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Das Lied von der Erde

Das Lied von der Erde ("The Song of the Earth") is a composition for two voices and
Das Lied von der Erde
orchestra written by the Austrian composer Gustav Mahler between 1908 and 1909. Described
as a symphony when published, it comprises six songs for two singers who take turns singing Symphony by Gustav Mahler
the songs.

Mahler specified the two singers should be a tenor and an alto, or else a tenor and a baritone if
an alto is not available.[1]

Mahler composed this work following the most painful period in his life, and the songs address
themes such as those of living, parting and salvation.

On the centenary of Mahler's birth, the composer and known Mahler conductor Leonard
Bernstein described Das Lied von der Erde as Mahler's "greatest symphony".[2]

Contents Gustav Mahler in 1907

1 Origins Key A minor - C major
2 Text of Das Lied von der Erde Text from Hans Bethge's
2.1 Die chinesische Flöte
1. "Das Trinklied vom Jammer der Erde" ("The Drinking Song of Earth's Sorrow" or "The
Drinking Song of Earthly Woe") Composed 1908: Toblach
2.2 2. "Der Einsame im Herbst" ("The Solitary One in Autumn") Published 1912
2.3 3. "Von der Jugend" ("Youth")
Recorded Bruno Walter, Vienna
2.4 4. "Von der Schönheit" ("Beauty")
Philharmonic
2.5 5. "Der Trunkene im Frühling" ("The Drunkard in Spring")
Orchestra, 1936
2.6 6. "Der Abschied" ("The Farewell")
Movements six
3 Text in Mahler's sources
Scoring contralto · tenor ·
4 Instrumentation
orchestra
5 Premieres
Premiere
6 Commentary
Date 20 November 1911
7 Curse of the Ninth
8 Structure Location Munich
8.1 1. "Das Trinklied vom Jammer der Erde" Conductor Bruno Walter
8.2 2. "Der Einsame im Herbst"
8.3 3. "Von der Jugend"
8.4 4. "Von der Schönheit"
8.5 5. "Der Trunkene im Frühling"
8.6 6. "Der Abschied"

9 Recordings
9.1 Original score as written by Mahler
9.1.1 Versions with female and male soloists
9.1.2 Versions with two male soloists
9.1.3 Original version for high and middle voice and piano
9.2 Schoenberg and Riehn arrangement
9.3 Cantonese translation

10 Related works
11 References

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12 Sources
13 External links

Origins
Three disasters befell Mahler during the summer of 1907. Political maneuvering and antisemitism forced him to resign as Director of the
Vienna Court Opera, his eldest daughter Maria died from scarlet fever and diphtheria, and 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".[3]

The same year (1907) saw the publication of Hans Bethge's Die chinesische Flöte, a volume of ancient Chinese poetry rendered into
German. Mahler was very taken by the vision of earthly beauty and transience expressed in these verses[4] and chose seven of the poems to
set to music as Das Lied von der Erde. Mahler completed the work in 1909.

Text of Das Lied von der Erde

The Universal Edition score of 1912 for Das Lied von der Erde shows Mahler's adapted text as follows.

1. "Das Trinklied vom Jammer der Erde" ("The Drinking Song of Earth's Sorrow" or "The Drinking
Song of Earthly Woe")

Schon winkt der Wein im gold'nen Pokale, The wine beckons in golden goblets
Doch trinkt noch nicht, erst sing' ich euch ein Lied! but drink not yet; first I'll sing you a song.
Das Lied vom Kummer soll auflachend in die Seele euch The song of sorrow shall ring laughingly in your soul.
klingen. When the sorrow comes, blasted lie the gardens of the
Wenn der Kummer naht, liegen wüst die Gärten der Seele, soul,
Welkt hin und stirbt die Freude, der Gesang. wither and perish joy and singing.
Dunkel ist das Leben, ist der Tod. Dark is life, dark is death!

Herr dieses Hauses! Master of this house,

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!
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 baubles 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!

