein, the use of baritones in this work has become increasingly common.

Arnold Schoenberg began to arrange Das Lied von der Erde for chamber orchestra, reducing the orchestral forces to string and wind quintets, and calling for piano, celesta and harmonium to supplement the harmonic texture. Three percussionists are also employed. Schoenberg apparently never finished this in his lifetime, and the arrangement was completed by Rainer Riehn in 1980.

Glen Cortese was commissioned by the Octavian Society in 2004 to create two reductions of the work, one for a chamber ensemble of twenty instruments and one for a small orchestra with woodwinds and brass in pairs. Both these reductions are published in critical edition by Universal in Vienna.

Mahler also arranged the work for piano accompaniment, and this has been recorded by Cyprien Katsaris with Thomas Moser and Brigitte Fassbaender. Katsaris has also performed this version in concert.

Structure

1. Das Trinklied vom Jammer der Erde

   The first movement, "The Drinking Song of Earth's Misery", continually returns to the refrain, Dunkel ist das Leben, ist der Tod (literally, "Dark is life, is death"), which is pitched a semitone higher on each successive appearance. Like many drinking poems by Li Bai, the original poem "Bei Ge Xing" (a pathetic song) (Chinese:悲歌行) mixes drunken exaltation with a deep sadness. The singer's part is notoriously demanding, since the tenor has to struggle at the top of his range against the power of the full orchestra. This gives the voice its shrill, piercing quality, and is consistent with Mahler's practice of pushing instruments, including vocal cords, to their limits. According to philosopher Theodor W. Adorno, the tenor should here create the impression of a "denatured voice in the Chinese (falsetto) style", perhaps in the style of Peking opera.

   "The wine in the golden cup calls us, but first let me sing you a song of sorrow which shall ring laughingly in your soul. When sorrow comes the gardens of the soul lie waste, joy and song fade and die: Dark is life, dark is death. Master of this house! Your cellar is full of golden wine! This lyre I shall call mine, for emptying the glass and sounding the lyre are things that go together. A full beaker of wine at the right time is worth more than all the riches of this world: Dark is life, dark is death. The sky is endlessly blue, and the earth will long remain, and bloom in Spring. But you, Man, how long will you remain? Not even a hundred years shall you enjoy all the mouldering trinkets of this earth! A wild, ghostly figure crouches in the moonlight on the tombs - it is an Ape! Listen, its howling cuts through the sweet scent of Life. Now, drink the wine! Now is the time, comrades! Empty your golden cups to the lees! Dark is life, dark is death."

2. Der Einsame im Herbst

   "The lonely one in Autumn" is a much softer, less turbulent movement. Marked 'somewhat dragging and exhausted', it begins with a repetitive shuffling in the strings, followed by solo wind instruments. The lyrics, which are based on the first part of a Tang Dynasty era poem by Qian Qi, lamenting the dying of flowers and the passing of beauty. The orchestration in this movement is sparse and chamber music-like, with long and independent contrapuntal lines.

   "Autumn mists roll across the lake, as if a dust of Jade had been spread over the flowers, and their scent is gone. The withered lotus leaves will soon float on the lake waters. My heart is weary, and I come to this beautiful place of rest, for I need solace: I weep much in my loneliness. Autumn lasts too long in my heart: Sun of Love, will you never shine and dry away my bitter tears?"

3. Von der Jugend

   The third movement, "Of Youth" (for tenor), is the most obviously pentatonic and faux-Asian. The form is ternary, the third part being a greatly abbreviated revision of the first.

   "A pavilion of green and white porcelain stands in the middle of a tiny pond. Like a tiger's back, a Jade bridge arches over to it. Inside the house beautifully-dressed friends drink and chat, and some write poetry: their silk sleeves slip back and their silk caps hang cheerfully over their necks. Everything is marvellously reflected in the still surface of the water. Everything stands on its head in the green and white pavilion. The bridge is like a half moon, the arch upturned. Beautifully dressed friends drink and chat."

4. Von der Schönheit

   The music of this movement, "Of Beauty", is mostly soft and legato, with a loud articulated section in the brass as the young men ride by. There is a long orchestral postlude to the sung passage.

   "Maidens gather blossoms in their laps as they sit among the bushes of the river bank, and the sunlight reflects them in the water. Handsome youths ride past on horses among the willows, trampling the flowers. The loveliest of the maidens looks on the handsome young man with burning desire, her heart's excitement beseeching him through her gaze behind her mask of pride."

5. Der Trunkene im Frühling

   The scherzo of the work is represented by the fifth movement, "The drunken man in Spring". Like the first, it opens with a horn theme. In this movement Mahler uses extensive variety of key signatures, which change every few measures. The middle section features a solo violin and solo flute.

