Yahoo! mahler Group > Online Mahler Dictionary > Das Lied von der Erde
Often
translated as “The Song of the Earth”. ‘Symphony for tenor and alto (baritone)
and orchestra’ in 6 movements composed between 1907 and 1908. Poems freely
adapted from Hans Bethge’s “Die
chinesische Flöte”, a translation of a collection of Chinese poetry.
The
year 1907 was indeed a tragic year for Gustav Mahler. First he was ‘forced’ to
resign in March that year from the Vienna Hofoper (court opera) due to, among
others, the slander from the enemies that he had made in his quest for artistic
excellence, the dwindling box office collections and the attacks of the
anti-Semites. This was followed by the death of his favourite daughter, Maria
Anna (Putzi), in Maiernigg that July aged only 4 and a half from scarlet fever
and diphtheria. Before he could even recover from the loss of Putzi, he was
diagnosed with a serious heart condition and was advised by the doctor to limit
his physical activities and Mahler was known to love swimming, walking and cycling.
All these in one summer!
The
remaining of the 1907 summer was spent in Schuderbach in the Tyrol (fleeing
from the painful memories in Maiernigg) where Mahler engrossed himself with an
anthology of freely translated 8th century Chinese poems given to
him by a friend. Towards the end of that summer, Mahler began to sketch ‘the
orchestral songs that one year later were to become “Das Lied von der Erde” (“DlvdE”). According to Alma, Richard
Specht, and Bruno Walter, the diagnosis of Mahler’s heart condition had a
significant bearing on the concept of this work and as Specht noted, Mahler was
overwhelmed by the feeling of “having to say farewell”. This marks the
beginning of Mahler’s final triptych, the DLvdE, the 9th and the 10th
symphony.
According
to Alma, Mahler avoided to name this work his 9th symphony (although
its musical structure is akin to a symphony) due to his “fear of the idea of a
Ninth Symphony” because “no great symphonic writer was to live beyond his
ninth”. This led him to call this work “Das
Lied von der Erde”, a name he invented himself.
Mahler
never heard this work performed (like his 9th and the unfinished 10th).
The premiere of this work took place on the 20th of November 1911,
several months after Mahler’s death, under the baton of Bruno Walter in Munich.
After listening to this performance, Webern wrote to Berg:
“What you wrote about Das
Lied von der Erde is wonderful. As I told you, it is like the procession of
life or, better yet, of that which has been experienced, before the soul of the
dying. The work of art is intensified; that which is mere fact evaporates, but
the idea remains. That is what these songs are like.”
THE WORK
DLvdE
comprises of the following 6 movements:
1.
Das
Trinklied vom jammer der Erde (The Drinking Song of Earth's Sorrow)
2.
Der
Einsame im Herbst (Autumn Loneliness)
3.
Von
der Jugend (Of Youth)
4.
Von
der Schönheit (Of Beauty)
5.
Der
Trunkene im Frühling (The Drunken Man in Spring)
6.
Der
Abschied (The Farewell)
TEXT/POEMS
Towards
the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th
century, there was a sudden surge in the interest in Far Eastern culture in
Europe. For example, Puccini’s Madamma Butterfly, which Mahler performed
in the Vienna Hofoper in October 1907 and Gilbert and Sullivan’s much earlier
work, Mikado, in England stand in testimony of this.
One of
the results of this movement was the translation of an anthology of Chinese
poetry that Mahler used to base his DlvdE. This anthology, titled “Die chinesische Flöte” (The Chinese
Flute), was first translated from Chinese to French (by the collaboration of
Judith Gautier and Marquis D'HerveySaint-Denys) and then from French into
German by Hans Bethge (published in 1907). It comprises of at least 83 poems
and from there, Mahler chose 8 poems (not 7 as previously believed) that he
felt was most suitable to use in his DlvdE. To these 8 poems, he made numerous
important adaptations, e.g. changing the phrasing, deleting and composing whole
lines and verses, etc. A study on these changes will not only reveal Mahler’s
state of mind at that time, it will also highlight his gifts and talent in the
field of literature. (The details of these adaptations cannot be discussed in
this short article).
Below
is a movement-source matrix, matching the final text in Dlvde movements with
their Chinese poets:
|
Movements |
Poet |
Remarks |
|
1. Das Trinklied vom jammer der Erde |
Li Bai (Li-Tai-Po) |
|
|
2.
Der Einsame im Herbst |
Tchang Tsi (Qian Qi) |
|
|
3. Von der Jugend |
Li
Bai ? |
Traditionally,
this poem was attributed to Li Bai. But latest research doubted this since
there is nothing in Li Bai’s work that even remotely resembles the text in
this movement. |
|
4. Von der Schönheit |
Li
Bai |
|
|
5.