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2. "Der Einsame im Herbst" ("The Solitary One in Autumn")

Herbstnebel wallen bläulich überm See; Autumn fog creeps bluishly over the lake.
Vom Reif bezogen stehen alle Gräser; Every blade of grass stands frosted.
Man meint, ein Künstler habe Staub von Jade As though an artist had jade-dust
Über die feinen Blüten ausgestreut. over the fine flowers strewn.

Der süße Duft der Blumen ist verflogen; The sweet fragrance of flower has passed;
Ein kalter Wind beugt ihre Stengel nieder. A cold wind bows their stems low.
Bald werden die verwelkten, gold'nen Blätter Soon will the wilted, golden petals
Der Lotosblüten auf dem Wasser zieh'n. of lotus flowers upon the water float.

Mein Herz ist müde. Meine kleine Lampe My heart is tired. My little lamp
Erlosch mit Knistern, es gemahnt mich an den Schlaf. expires with a crackle, minding me to sleep.
Ich komm' zu dir, traute Ruhestätte! I come to you, trusted resting place.
Ja, gib mir Ruh', ich hab' Erquickung Not! Yes, give me rest, I have need of refreshment!

Ich weine viel in meinen Einsamkeiten. I weep often in my loneliness.

Der Herbst in meinem Herzen währt zu lange. Autumn in my heart lingers too long.
Sonne der Liebe willst du nie mehr scheinen, Sun of love, will you no longer shine
Um meine bittern Tränen mild aufzutrocknen? to gently dry up my bitter tears?

3. "Von der Jugend" ("Youth")

Mitten in dem kleinen Teiche In the middle of the little pond

Steht ein Pavillon aus grünem stands a pavilion of green
Und aus weißem Porzellan. and white porcelain.

Wie der Rücken eines Tigers Like the back of a tiger

Wölbt die Brücke sich aus Jade arches the jade bridge
Zu dem Pavillon hinüber. over to the pavilion.

In dem Häuschen sitzen Freunde, Friends sit in the little house

Schön gekleidet, trinken, plaudern. well dressed, drinking, chatting.
Manche schreiben Verse nieder. some writing verses.

Ihre seidnen Ärmel gleiten Their silk sleeves glide

Rückwärts, ihre seidnen Mützen backwards, their silk caps
Hocken lustig tief im Nacken. rest gaily at the napes of their necks.

Auf des kleinen Teiches stiller On the small pond's still

Wasserfläche zeigt sich alles surface, everything shows
Wunderlich im Spiegelbilde. whimsical in mirror image.

Alles auf dem Kopfe stehend Everything stands on its head

In dem Pavillon aus grünem in the pavilion of green
Und aus weißem Porzellan; and white porcelain.

Wie ein Halbmond steht die Brücke, Like a half-moon is the bridge
Umgekehrt der Bogen. Freunde, its arch upturned. Friends

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Schön gekleidet, trinken, plaudern.
4. "Von der Schönheit" ("Beauty")
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.
5. "Der Trunkene im Frühling" ("The Drunkard in Spring")
Wenn nur ein Traum das Leben ist,
Warum denn Müh' und Plag'!?
Ich trinke, bis ich nicht mehr kann,
Den ganzen, lieben Tag!
Und wenn ich nicht mehr trinken kann,
Weil Kehl' und Seele voll,
So tauml' ich bis zu meiner Tür
Und schlafe wundervoll!
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well dressed, drinking, chatting.
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 reflects back 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.
If life is but a dream,
why work and worry?
I drink until I no more can,
the whole, blessed day!
And if I can drink no more
as throat and soul are full,
then I stagger to my door
and sleep wonderfully!
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Was hör' ich beim Erwachen? Horch!
Ein Vogel singt im Baum.
Ich frag' ihn, ob schon Frühling sei,
Mir ist als wie im Traum.
Der Vogel zwitschert: Ja!
Der Lenz ist da, sei kommen über Nacht!
Aus tiefstem Schauen lauscht' ich auf,
Der Vogel singt und lacht!
Ich fülle mir den Becher neu
Und leer' ihn bis zum Grund
Und singe, bis der Mond erglänzt
Am schwarzen Firmament!
Und wenn ich nicht mehr singen kann,
So schlaf' ich wieder ein.
Was geht mich denn der Frühling an!?
Laßt mich betrunken sein!
6. "Der Abschied" ("The Farewell")
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.
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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.
The bird chirps Yes!
The spring is here, it came overnight!
From deep wonderment I listen;
the bird sings and laughs!
I fill my cup anew
and drink it to the bottom
and sing until the moon shines
in the black firmament!
And if I can not sing,
then I fall asleep again.
What to me is spring?
Let me be drunk!
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.
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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...
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, to my abode!
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 ...