   "If Life is a dream, why all this work and worry? I drink all day, till I can drink no more! Then I roll home and sleep. When I wake, a bird is singing, and I ask him if Spring has come. Yes! he replies, it came last night, and he sings and laughs, and I listen in wonder. And I fill my cup and drain it, and sing till the moon fills the night sky, and fall asleep again. What's the Spring to me? Just let me be drunk!"

6. Der Abschied

   The final movement, "The Farewell", is nearly as long as the previous five movements combined. Its text is drawn from two different poems, both involving the theme of leave-taking.

   "The sun sinks beyond the hills, evening descends into the valleys with its cooling shade. See, like a silver boat the moon sails up into the lake of the sky. I sense a soft wind blowing beyond the dark fir-trees. The brook sings melodiously through the dark. The flowers grow pale in the twilight. The earth breathes a deep draught of rest and sleep. All longing now will dream: tired people go homewards, so that they can learn forgotten joy and youth again in sleep! Birds sit motionless on their branches. The world is slumbering! It grows cool in the shade of my fir-trees. I stand and await my friend, I wait for him for our last farewell. O friend, I long to share the beauty of this evening at your side. Where do you linger? Long you leave me alone! I wander here and there with my lyre on soft grassy paths. O Beauty! O endless love-life-drunken world!

   He dismounted from the horse and handed to him the drink of farewell. He asked him where he was bound and why it must be so. He spoke, and his voice was muffled: 'You, my friend, Fortune was not kind to me in this world! Where do I go? I am departing, I wander in the mountains. I am seeking rest for my lonely heart. I am making my way to my home, my abode. I shall never stray far away. My heart is still and awaits its moment.'

   The beloved Earth blooms forth everywhere in Spring, and becomes green anew! Everywhere and endlessly blue shines the horizon! Endless... endless..."

   (The last lines were added by Mahler himself.) The singer repeats the final word like a mantra, accompanied by a sparse mix of strings, mandolin, harps, and celesta, until the music fades into silence, the final chord "imprinted on the atmosphere" as Benjamin Britten put it.

   The last movement is very difficult to conduct because of its cadenza writing for voice and solo instruments, which often flows over the barlines, "Ohne Rücksicht auf das Tempo" (Without regard for the tempo) according to Mahler's own direction. Bruno Walter related that Mahler showed him the score of this movement and asked, "Do you know how to conduct this? Because I certainly don't." Mahler also hesitated to put the piece before the public because of its relentless negativity, unusual even for him. "Won't people go home and shoot themselves?" he asked.

Selected recordings

Mahler score

• Bruno Walter, with Kerstin Thorborg and Charles Kullman, Vienna Musikvereinsaal 1936 (live). (Columbia Records, 78rpm, 7x12" Mahler Society Issue)
• Carl Schuricht, with Kerstin Thorborg and Carl Martin Öhmann, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam (October 1939 broadcast concert, live). (Bel Age CD, from acetates.)
• Bruno Walter, with Kathleen Ferrier and Julius Patzak, Wiener Philharmoniker (Decca LP LXT 2721-2722) 1952. Remastered in 2003 by Mark Obert-Thorn (Naxos Historical 8.110871).
• Bruno Walter, with Mildred Miller and Ernst Haefliger, New York Philharmonic Orchestra (Sony CD SMK 64455).
• Jascha Horenstein, with Alfreda Hodgson and John Mitchinson, BBC Northern Symphony Orchestra (BBC Legends BBC 4042).
• Hans Rosbaud, with Grace Hoffman and Helmut Melchert, SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden (Vox Turnabout LP, TV 34220S).
• Paul Kletzki, with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Murray Dickie, Philharmonia Orchestra (HMV LP SXLP 30165).
• Leonard Bernstein, with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and James King, Wiener Philharmoniker (Decca CD 417 783-2).
• Eduard van Beinum, with Nan Merriman and Ernst Haefliger, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam (Fontana LP 894 120 ZKY).
• Herbert von Karajan, with Christa Ludwig and René Kollo, Berliner Philharmoniker (DGG CD 419 058-2).
• Otto Klemperer, with Christa Ludwig and Fritz Wunderlich, New Philharmonia and Philharmonia Orchestras (HMV LP Angel Series SAN 179).
• Bernard Haitink, with Janet Baker and James King, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam (Philips LP 6500 831).
• Carlo Maria Giulini, with Brigitte Fassbaender and Francisco Araiza, Berliner Philharmoniker (DGG CD 413 459-2).
• Daniel Barenboim, with Waltraud Meier and Siegfried Jerusalem, Chicago Symphony Orchestra (Erato CD D-2292-45624-2).
• Colin Davis, with Jessye Norman and Jon Vickers, London Symphony Orchestra (Philips B0000040W8).
• Georg Solti, with Yvonne Minton and René Kollo, Chicago Symphony Orchestra (Decca CD 414 066-2).
• Pierre Boulez, with Violeta Urmana and Michael Schade, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (DGG, CD E4695262).
• Eugene Ormandy, with Lili Chookasian and Richard Lewis, Philadelphia Orchestra (Sony CD SBK 53518).
• Rafael Kubelik, with Janet Baker and Waldemar Kmentt, Symphonie-Orchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks (Audite B0000669K1).

