HOW RÜBEZAHL GOT HIS NAME

 

           [Webpage manager’s note:  Mahler abandoned his “Rübezahl” opera project in the mid-1880s.  Although the notebook containing his draft libretto for the work has survived, any partial or completed musical sketches to accompany the libretto have yet to be discovered.  The original text of the libretto is in the possession of Yale University.  It is believed that Alfred Roller borrowed this text at one point and discussed the story with Mahler prior to working on his “Rübezahl” ballet.  The ballet was first performed during Mahler’s Vienna years (using the existing music of various composers).  The following account of how Rübezahl received his name has been kindly prepared from German sources by Mr. Jan Templiner]

 

 

 

            The source for the following is a compilation of legends and fairytales by Johann Musäus, the first of the big German collectors of these stories (the others are Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm and Ludwig Bechstein). He apparently collected a large bunch of stories of Rübezahl. The first of them is titled "Wie der Geist des Riesengebirges seinen Namen erhielt" (How the Sprit of the Riesengebirge got his name).

Rübezahl was a mountain spirit who wanted to know more about the human beings. After several unsuccessful attempts, he found a beautiful girl taking a bath in a secluded lake. This girl was Emma, the daughter of the Silesian King. Rübezahl quickly figured out that she liked to take a bath in that lake. To seduce her, he changed the rough stones that surrounded the lake into marble and surrounded it with the most beautiful flowers. When she took a bath, she immediately disappeared in the water. Her company couldn't make her out anymore. Her dearest friend Brinhild immediately jumped after her, but couldn't dive into the lake! The girl of course didn't drown, but was caught into the realm of the mountain spirit. When she woke up again, she was in a wonderfully beautiful palace, and a fair young man (into what Rübezahl had transformed) was at her feet. He told her of his love for her. Despite all the beauty that surrounded her in this world, she missed her human company. Rübezahl noticed this and quickly got some turnips (or carrots, that isn't quite clear), which he brought to Emma. She also got a little stick with which she could transform the turnips into anything she wanted. She changed them into her dearest friends. Alas, after some time they got quickly older and wrinkled. She immediately went to Rübezahl and asked him what had happened. He answered that he couldn't do the impossible. With the ageing of the turnips, the creatures they have been transformed into will also get older. She demanded new turnips, but because it was fall he couldn't find any new. He told her to wait until next summer when there will be masses of new, fresh turnips. He went to the market to buy seeds and began preparing a field. The turnips were growing quickly, but not fast enough for beautiful Emma. She got sadder every day.

Because Rübezahl didn't know enough about the human beings, he thought she would be as innocent as him and love only him. But she was promised a young Prince of a country nearby, who she loved dearly. He loved her just as much and didn't stop searching for her. When the turnips were ready, she transformed the first of them into a bee and asked it to fly to her Prince to tell him of her love. Soon after the bee had departed it was spotted and eaten by a swallow! Emma then created a cricket and sent it to her love.  Alas, it was caught by the long beak of a stork. Emma however wasn't discouraged and created a magpie. She sent the magpie to her beloved Prince to tell him of her love. The Prince soon was found by the magpie, which told him of his Emma. He then went home to get the things he'd need for an expedition to rescue Emma. On the other side, Emma began to prepare for her rescue as well. She began being less rejecting towards Rübezahl. When she - seemingly - was ready to marry him, she demanded him to prove his enduring love for her. He was supposed to count the turnips on his field! He, reluctantly to leave his love, nonetheless went to count them. After he counted them once, he thought that he'd better count them again. Not surprisingly he got a different result. Hence he had to count a third time, again with a different result. Who could blame someone in love for this?  After some time, he had determined the true number of all turnips, big and small. In the meantime, Emma had been rescued by her Prince who quickly brought her to the safe court of her father where the happy couple married.  Rübezahl searched for her many days, but in vain. He was so sad, that he disappeared with his magical palace into his own realms deep below the surface.

The Silesian Ladies like this story so much that they often were to use Emma's idea to send and annoying admirer to count turnips when they expected their lover. The citizens of the surrounding areas didn't use to have a name for the mountain spirit, but from this day one he was called Rübenzähler or shorter: Rübezahl (the one who counted turnips).

 

           Contributed to the “On-line Mahler Dictionary” by Jan Templiner [April 2002]