Text in Mahler's sources

Mahler's source for the text was Hans Bethge's Die chinesische Flöte. Bethge used prior translations and adaptations of the original Chinese
poetry.[5] Texts now identified as being likely sources used by Bethge include Hans Heilman's Chinesische Lyrik (1905),[6] Marquis d'Hervey
de Saint Denys' Poésies de l'époque des Thang,[7] and Judith Gautier's Livre de Jade.[8][9][10]

Four of the songs -- Das Trinklied vom Jammer der Erde, Von der Jugend, Von der Schönheit and Der Trunkene im Frühling -- were
derived from poems written by Li Bai, the wandering poet of the Tang dynasty. Der Einsame im Herbst is based on a poem by Qian Qi,
another poet of the Tang Dynasty.[11] Der Abschied combines poems by Tang Dynasty poets Meng Haoran and Wang Wei, with several
additional lines by Mahler himself. These attributions have been a matter of some uncertainty, and around the turn of the 21st century,
Chinese scholars extensively debated the sources of the songs following a performance of the work in China in 1998.[12]

Instrumentation
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 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",[13] a hybrid of the two forms that had occupied most
of Mahler's creative life.

Das Lied von der Erde is scored for a large orchestra: 3 flutes (3rd flute doubling on 2nd piccolo), piccolo, 3 oboes (3rd oboe doubling on
English horn), clarinet in E♭, 3 clarinets in B♭, Bass clarinet in B♭ & A, 3 bassoons (3rd bassoon doubling on contrabassoon), 4 horns in F,
3 trumpets in F & B♭, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani (used only in "Von der Schöneit"), snare drum, bass drum, cymbals, triangle, tambourine
(used only in "Von der Schönheit"), tam-tam (used only in "Der Abschied"), glockenspiel, celesta (used only in "Der Abschied"), 2 harps,
mandolin, 1st and 2nd violins, violas, cellos, double basses (with low C string). Mahler deploys these resources with great restraint; only in
the first, fourth and sixth songs does the full orchestra play together. The celesta is only heard at the end of the finale, and only the first
movement requires all three trumpets, with two playing in the fourth movement and none playing in the sixth. In many places the texture
resembles chamber music, with only a few instruments being used at one time.

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 could not occur as the work's publication and first performance
occurred posthumously.

The score calls for tenor and alto soloists.[1] However, Mahler 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 alto, and he never repeated the experiment.[14]

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 increased.

Arnold Schoenberg began to arrange Das Lied von der Erde for chamber orchestra, reducing the orchestral forces to string and wind

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quintets, and calling for piano, celesta and harmonium to supplement the harmonic texture. Three percussionists are also employed.
Schoenberg never finished this project, and the arrangement was completed by Rainer Riehn in 1980.

In 2004, the Octavian Society commissioned Glen Cortese 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.[15]

Premieres
The first public performance was given, posthumously, on 20 November 1911 in the Tonhalle in Munich, sung by Sara Cahier and William
Miller (both Americans) with Bruno Walter conducting. Mahler had died six months earlier, on 18 May.

