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Background

In 1897, Mahler became the director of the Vienna Hofoper. Over the following years his compositional output dwindled due to over-work and ill health; between 1897 and 1900, he only completed the Fourth Symphony and the Der Knaben Wunderhorn setting ‘Revelge’.[1] Eventually Mahler suffered a near-fatal haemorrhage on the night of February 24, 1901, requiring emergency treatment, an operation, and a seven weeklong recuperation.[1] [2]

From June to August 1901, Mahler spent his vacation at his newly completed lakeside villa near Maiernigg. Its isolation meant the summer was peaceful,[3] and he experienced the most productive summer of his life,[4] completing eight Lieder and two movements of the Fifth Symphony, including four of the Rückert-Lieder.[1] In particular, he completed 'Blicke mir nicht in die Lieder' on June 10th (some sources state June 14th)[5], and 'Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen' on the August 16th.[6] The serenity of his surroundings, as well as the emotional aftereffects of the near-death experienced he had suffered earlier in 1901 (seen most in 'Um Mitternacht'),[7] exerted a considerable influence on the Rückert-Lieder, and they contributed to Mahler creating a new musical style which “[reveal] an artist who is already exploring another world”.[1][8]

The next year, after his courtship and marriage to Alma Schindler, Mahler composed another Ruckert setting that was eventually added to the collection: ‘Liebst du um Schönheit’. Unlike the other four, this was solely intended as a private gift to Alma, thus it was never orchestrated by Mahler himself.[9] Instead it was orchestrated by Max Pullman, an editor at the publishing company C. F. Kahnt, who first published these Lieder.[10]

Overview

The Rückert-Lieder are all settings of poems by the early 19th-century poet Friedrich Rückert. Rückert's poems are heavily influenced by his activity as a scholar of Oriental languages,[11] [12] and his poems were widely read in his lifetime, being set by composers such as Robert Schumann and Franz Schubert.[13] Between 1895 and 1900 his poetry revived in popularity, but today he is generally recognised as a minor poet, though Mahler was not troubled by this, holding the view that masterpieces of poetry should not be set to music.[13] Considerng La Grange posits that Mahler was attracted to the lyricism of Rückert's poetry, and points out both of them "admired folk-art" and considered it the "living source of all poetry".[14] Ruckert has also been considered a "close spritual relative" to Gustav Fechner, a Orientalist and psychophysicist who was greatly admired by Mahler.[12][15]

The Rückert-Lieder were never intended to be a cohesive song-cycle. The piano score and the orchestral score differ in their ordering of the songs, and when conducting the songs, Mahler frequently changed the order of the songs according to the circumstances of each performance.[16] In addition, each of the songs requires a specific ensemble of instruments, different from one song to the next,[16] though the instrumentation of all five combined is equivalent to a standard-sized orchestra.[14] Though it has become standard to perform them in large halls with full-size orchestras, Mahler himself premiered and preferred to perform the Rückert-Lieder in a small hall with a small orchestra.[16] The scoring of the Lieder often focus on small groups of instruments akin to chamber music, with even the voice being treated like an instrument.[17]

It is generally considered that Mahler forged a new style with these songs. Donald Mitchell writes of the songs:

'Gone are the fanfares, the military signals, the dance and march rhtyhms and the quasi-folk style of the 'Wunderhorn' songs. Gone too are those songs' satirical excursions, with their accompanying instrumental pungencies and sarcasms.'[18]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Franklin, Peter. "Mahler, Gustav". Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. §7 Vienna 1897-1907. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  2. ^ de la Grange, Henry-Louis (1995). Gustav Mahler: Vienna: The Years of Challenge (1897-1904). Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 334, 342. ISBN 978-0-19-315159-8.
  3. ^ de la Grange (1995), p. 365.
  4. ^ de la Grange (1995), p. 369.
  5. ^ Hefling, Stephen E. (2007). "Song and symphony (II). From Wunderhorn to Rückert and the middle-period symphonies: vocal and instrumental works for a new century". In Barham, Jeremy (ed.). The Cambridge Companion to Mahler. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 110. ISBN 978-113-900-1694.
  6. ^ Mitchell, Donald (2002). Gustav Mahler: Songs and Symphonies of Life and Death; Interpretations and Annotations (Paperback ed.). Woodbridge: The Boydell Press. p. 122. ISBN 978-0-85115-908-9.
  7. ^ Hefling (2007), p. 110.
  8. ^ de la Grange (1995), pp. 367–8.
  9. ^ Hefling (2007), p. 111.
  10. ^ Kennedy, Michael (1990). The Master Musicians: Mahler (2nd ed.). London: J. M. Dent & Sons. p. 135. ISBN 978-0-460-12598-7.
  11. ^ de la Grange (1995), pp. 782–3.
  12. ^ a b Mitchell (2002), p. 128.
  13. ^ a b de la Grange (1995), p. 782.
  14. ^ a b de la Grange (1995), p. 783.
  15. ^ Barham, Jeremy (2021). "Literary Enthusiasms". In Youmans, Charles (ed.). Mahler in Context. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 210. ISBN 978-1-108-43835-3.
  16. ^ a b c de la Grange (1995), p. 786.
  17. ^ de la Grange (1995), pp. 783–4.
  18. ^ Mitchell (2002), p. 68.
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