Rückert-Lieder

Rückert-Lieder
Song cycle by Gustav Mahler
The composer, portrayed by Emil Orlik, ca. 1903
Text	poems by Friedrich Rückert
Language	German
Composed	1901 (1901)–02
Performed	29 January 1905 (1905-01-29)
Published	1910 (1910)
Movements	five
Scoring	voice orchestra or piano
Audio sample
Menu 0:00 The fourth Lieder, "Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen", as performed by the U.S. Navy Concert Band file help

Rückert-Lieder (Songs after Rückert) is a collection of five Lieder for voice and orchestra or piano by Gustav Mahler, based on poems written by Friedrich Rückert. The songs were first published in Sieben Lieder aus letzter Zeit (Seven Songs of Latter Days).

The songs[]

1. Blicke mir nicht in die Lieder! (Look not, love, on my work unended!) – 14 June 1901
2. Ich atmet’ einen linden Duft (I breathed the breath of blossoms red) – July 1901
3. Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen (O garish world, long since thou hast lost me) – 16 August 1901
4. Um Mitternacht (At midnight hour) – Summer 1901
5. Liebst du um Schönheit (Lov'st thou but beauty) – August 1902^[1]

The first four songs were premiered on 29 January 1905 in Vienna, Mahler himself conducting, 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, after Mahler's death.

The set of songs was not intended as a cycle: the Lieder were originally published independently from each other, connected only by the poetry and common themes. However, they were later 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.

Publication[]

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 Wunderhorn) in the order:

1. Ich atmet’ einen linden Duft
2. Liebst du um Schönheit
3. Blicke mir nicht in die Lieder
4. Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen
5. Um Mitternacht
6. Revelge (Reveille)
7. Der Tamboursg’sell (The Drummer Boy)

Universal Edition has published a score consisting only of the five Rückert settings.

Instrumentation[]

The size and constitution of the orchestra varies from song to song, but the instruments required for performance of the complete set are as follows: two flutes, two oboes, oboe d'amore, English horn, two clarinets, two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, bass tuba, timpani, celesta, harp, piano and strings.

The Austrian composer and conductor Gerhard Präsent has written two arrangements for small chamber ensemble:

• Three Rückert Songs for high voice, violin, viola and piano op.36b (Liebst du um Schönheit, Blicke mir nicht..., Ich bin der Welt...) in 1998, and
• Five Rückert Songs for middle voice, violin, viola, cello and piano op.44 (2002–03) ([1]),

the latter recorded by the ALEA Ensemble with the baritone Alexander Puhrer.

Discography[]

• Frederica von Stade and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Andrew Davis, Columbia, 1979

References[]

External links[]

• Rückert Lieder: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
• Fünf Rückertlieder, the lyrics with translations at the LiederNet Archive
• Rückertlieder Chronologie Discographie Commentaires on gustavmahler.net (in French)