One of the earliest performances in London (possibly the first) occurred in January 1913 at the Queen's Hall under conductor Henry Wood,
where it was sung by Gervase Elwes and Doris Woodall. Wood reportedly thought that the work was 'excessively modern but very
beautiful'.[16]

Commentary
According to the musicologist Theodor W. Adorno, Mahler found in Chinese poetry what he had formerly sought after in the genre of
German folk song: a mask or costume for the sense of rootlessness or "otherness" attending his identity as a Jew.[17] This theme, and its
influence upon Mahler's tonality, has been further explored by John Sheinbaum.[18] It has also been asserted that Mahler found in these
poems an echo of his own increasing awareness of mortality.[19]

Curse of the Ninth

Mahler was aware [20] of the so-called "curse of the ninth", a superstition arising from the fact that no major composer since Beethoven had
successfully completed more than nine symphonies: he had already written eight symphonies before composing Das Lied von der Erde.
Fearing his subsequent demise, he decided to subtitle the work A Symphony for Tenor, Alto and Large Orchestra (Eine Symphonie für eine
Tenor- und eine Alt- (oder Bariton-) Stimme und Orchester), rather than numbering it as a symphony. His next symphony, written for
purely instrumental forces, was numbered his Ninth. That was indeed the last symphony he fully completed, because only the first two
movements of the Tenth had been fully orchestrated at the time of his death.

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 musicologist Theodor W. Adorno, the tenor should here create the impression of a "denatured voice in
the Chinese (falsetto) style",[21] perhaps in the style of Peking opera.

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The movement begins with a three-note horn call which recurs throughout the song, most notably at the climax in which the singer
describes an ape calling "into the sweet fragrance of life." The climax also marks the first of the three whole-tone passages that occur in the
symphony.

2. "Der Einsame im Herbst"

"The lonely one in Autumn" (for alto) 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,[11] lament the dying of flowers and the passing of beauty, as well as expressing an exhausted longing for sleep. The
orchestration in this movement is sparse and chamber music-like, with long and independent contrapuntal lines.

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. It is also the shortest of the six movements, and can be considered a first scherzo.

4. "Von der Schönheit"

The music of this movement, "Of Beauty" (for alto), is mostly soft and legato, meditating on the image of some "young girls picking lotus
flowers at the riverbank." Later in the movement there is a louder, more articulated section in the brass as the young men ride by on their
horses. There is a long orchestral postlude to the sung passage, as the most beautiful of the young maidens looks longingly after the most
handsome of the young men.

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5. "Der Trunkene im Frühling"

The second scherzo of the work is provided by the fifth movement, "The drunken man in Spring" (for tenor). Like the first, it opens with a
horn theme. In this movement Mahler uses an extensive variety of key signatures, which can change as often as every few measures. The
middle section features a solo violin and solo flute, which represent the bird the singer describes.

6. "Der Abschied"
The final movement, "The Farewell" (for alto), 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. Mahler himself added the last lines. This final song is also notable for its
text-painting, using a mandolin to represent the singer's lute, imitating bird calls with woodwinds, and repeatedly switching between the
major and minor modes to articulate sharp contrasts in the text.

The movement is divided into three major sections. In the first, the singer describes the nature around her as night falls. In the second, she
is waiting for her friend to say a final farewell. A long orchestral interlude precedes the third section, which depicts the exchange between
the two friends and fades off into silence.

Lines 1–3, 17–19, and 26–28 are all sung to the same music, with nothing but a pedal point in the low strings and a countermelody in the
flute.[22] The singer repeats the final word of the song, "ewig" ("forever"), like a mantra, accompanied by sustained chords in the orchestra,
which features mandolin, harps, and celesta. "Ewig" is repeated as the music fades into silence, the final chord "printed on the atmosphere"
as Benjamin Britten asserted.[23] It is also worth noting that throughout Das Lied von der Erde there is a persistent message that "The
earth will stay beautiful forever, but man cannot live for even a hundred years." At the end of "Der Abschied," however, Mahler adds three
original lines which repeat this, but purposefully omit the part saying that "man must die".[22] Conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein
asserts that this ties in with the Eastern idea of Nirvana, in that the "soul" of the singer, as she or he dies, becomes one with the everlasting
earth.[24]