Der Trunkene im Frühling |
Li Bai |
|
|
6. Der Abschied |
Mong
Kao-Jen (Meng Hao-Ran) Wang
Wei |
The
text in this movement was adapted from 3 poems, one by Mong Kao-Jen and two
by Wang Wei. |
THEMES
True to
its name, the general theme of this work is one related to the Earth, to
nature, to man, to life and death, and more importantly, the nature of human
existence.
To
understand the literary themes of the individual movements more clearly, the best way is
to quote directly from the poems. While reading the verses, please have an eye
for the metaphorical meaning behind the words. Note also that these are just
partial quotes and not full quotes.
The first movement is about the futility,
impermanence and sorrows of life and since there is nothing that mankind can do
about it, why not just drink wine and sing songs? It poses the questions on the
meaning of mankind’s existence and our place in the whole scheme of things.
.
.
To strike the lute and to drain the
glasses,
These are the two things that go
together.
A full goblet of wine at the right
time
Is worth more than all the kingdoms of
this earth!
Dark is life, is death.
The firmament is blue eternally, and
the earth
Will long stand fast and blossom in
spring.
But though, O man, how long then
livest thou?
Not a hundred years canst thou delight
In the rotten trash of this earth!
.
.
The second movement tells of loneliness, of
weariness, when one has past his prime, when he has lost his glory.
.
.
The sweet fragrance of the flowers has faded;
A cold wind bows down their stems.
Soon will the withered golden petals
Of the lotus-flowers be floating on
the water.
My heart is weary. My little lamp
Has burnt out with a sputter; it puts
me in mind to sleep.
I come to you, beloved resting-place!
Yea, give me peace, I have need of
consolation.
I weep much in my loneliness.
The autumn in my hearts persists too
long.
Sun of Love, will you never shine
again
And dry up, tenderly, my bitter tears?
Such
beautiful prose! Beautiful and heart wrenching at the same time.
The third movement is like a reflection on
youth, on the days when everything was still new and clear and joyous. Abundant
here are the indications of elegance, beauty and prosperity.
.
.
In the little house friends are sitting,
Beautifully dressed, drinking,
chatting;
Several are writing verses.
.
.
On the little pool’s still
Surface everything appears
Fantastically in a mirror-image.
Everything is standing on its head
In the pavilion of green
And white porcelain;
Like a half-moon stands the bridge,
Upside-down its arch. Friends
Beautifully dressed, are drinking,
chatting.
Notice
how this movement contrasts with the second movement. Here, everything is
beautiful and joyous, with friends happily writing verses, drinking and
chatting. The contrast with the first movement should also be noted. Here life
seemed permanent and promising while in the first movement, life is futile and
impermanent.
The fourth movement speaks of beauty, youth
and love. This is another bright movement and is a natural progression from the
third movement.
Young maidens are plucking flowers,
Plucking lotus-flowers by the river’s
edge.
Amid the bushes and the leaves they
sit,
Gathering flowers in their laps and
calling
To one another teasingly.
.
.
O look, racing along, what handsome
lads,
There on the river bank, on spirited
horses,
Afar-off shining like the sun’s rays;
Now between the branches of the green
willows
They canter along, lads in the flush
of youth!
.
.
And the loveliest of the maidens sends
Long looks of yearning after him
Her proud bearing is only pretence.
In the flashing of her big eyes,
In the darkness of her passionate
glance,
Still surges painfully towards him the
tumult of her
Heart.
After
the retrospection and happy reminiscences of the 3rd and 4th
movements, we are now led back to the present sorrows. Here (the fifth movement) we are again presented
with the drunken man who is convinced that life is futile. Not even the
announcement of spring by the bird could change his position. Notice, however,
that the music is sarcastically bright and not solemn as the text might
suggest.
If life is but a dream,
Why then toil and fret?
I drink till I can drink no longer,
Since gullet and soul are full,
Then I stagger to my door
And sleep stupendously!
What do I hear on awakening? Hark!
A bird sings in the tree.
I ask him if the spring is here;
I feel as if it were a dream.
The bird twitters ‘Yes!
Spring is here – came overnight!’
In deepest wonder I listen,
The bird sings and laughs!
I fill my glass again,
And drain it to the dregs,
And sing, until the moon shines bright
In the black firmament.
And when I can sing no longer,
Then I go back to sleep;
For what does spring matter to me?
Let me be drunk!
