English Commentary by Sergio Cánovas

Mahler’s «Das Lied von der Erde» has its origins in the summer of 1907, but it was not composed until 1908. He was not in the mood for composition on his vacation in 1907. He became interested in reading a volume of Chinese poems adapted to German, Die chinesische Flöte, the Chinese flute. It was a gift from a family friend, Theobald Pollak.

During the 1908 holidays, Mahler returned to Europe, heading to Toblach, present-day Dobbiaco, in South Tyrol, now in Italy. Located in a beautiful valley facing the impressive mountains of the Dolomites, it is an ideal place for hiking and mountain sports. But the state of Mahler’s heart did not allow him to engage in any activity in nature, from which his main source of inspiration came.

Sick both physically and morally, he could not apply his best medicine, as it was for him to achieve the ascent to one of the many mountains in the area. His crisis in the end was overcome through his creative work. The second lieder was finished in July. The third followed, the first, the fourth, and the last was finished on September 1. He was reborn from his ashes with the composition of this work, which so clearly exposes his crises to us.

He returned to New York and in the free moments of winter, he revises the work and its orchestration. The working title is «Die Flöte von Jade». It was actually his ninth symphony, but it terrified him. The title thought by Mahler was «Symphony for alto, tenor and large orchestra», omitting the number. Number nine reminded him that it was the same as one of the last symphonies that both Beethoven, his great reference, and Bruckner and Schubert were able to complete. He thought that if this were his ninth symphony it would be his last. His superstitious fear was confirmed by his illness

The following winter, in 1910, when he returned to New York with his Ninth Symphony finished, which was actually the tenth, he found that the curse had not been fulfilled. Then he gave it the title «The Song of the Earth», writing at the bottom of the page «Ninth Symphony». Mahler kept the work without making it known. He only entrusted it to his friend Bruno Walter, who, when Mahler died, kept the manuscript of the unpublished work. Mahler never set a performance date. After his death, Bruno Walter premièred it in his honor in Munich, on November 20, 1911. The success was tremendous, giving its author the category of immortal.

The adapter of the poems of «Die chinesische Flöte» is Hans Bethge, a young man of letters who did not understand a single word of Chinese. His work was the adaptation into free verses in the German language of a French translation of a collection of Chinese poetry. The adaptation of Bethge comprises eighty poems, most of the 18th century, to which he added some romantic touches. The original poems of all the poems used by Mahler, except the second and fourth, belong to Li Tai Po, an official of the Chinese imperial court of the time of the Tang dynasty, known as the prince of poetry. The rest of the poems belong to lesser known poets such as Ts’ien Ts’i, Mong-Kao-Jèn and Wang-Wei. Mahler made his adaptation adding his original verses.

Like his previous symphony, a choral symphony, this is a symphony made up of lieds, something already experienced in his early works. A symphonic work with incorporated solo voices. It consists of two movements that open and close the work containing three intermezzos, with the function of scherzos. The first movement is the initial allegro, which is followed by an andante. As in his third symphony, it ends with a long adagio.

The first movement bears the title Das Trinklied vom Jammer der Erde (The Drinking Song of Earth’s Sorrow). It contains a melodic cell that will be fundamental in the work. They are the three notes A, G, E that we hear for the first time in the oboes. The main theme appears on the violins before the tenor enters by singing the first verse. The tonality is diffuse, continuously changing. The second, slower motif is a kind of distorted waltz that anticipates Viennese Expressionism. A duo of harps leads us to a refrain that will be repeated: Dunkel ist das Leben, ist der Tod, (Dark is life, dark is death!).

The verses of each stanza are separated by short orchestral interludes, always ending with the refrain. Before the third stanza, we can hear in a longer interlude, a variation of the trumpet in dialogue with the violins, which lead us to the ecstasy of the tenor, in his contemplation of nature, whose voice soon changes dramatically following an expressionist line. One of the most difficult moments for the tenor ends with a dizzying glissando from the orchestra. Then, through a melancholic phrase, the tenor invites to drink, to finish with the repeated refrain.

The second movement is called Der Einsame im Herbst (The Solitary One in Autumn). The orchestra creates a lonely atmosphere with its undulating scales. The voice of the contralto enters with a very austere descending line. In the first orchestral interlude we clearly observe the main theme of the first movement in the oboe. The soloist continues with her exposition, which becomes warmer, especially in a phrase from the strings of the second interlude, and then falls back into sadness.

The music is very expressive, following the meaning of the lyrics. For this reason it is very important, in order to understand the true dimension of the work, to follow the written text when listening. After making a call to impossible love, a solo by the oboe repeating the first theme ends bleakly.

The third movement, subtitled Von der Jugend (Of Youth) is the first intermezzo. In this movement Mahler uses Chinese elements, such as the pentatonic scale and in the orchestration, the triangle, drum, cymbals and wood with the intervention of the piccolo. This can be seen in the short prelude and in the tenor’s voice, happily running down the pentatonic scale. The tenor then sings a verse in the rhythm of a Viennese waltz. An orchestral interlude amalgamates the two musical styles, before the tenor continues in a Viennese environment, but again flutes and oboes introduce the Chinese air. The coda ends up fading into the high register as if it had all been nothing more than a dream.