The last movement is very difficult to conduct because of its cadenza-like writing for voice and solo instruments, which often flows over the
barlines. Mahler specifically instructed the movement to be played "Ohne Rücksicht auf das Tempo" (Without regard for the tempo).
Bruno Walter related that Mahler showed him the score of this movement and asked about one passage, "Can you think of a way of
conducting that? Because I can't."[25] 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.[26]

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Recordings

Original score as written by Mahler

Versions with female and male soloists

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)
Otto Klemperer, with Elsa Cavelti and Anton Dermota, Vienna Symphony Orchestra (Vox Legends CDX2-5521 [2-CD reissue])
Hans Rosbaud, with Grace Hoffman and Helmut Melchert, SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden (Vox Turnabout LP, TV 34220S)
Eduard van Beinum, with Nan Merriman and Ernst Haefliger, Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam (Fontana LP 894 120 ZKY)
Eugen Jochum, with Nan Merriman and Ernst Haefliger, Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam (DGG 289 46362822)
Fritz Reiner, with Maureen Forrester and Richard Lewis, Chicago Symphony Orchestra (RCA 60178-2-RG)
Otto Klemperer, with Christa Ludwig and Fritz Wunderlich, New Philharmonia and Philharmonia Orchestras (HMV LP Angel Series SAN
179)
Eugene Ormandy, with Lili Chookasian and Richard Lewis, Philadelphia Orchestra (Sony CD SBK 53518)
Jascha Horenstein, with Alfreda Hodgson and John Mitchinson, BBC Northern Symphony Orchestra (BBC Legends BBC 4042)
Georg Solti, with Yvonne Minton and René Kollo, Chicago Symphony Orchestra (Decca CD 414 066-2)
Herbert von Karajan, with Christa Ludwig and René Kollo, Berliner Philharmoniker (DGG CD 419 058-2)
Bernard Haitink, with Janet Baker and James King, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam (Philips LP 6500 831)
Colin Davis, with Jessye Norman and Jon Vickers, London Symphony Orchestra (Philips 441 474-2)
Eliahu Inbal, with Jard van Nes and Peter Schreier, Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra (Denon 72605) (1988)
Eliahu Inbal, with Iris Vermillion and Robert Gambill, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra (Exton OVCL-00473) (live recording 2012)
Herbert Kegel, with Věra Soukupová and Reiner Goldberg, Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra (Weitblick SSS0052-2)
Walter Susskind, with Lili Chookasian and Richard Cassilly, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (Vox VU 9040)
Carlo Maria Giulini, with Brigitte Fassbaender and Francisco Araiza, Berliner Philharmoniker (DGG CD 413 459-2)
Carlo Maria Giulini, with Brigitte Fassbaender and Francisco Araiza, Berliner Philharmoniker (Testament Records SBT1465; live recording
from February 1984)
Klaus Tennstedt, with Agnes Baltsa and Klaus König, London Philharmonic Orchestra (EMI Classics 5 74849 2, 2-CD set)
Gary Bertini, with Marjana Lipovšek and Ben Heppner, Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra (EMI Classics 0946 3 40238 2 5, 11-CD box
set)
Daniel Barenboim, with Waltraud Meier and Siegfried Jerusalem, Chicago Symphony Orchestra (Erato CD D-2292-45624-2)
James Levine, with Jessye Norman and Siegfried Jerusalem, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra (DG 289 439-948-2)
Giuseppe Sinopoli, with Iris Vermillion and Keith Lewis, Staatskapelle Dresden (DG 289 453 437-2)
Michael Halasz, with Ruxandra Donose and Thomas Harper, National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland (Naxos 8.550933)
Sir Georg Solti, with Marjana Lipovšek and Thomas Moser, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (Decca 440 314-2)
Pierre Boulez, with Violeta Urmana and Michael Schade, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (DGG, CD E4695262)
Rafael Kubelik, with Janet Baker and Waldemar Kmentt, Symphonie-Orchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks (Audite B0000669K1)
Rafael Kubelik, with Hilde Rössel-Majdan and Waldemar Kmentt, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (Orfeo C820102B; live recording from 30
August 1959)
Rudolf Kempe, with Janet Baker and Ludovic Speiss, BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC Legends BBCL41292)
Josef Krips, with Anna Reynolds and Jess Thomas, Vienna Symphony Orchestra (Orfeo C278921B; live recording)
Paul Kletzki, with Oralia Dominguez and Set Svanholm, Vienna Symphony Orchestra (Orfeo C748071B; live recording from 12 November
1954)
Kurt Sanderling, with Birgit Finnilä and Peter Schreier, Berlin Symphony Orchestra (Berlin Classics 0094022BC)
Lorin Maazel, with Waltraud Meier and Ben Heppner, Symphonie-Orchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks (RCA Red Seal 74321 67957 2)
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, with Yvi Jänicke and Christian Elsner, Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra (Orfeo C494001B; live recording
from 1996)
Eiji Oue, with Michelle DeYoung and Jon Villars, Minnesota Orchestra (Reference Recordings RR-88CD)
Raymond Leppard, with Janet Baker and John Mitchinson, BBC Northern Symphony (BBC Legends BBCL 4243-2)
Michael Gielen, with Cornelia Kalisch and Siegfried Jerusalem, SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg (SWR Music 93.269)