In the sixth and final movement, the themes of
the preceding 5 movements are recapped in this one movement. This is indeed a
long movement, lasting up to 30 minutes, almost as long as all the preceding 5
movements added together. In this movement, one can find the themes of the
futility of life, of sorrow, of loneliness, of friendship, of the beauty of the
world, of youth and of love. The final verses indicate a man who has
experienced the world and is battered by it. Somehow, it also exudes a sense of
contentedness; of a person who has understood his place on this earth, that his
existence here is only temporary, a mere visitor to this place which can
strangely made him feel happy and loved and at the same time battered and
exhausted. Without him, everything still goes on, the seasons still come and go
and “everywhere and eternally the distance shines bright and blue! Eternally….
Eternally…..” This is perhaps the answer to the questions posed in the
preceding 5 movements.
.
.
The earth is breathing, full of rest
and sleep;
All desire now turns to dreaming
Weary mortals wend homewards,
So that, in sleep, forgotten joy
And youth they may learn anew.
.
.
I stand here and wait for my friend.
I wait for him, to take the last
farewell.
I long, O my friend, to be by your
side,
To enjoy the beauty of this evening.
.
.
He alighted from his horse and handed
him the drink
Of farewell.
He asked him whither he was going,
And also why it had to be.
He spoke, his voice was veiled:
“You, my friend –
Fortune was not kind to me in this
world!
Whither I go? I go, I wander in the
mountains,
I seek rest for my lonely heart!
I journey to the homeland, to my
resting-place;
I shall never again go seeking the far
distance.
My heart is still and awaits its hour!
The dear earth everywhere
Blossoms in spring and grows green
again!
Everywhere and eternally the distance
shines bright
And blue!
Eternally…. eternally…..
Such
overwhelming verses and music!
It is
therefore obvious that the whole work is strongly linked thematically from the
first movement to the last. The first movement poses the questions of the
futility of life and expresses it in a somewhat angry/frustrated tone. This is
resolved in the last movement with a calm acceptance of this futility but the conclusion that the earth will go on eternally expressed in the
first movement is maintained in the last movement. The difference, perhaps, being that this final conclusion was
based on spiritual understanding/enlightenment as opposed to the
superficial understanding in the first movement.
The
four inner movements can further be divided into 2 outer movements expressing
contrasting moods of loneliness, again in the first instance the expression of
loneliness in a somewhat resigned tone, somehow unable to accept this
loneliness but was finally accepted in a sarcastic manner in the 5th
movement. The two inner movements examines the more happy aspects of life, i.e.
of youth and of beauty, but bear in mind that youth and beauty is also not
permanent, therefore tying these two movements to the whole idea of the work.
The whole work is therefore a solid philosophical argument on life and death.
It is
perhaps interesting to quote here some exchanges between Mahler and Bruno
Walter, Mahler’s protégé and close friend. Walter was given a copy of the score
and “when I brought it back to him, almost unable to utter a word, he turned to
the Abschied and said: ‘What do you
think? Is this at all bearable? Will it drive people to make an end of
themselves?” One year after this, Mahler wrote to Walter again: “Without trying
to explain or describe something for which there probably are no words, I
simply say that at a single fell stroke I have lost any calm and peace of mind
I ever achieve. I stand vis-à-vis de rien
(face to face with nothing), and now, at the end of my life, I have to begin to
learn to walk and stand.”
THE MUSIC
Regarding
Mahler’s late style, which encompasses the DlvdE, the 9th and 10th
symphony, Bruno Walter made the following remark in a letter sent to Mahler:
“In your late works you are less and less inclined
explicitly to harmonize your melodies. Instead, you develop several melodic
lines that seem to be completely independent and hence achieve a purely
horizontal texture. Their vertical meeting results in harmonic progressions
that are as economical as possible and yet as full as necessary. In that way,
you arrive at an extremely complicated polyphonic style, whose necessary
artistic contrast could only be provided by occasional, very simple homophony.”
Below is a very
brief overview (and seriously inadequate) of the work.
The first movement, marked Allegro pesante, was announced ff by the 4 horns in F. Overall, this is
a powerful and energetic movement assigned to the tenor. The second movement,
scored for the alto, is a slow movement, introduced by muted first violins
playing the eight-note movement, “symbolizing circling, indifference,
sameness”. This can be heard throughout the whole movement. The third movement
is a very lively movement with strong
pentatonic colouring exuding for the first time, a very oriental feeling.
The fourth movement, marked comodo. dolcissimo, is an elegant and
beautiful movement. For the first time, one can hear purely pentatonic passages,
first carried by the oboe and clarinet and handed over to other instruments
throughout the movement. The mandolin is also heard here for the first time in
this work.
Illustration:
pentatonic passage:
