# Understanding Das Lied von der Erde, I



## Mahlerian (Nov 27, 2012)

Understanding Das Lied von der Erde

*I. Das Trinklied von Jammer der Erde

Form*

0:00~0:22 Introduction (A minor)
0:22~1:50 First stanza (A minor->D minor->G minor)

1:50~4:15 Second stanza (G minor->A minor->B-flat major->E-flat minor->A-flat major)

4:15~6:37 Interlude (F minor)

6:37~8:14 Third Stanza (A minor->A major->A minor)

Text and translation may be found here:
http://www.recmusic.org/lieder/get_text.html?TextId=20678

The text of this movement derives from a poem by Li Tai Po. Mahler omits several lines and words, as per his usual method. The recurring line "Dunkel ist das Leben, ist der Tod" is set to the same melody, but transposed up a half step at each successive occurrence. The lyrical interlude following the second of these is a free development on the motifs featured throughout the movement, and the song is set without any literal repetition, although an AA'BA'' outline can be observed.

*Themes*

The opening horn call is a pentatonic figuration which fits into either C major or A minor, though tonally it implies the latter. The descending notes at the end are a germinal motif for the entire work. This call is echoed by the ascent of the tenor's first line, which appears to be in a C major tonality that is contradicted by the accompaniment.
















The repeated refrain, "Dark is life, is death".









*Analysis*

The work opens with a horn call in A minor, and the orchestra responds with a brilliant flourish, ending with a descending figure on the strings. The tenor enters, seemingly in C major, but the harmony shifts abruptly to a B-flat chord, though the tenor continues as if in C. The strings play trills in mockery of this grand entrance, but the tenor enters again, now poised on a D major harmony resolving into a clear A minor. The horns now return with their call, but the tenor's next line is a new variation culminating in an awkwardly high apoggiatura rather than the expected repetition. The winds echo with a lamenting figure over a B-flat pedal.

This dissolves into a collection of trilling ostinato figures on the strings in D minor, although the mode shifts into the major when the tenor enters, echoing the earlier lament. A short series of wind chords, held back, burst into a delicate G major, but the tenor's appearance, intoning the movement's refrain, draws the music into a hushed G minor.

After only a few beats' pause, the opening fanfare appears again, this time in G minor, but a trumpet variant on the horn call leads to a wild outburst for the full orchestra, layering numerous echoes of the horn call motif over one another at different speeds. Amidst this, the horn call sounds triple _forte_ on A minor. The music pulls away towards D minor instead, but the tenor's line once more ends on A. The horns repeat their call, and the tenor is accompanied by the strings' falling echo. The music modulates into the region of B-flat as the strings' line shifts to the winds, but it quickly moves off towards E-flat minor, where the ostinato patterns from earlier appear a half step higher. The refrain is now in A-flat, and it wavers hesitantly between minor and major. Instead of the expected forte, the violins respond to the refrain in a hushed _pianissimo_, and the music moves solemnly towards A-flat minor.

A burst of pizzicato on the 6/4 chord of F minor interrupts the expected cadence, and the trumpet now takes up the opening call in that key. The violins, and then the clarinets, reply, nearly weightless in the dissipated orchestra, with only the occasional pizzicato for grounding in the bass range. The first violins disappear, and a mournful English horn takes up the call against a background of fluttertongued flutes and tremolo strings. The violins sing out their echo, and this time the trumpet answers them in halting, syncopated tones, in free dialogue with the violins. A burst from the full orchestra on the dominant of E-flat resolves to a tonic garnished with 6th and 9th that dissolves into a hushed C minor. The tenor enters once more, starting around F minor, but at the words "und aufbluh'n/im Lenz", the harmony rests briefly on A-flat major. The English horn calls out nearly unaccompanied, echoed once more by the violins with staccato flute accompaniment. As the music grows restless, the tenor's call summons back the brass and lower strings, and against a halting background, it draws to a stop on a bare octave E.

A rapidly ascending scale in the upper winds brings back the horn call from the beginning, in A minor once again. Amidst the tumultuous fragments of the orchestra, the tenor calls out _fortissimo_ about the wild apparition of an ape, howling and screaming, and his line culminates in a long-held high B-flat, accompanied by the full orchestra, including cymbals and triangle. With a jolt, the music jumps into A, but the mode shifts continually between major and minor. The final refrain's last word, death, now coincides exactly with the recurrence of the horn call that brings the movement to its eerie close.

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## Turangalîla (Jan 29, 2012)

Thank you Mahlerian, I always appreciate your blogs


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## Novelette (Dec 12, 2012)

Mahlerian, I've been eagerly awaiting your analysis of this work. Much appreciated, I look forward to Part 2!


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## Kieran (Aug 24, 2010)

Excellent as ever! I've been listening a bit to this work and your blog will be a great accompaniment. When you wrote:

"The text of this movement derives from a poem by Li Tai Po. Mahler omits several lines and words, as per his usual method. "

Does this mean that he edited the poems to fit the music, or he wrote music according to the phonetic sound of the translated poem? Or are there parts of the original poem which are just unnecessary or unwieldy when it comes to setting them to music?

Cheers! It's a great blog and a challenging but wonderful read...


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## Mahlerian (Nov 27, 2012)

If you look at the link provided, you can see that he omitted half of a stanza and a line or word here and there. Yes, I think this was usually for musical reasons, but sometimes he liked the sound of one word better than another, and substituted it. These types of things are not uncommon among lieder composers.


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