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Hans Graf, with Jane Henschel and Gregory Kunde, Houston Symphony Orchestra (Naxos 8.527498)
Michael Zilm, with Jadwiga Rappé and Piotr Kusiewicz, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra Katowice (DUX 0810)
Martin Sieghart, with Christianne Stotijn and Donald Litaker, Het Gelders Orkest (Arnhem Philharmonic Orchestra) (Exton HGO0702)
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, with Sarah Connolly and Toby Spence, London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO-0073)
Marc Albrecht, with Alice Coote and Burkhard Fritz, Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra (Pentatone 3530480)
Carlos Kleiber, with Christa Ludwig and Waldemar Kmentt, Vienna Symphony Orchestra (Vienna Symphony Orchestra; live recording from
1967)
David Zinman, with Susan Graham and Christian Elsner, Tonhalle Orchester Zürich (RCA Red Seal 5438152)

Versions with two male soloists

Paul Kletzki, with Murray Dickie and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Philharmonia Orchestra (HMV LP SXLP 30165)
Leonard Bernstein, with James King and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Wiener Philharmoniker (Decca CD 417 783-2)
Simon Rattle, with Peter Seiffert and Thomas Hampson, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (EMI Classics 5 56200)
Esa-Pekka Salonen, with Plácido Domingo and Bo Skovhus, Los Angeles Philharmonic (Sony Classical 60646)
Josef Krips, with Fritz Wunderlich and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Vienna Symphony Orchestra (DGG 289 477 8988 8; live recording from
1964)
Kent Nagano, with Klaus Florian Vogt and Christian Gerhaher, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal (Sony Classical 88697508212)
Michael Tilson Thomas, with Stuart Skelton and Thomas Hampson, San Francisco Symphony (SFS Media 1206)
Jonathan Nott, with Roberto Saccà and Stephen Gadd, Bamberger Symphoniker (Tudor 7202)

Original version for high and middle voice and piano

Brigitte Fassbaender (mezzo-soprano), Thomas Moser (tenor), Cyprien Katsaris (piano) (Warner Apex 2564681627 - reissue number)
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