Original version for high and middle voice and piano:

• Hermine Haselböck (mezzo-soprano), Bernhard Berchtold (tenor), Markus Vorzellner (piano). Recorded 2008 at the occasion of the 100th anniversary in the Kulturzentrum Toblach, in cooperation with the Gustav-Mahler-Musikweks Toblach 2008 (C-AVI MUSIC 4260085531257).

Schoenberg and Riehn arrangement

• Robert HP Platz, with Ingrid Schmithüsen and Aldo Baldin, Ensemble Köln, Canterino 1031 (released 1989)
• Mark Wigglesworth, with Jean Rigby and Robert Tear, Premiere Ensemble (RCA CD Dig-09026-68043-2).
• Kenneth Slowik, with John Elwes, Russell Braun, Smithsonian Chamber Players & Santa Fe Pro Musica (Dorian Recordings) (recorded 2003)
• Philippe Herreweghe, with Birgit Remmert, Hans Peter Blochwitz, Ensemble Musique Oblique (Harmonia Mundi).
• Edward Carroll, with Henry Moss, Miriam Murphy, Royal Academy of Music Chamber Ensemble (Royal Academy of Music RAM 010 66108).

Cantonese translation

In 2005 a Cantonese version was prepared by Daniel Ng and Glen Cortese. The world premiere of this version was given by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra on 22 July 2005 with mezzo Ning Liang and tenor Warren Mok under the direction of Lan Shui.

Related works

The American poet Ronald Johnson wrote a series of concrete poems called "Songs of the Earth" (1970) based on a "progression of hearings" of Mahler's work.

References

• Theodor W. Adorno, Mahler:Eine musikalische Physiognomik, Bibliothek Suhrkamp 62 (Suhrkamp 1960).
• Adorno, Wagner - Mahler: Due Studi (Einaudi, Saggi, Torino 1966).
• Jeremy Barham, Perspectives on Gustav Mahler (Ashgate Publishing Ltd., 2005).
• Hans Bethge, Der Chinesische Flöte: Nachdichtungen von chinesischer Lyrik (Leipzig 1907).
• Eric Blom, Mahler's "Song of the Earth" (with introduction by Bruno Walter)" (Columbia Graphophone Company, Hayes (Middlesex) 1937).
• Teng-Leong Chew, 'Perspectives: The identity of the Chinese poem Mahler adapted for 'Von der Jugend', Naturlaut, Vol 3 no 2, p. 15-17.
• Teng-Leong Chew, 'Tracking the Literary Metamorphosis in Das Lied von der Erde'
• Teng-Leong Chew, 'Das Lied von der Erde: the Literary Changes'
• Henry-Louis de La Grange, Gustav Mahler III: Le Génie Foudroyé (1907–1911) (Paris 1984).
• Fusako Hamao, 'The Sources of the Texts in Mahler's Lied von der Erde,' 19th Century Music 19 Part 1 (Summer 1995), 83-94.
• S. E. Hefling, Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth)', (Cambridge University Press 2000).
• Hans Heilman, Chinsesischer Lyrik Vom 12 Jahrhundert vor Christ bis zur Gegenwart (Munich 1907).
• M. Kennedy, The Dent Master Musicians: Mahler (Dent, London 1974 and 1990).
• Kennedy (ed.), Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music', (OUP, London 1996 edn.).
• G. Mahler, Das Lied von der Erde in Full Score (Dover 1998).
• Donald Mitchell, Gustav Mahler: Songs and Symphonies of Life and Death (Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1985).
• John J. Sheinbaum, 'Adorno's Mahler and the Timbral Outsider,' Journal of the Royal Musical Association, 2006 Vol 131 no 1, 38-82.
• Arthur B. Wenk, 'The composer as poet in Das Lied von der Erde,' 19th Century Music 1 Part 1 (1977), 33-47.

External links

• Free scores by Das Lied von der Erde at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)
• Das Lied von der Erde: The Literary Changes – synopsis of original Chinese poems, Bethge's translations and Mahler's changes
• The Lied and Art Song Texts Page: Das Lied von der Erde German texts, with translations into several languages.
• Extensive history and analysis by renowned Mahler scholar Henry Louis de La Grange