The fourth movement, or second intermezzo, is entitled Von der Schönheit (Of Beauty). It is the second of the movements with Chinese motifs. It uses a refined orchestration that includes harps and glockenspiel. It shows us the fragility of beauty. A group of beautiful girls pick up lotus flowers at the edge of a river. A group of arrogant young knights appear on spirited steeds. But they disappear faster than their sudden appearance. The most beautiful of the girls sends them a languid look. The alto describes the group of girls accompanied by an idyllic melody of flutes and violins.

It continues with the calm description of the beauty of the girls until the horsemen appear. The tempo quickens, the orchestra erupts in a wild chord. It follows the rhythm of a march, finally breaking in the voice of the girl, who cannot control herself, carried away by desire, accompanied by the percussion. The initial motif of the flutes is combined with that of the frantic march that passes to the trombones and tuba, reaching the climax of the movement. The girl, in great agitation, describes the scene and then calms down. A short section of the wood gives way to a voluptuous phrase.

Und die schönste von den Jungfrau sendet

Lange Blicke ihm der Sehnsucht nach.

And the most beautiful of the maidens sends

long looks adoring at him

The girl finally returns to reality, reciting her memories with nostalgia. But first the violins, then oboes and bassoons, recall the motive of desire, a happiness that once again dissipates in a dream, as indicated by the last chords of the movement.

The fifth movement is the last intermezzo, and bears the title Der Trunkene im Frühling (The Drunkard in Spring). The Chinese atmosphere is introduced by a pentatonic motif of the horns. The oscillating rhythm of the woods reflects the drunken staggering gait, while the trills remind us that it is spring. The tenor sings his wavering tune with the joy brought on by alcohol. A violin that imitates the song of a bird accompanies the tenor.

It is the arrival of spring. The piccolo displays an expressive melody in counterpoint to the tenor. This repeats the melody of the bird, integrating itself into its feeling of spring, accompanied by the trills of the piccolo and the oboe. An in-between episode seems to bring a moment of happiness. But the tenor soon returns to his initial ideas, finally announcing that he will not give up drinking.

The final movement is the longest and is made up of two lieders, the second divided into two parts and with verses added by Mahler himself. Its subtitled Der Abschied (The Farewell), accounting the farewell of two friends. Against a background formed by the lowest instruments of the orchestra, the oboe theme stands out, like a call from the sad bird. The main theme, like a cry of pain, is initiated by horns and clarinets. The voice of the contralto appears, beginning his story with an expressionless recitative, monotonously, accompanied by the singing of the flute. The landscape appears full of desolation. The appearance of the moon causes a more passionate phrase from the singer.

The recitative ends, always accompanied by the flute, which serves as an introduction and begins the first lieder that begins by talking about the river. A back and forth movement creates an appropriate background for the expressive atmosphere. The oboe presents the melody on which the contralto will then sing its part. A small orchestral interlude has an extremely modern character, leading us to Stravinsky. Then the contralto continues with its singing in an expressive atmosphere, enhanced by the music of the orchestra. The first lied ends with a verse, which leads us back to the bare atmosphere of the beginning, with a flute accompaniment, which ends the lieder with a sense of terrible loneliness.

The second lied begins with an orchestral introduction, with an instrumentation of Chinese music with the mandolin and the pentatonic harmony of the harps. The contralto interprets the recitative of the second lied. Then the music takes more heat until it reaches its maximum expression in the phrase: O ewigen Liebens, lebens trunkne Welt !, (O eternal loving-and-life-bedrunken world!). The orchestra illustrates this happy world, with the interpretation by the solo cello of the theme of life.

An extensive orchestral section precedes the second part of the song. Suddenly the atmosphere becomes weird, returning to that of the first introduction. The theme of the cry of pain is heard several times, on clarinets, in the horns. The music becomes more and more desperate, until it leads us to a funeral march. The march rises towards the higher regions, and then with the sound of the tam-tam, rushing to the lower registers.

The third recitative of the alto is more desolate than the previous ones, without the presence of the flute. A naked music, only broken by the sad melody of the oboe. With this climate of hopelessness we come to the poignant last part. Both the voice of the contralto and its accompaniment are increasingly expressive, highlighting various glissandos and the sad voice of the bird.

A couple of silences increase the emotional tension considerably. The contralto continues her phrases. After a tremolo from the violas, we hear the theme of life on the flute, oboe, and then on the clarinet. The contralto passionately sings the final theme of the farewell, with increasingly long notes, until reaching the word Ewig (Forever).

In the coda of the work we find a new pentatonic melody. It is a black spiritual which was supposed to have been heard in New York, a song of pain that accompanies the sad ending. The contralto repeats its ewig, increasingly distant, accompanied by the celesta and the mandolin, which gives it an ethereal coloration. The music gradually fades until it disappears into the void.