Osmo Vänskä, with Monica Groop and Jorma Silvasti, Sinfonia Lahti Chamber Ensemble (BIS CD-681).
Robert HP Platz, with Ingrid Schmithüsen and Aldo Baldin, Ensemble Köln, Canterino 1031
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)
Philippe Herreweghe, with Birgit Remmert, Hans Peter Blochwitz, Ensemble Musique Oblique (Harmonia Mundi HMA 1951477).
George Manahan, with Jennifer Johnson Cano and Paul Groves, Orchestra of St. Luke's (St. Luke's Collection)
Ken Selden, with Robert Breault and Richard Zeller, Martingale Ensemble (MSR Classics MS1406)
Nicol Matt, with Anna Haase and Daniel Sans, European Chamber Soloists (Brilliant Classics 82192)
Fabio Luisi, with Doris Soffel and Wolfgang Muller-Lorenz, MDR Symphony Orchestra (Querstand VKJK0428)
Edward Carroll, with Miriam Murphy and Henry Moss, Royal Academy of Music Chamber Ensemble (Royal Academy of Music RAM 010
66108)
Scott Tilley, with Timothy W Sparks and Ellen Williams, Duraleigh Chamber Players (Centaur CRC3044)
Douglas Boyd, with Jane Irwin and Peter Wedd, Manchester Camerata (Avie AV2195)
Kenneth Woods, with Emma Curtis and Brennen Guillory, Orchestra of the Swan (Somm Recordings SOMMCD 0109)
Linos Ensemble (no conductor identified), with Ivonne Fuchs and Markus Schäfer (Capriccio C5136)

Cantonese translation
In 2004, Daniel Ng and Glen Cortese prepared a Cantonese version. The world premiere of this version was given on 14 August 2004 by the
Chamber Orchestra Anglia at the British Library, conducted by Sharon Andrea Choa, with soloists Robynne Redmon and Warren Mok.[27] It
was performed again 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
American poet Ronald Johnson wrote a series of concrete poems called "Songs of the Earth" (1970) based on a "progression of hearings" of

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Mahler's work.[28]

