Rückert-Lieder
Encyclopedia
Rückert-Lieder is a song cycle
of five Lied
er for voice and orchestra or piano by Gustav Mahler
, based on poems written by Friedrich Rückert
. They were first published in Sieben Lieder aus letzter Zeit.
The first four songs were premiered on 29 January 1905 in Vienna
, Mahler conducting himself, together with his Kindertotenlieder
(also on poems by Rückert). The last song, Liebst du um Schönheit, was not orchestrated by Mahler himself but by Max Puttmann, an employee of the first publisher.
The set of songs is not a cycle in the narrowest sense, because the Lieder are independent, connected only by the poetry and common themes. However, they were published together and most often have been performed together and come to be known as the Rückert-Lieder, although Mahler did set more texts of Rückert. Artists such as Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
and Kathleen Ferrier
have chosen their own order of the Lieder.
) in the order:
The Rückert-Lieder were later incorporated into Mahler’s Lieder aus "Des Knaben Wunderhorn". More recently, Universal Edition
has published a score consisting only of the five Rückert settings.
Song cycle
A song cycle is a group of songs designed to be performed in a sequence as a single entity. As a rule, all of the songs are by the same composer and often use words from the same poet or lyricist. Unification can be achieved by a narrative or a persona common to the songs, or even, as in Schumann's...
of five Lied
Lied
is a German word literally meaning "song", usually used to describe romantic songs setting German poems of reasonably high literary aspirations, especially during the nineteenth century, beginning with Carl Loewe, Heinrich Marschner, and Franz Schubert and culminating with Hugo Wolf...
er for voice and orchestra or piano by Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic...
, based on poems written by Friedrich Rückert
Friedrich Rückert
Friedrich Rückert was a German poet, translator, and professor of Oriental languages.-Biography:Rückert was born at Schweinfurt and was the eldest son of a lawyer. He was educated at the local Gymnasium and at the universities of Würzburg and Heidelberg. From 1816-1817, he worked on the editorial...
. They were first published in Sieben Lieder aus letzter Zeit.
The songs
- Blicke mir nicht in die Lieder! (Do not look at my songs!, 14 June 1901)
- Ich atmet’ einen linden Duft (I breathed a gentle fragrance, July 1901)
- Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen (I am lost to the world, 16 August 1901)
- Um Mitternacht (At midnight, Summer 1901)
- Liebst du um Schönheit (If you love for beauty, August 1902)
The first four songs were premiered on 29 January 1905 in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Mahler conducting himself, together with his Kindertotenlieder
Kindertotenlieder
Kindertotenlieder is a song cycle for voice and orchestra by Gustav Mahler...
(also on poems by Rückert). The last song, Liebst du um Schönheit, was not orchestrated by Mahler himself but by Max Puttmann, an employee of the first publisher.
The set of songs is not a cycle in the narrowest sense, because the Lieder are independent, connected only by the poetry and common themes. However, they were published together and most often have been performed together and come to be known as the Rückert-Lieder, although Mahler did set more texts of Rückert. Artists such as Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau is a retired German lyric baritone and conductor of classical music, one of the most famous lieder performers of the post-war period and "one of the supreme vocal artists of the 20th century"...
and Kathleen Ferrier
Kathleen Ferrier
Kathleen Mary Ferrier CBE was an English contralto who achieved an international reputation as a stage, concert and recording artist, with a repertoire extending from folksong and popular ballads to the classical works of Bach, Brahms, Mahler and Elgar...
have chosen their own order of the Lieder.
Sieben Lieder aus letzter Zeit
The songs were first published in 1910 by C.F. Kahnt of Leipzig as Sieben Lieder aus letzter Zeit (Seven Songs of Latter Days), together with Revelge and Der Tamboursg’sell (on poems from Des Knaben WunderhornDes Knaben Wunderhorn
Des Knaben Wunderhorn is a collection of German folk poems edited by Achim von Arnim and Clemens Brentano, and published in Heidelberg, in the Grand Duchy of Baden, between 1805 and 1808...
) in the order:
- Ich atmet’ einen linden Duft
- Liebst du um Schönheit
- Blicke mir nicht in die Lieder
- Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen
- Um Mitternacht
- Revelge
- Der Tamboursg’sell
The Rückert-Lieder were later incorporated into Mahler’s Lieder aus "Des Knaben Wunderhorn". More recently, Universal Edition
Universal Edition
Universal Edition is a classical music publishing firm. Founded in 1901 in Vienna, and originally intended to provide the core classical works and educational works to the Austrian market...
has published a score consisting only of the five Rückert settings.
External links
- Fünf Rückertlieder, the lyrics with translations on The Lied and Art Song Texts Page
- Rückertlieder Chronologie Discographie Commentaires on gustavmahler.net (in French)