References
1. Das Lied von der Erde | Eine Symphonie für eine Tenor- und eine Alt- (oder Bariton-) Stimme und Orchester (nach Hans Bethges "Die
chinesische Flöte") | von Gustav Mahler | Partitur | Translated: The Song of the Earth. A Symphony for Tenor and Alto (or Baritone) Voice
and Orchestra (after Hans Bethge's "The Chinese Flute"). By Gustav Mahler. Score. Published by Universal Edition 1912.
2. New York Philharmonic Young People's Concerts. Original Broadcast February 7, 1960 "Who is Gustav Mahler?"
3. Richard Freed, programme note (http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/index.cfm?fuseaction=composition&composition_id=2393)
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20070930032420/http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/index.cfm?fuseaction=composition&
composition_id=2393) 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine.
4. J. Johnson, 'Mahler and the idea of Nature', in J. Barham (ed.), Perspectives on Gustav Mahler (Ashgate Publishing Ltd., 2005), 22ff.
5. Hans Bethge. Die chinesische Flöte. Insel-Verlag. Page 103. 'Geleitwort'. Final paragraph.
6. R. Piper & Co. Verlag, München 1907.
7. D'Hervey de Saint-Denys (1862). Poésies de l'Époque des Thang (Amyot, Paris). See Minford, John and Lau, Joseph S. M. (2000)).
Classic Chinese Literature (Columbia University Press) ISBN 978-0-231-09676-8.
8. Judith Gautier. Le livre de Jade. Felix Juven. Paris.
9. S. Spencer. Wagner Remembered. Faber. London, 2000. Page 213.
10. Teng-Leong Chew, 'Perspectives: The Identity of the Chinese Poems Mahler adapted for 'Von der Jugend' (http://www.mahlerarchives.net
/archives/jugendpoem.pdf) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20061222055433/http://www.mahlerarchives.net/archives
/jugendpoem.pdf) 2006-12-22 at the Wayback Machine.,' in The Mahler Archive
11. Quantangshi, 卷236_23 《效古秋夜長》, by 錢起 (Qian Qi)
12. A summary of the interpretations of Tang poem origins of Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde (in Chinese:关于马勒《大地之歌》唐诗歌词之解
译研究的综述) (http://www.guoxue.com/?p=1682)
13. M. Kennedy and J. Bourne Kennedy (Eds.), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music (OUP, London 2007).
14. Audiophile Audition (http://audaud.com/2010/03/mahler-das-lied-von-der-erde-klaus-florian-vogt-tenor-christian-gerhaher-baritone-
orchestre-symphonique-de-montreal-kent-nagano-sonybmg/) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20140407075730/http://audaud.com
/2010/03/mahler-das-lied-von-der-erde-klaus-florian-vogt-tenor-christian-gerhaher-baritone-orchestre-symphonique-de-montreal-
kent-nagano-sonybmg/) 2014-04-07 at the Wayback Machine.
15. Alex Ross (1993-02-23). "Classical Music in Review" (https://www.nytimes.com/1993/02/23/arts/classical-music-in-review-838093.html).
New York Times. Retrieved 2015-11-02.
16. H.J. Wood, My Life of Music (Gollancz, London 1946 edn), 287.
17. Adorno 1960, 1966.
18. John J. Sheinbaum, 'Adorno's Mahler and the Timbral Outsider', Journal of the Royal Musical Association, 2006, Vol. 131 no. 1,
pp. 38–82.
19. M. Kennedy, The Dent Master Musicians: Mahler (Dent, London 1974 and 1990), p. 155. 'It voices the aching regret of a man who must
soon leave the world', (Blom 1937, p. 4).
20. M. Kennedy, The Dent Master Musicians: Mahler (J.M. Dent, London, 1974 and 1990), p. 156.
21. Theodore W. Adorno, Mahler:Eine musikalische Physiognomik Bibliothek Suhrkamp no 62 (Suhrkamp 1960). See also T. W. Adorno,
Wagner - Mahler: Due Studi (Einaudi, Saggi, Torino 1966.
22. Gustav Mahler, "Das Lied von der Erde: Eine Symphonie für eine Tenor- und eine Alt- (oder Bariton-) Stimme und Orchester (nach Hans
Bethges "Die chinesische Flöte")" (Universal-Edition, Vienna, 1912)
23. Letter to Henry Boys, 29th June 1937, quoted in Mitchell and Reid (eds.) (1991) Letters from a Life: Selected Letters and Diaries of
Benjamin Britten, London: Faber, p. 493
24. "Das Lied von der Erde: A Personal Introduction (1972); documentary by Humphrey Burton starring Leonard Bernstein, Rene Kollo,
Christa Ludwig, and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra
25. De La Grange, Henry-Louis, Gustav Mahler, Volume IV: A New Life Cut Short. Oxford University Press (ISBN 978-0-19-816387-9), p
510 (2008).
26. SCO Programme Note (http://www.sco.org.uk/content/das-lied-von-der-erde-0)
27. See http://idp.bl.uk/archives/news24/idpnews_24.a4d#4
28. Songs of the Earth (http://www.thing.net/~grist/ld/koppany/kgram/rj-01.htm), © 1970 by Ronald Johnson and 2000 by his estate.

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Sources
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' (http://www.mahlerarchives.net/archives
/daslied_lit.pfd)
Teng-Leong Chew, 'Das Lied von der Erde: the Literary Changes' (http://www.mahlerarchives.net/DLvDE/DLvDE.html)
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
http://classicalnotes.net/classics2/mahlerlied.html
Das Lied von der Erde: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)
Das Lied von der Erde: The Literary Changes (http://www.mahlerarchives.net/Archive%20documents/DLvDE/DLvDE.htm) – synopsis of
original Chinese poems, Bethge's translations and Mahler's changes
The LiederNet Archive: Das Lied von der Erde (http://www.lieder.net/lieder/assemble_texts.html?SongCycleId=235) German texts, with
translations into several languages.
Extensive history and analysis by renowned Mahler scholar (https://web.archive.org/web/20080612002019/http://www.andante.com
/profiles/Mahler/daslied.cfm) Henry-Louis de La Grange

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