200
assembled by Achim von Arnem
and Clemens Brentano in their
collection Des Knaben Wunderhorn
(The Boy’s Magic Horn), published
in 1805 and 1808. For Lieder eines
fahrenden Gesellen (Songs of a
Wayfarer, 1885 –1886), Mahler had
written his own texts in a similar
folk style, with a wide range of
emotional moods projected against
the surrounding, vividly perceived
world of nature.East meets West
Mahler did not, however, ignore
eastern culture. The song cycle
Kindertotenlieder (Songs on the
Death of Children) composed in
1901–1904 was based on poems
by Friedrich Rückert (1788–1866),
a German professor of eastern
languages. Rückert’s writings were
influenced by the eastern conceptof serene acceptance of life and
death, rather than the keenness for
turbulent self-dramatization of both
displayed in western Romanticism.
When Mahler read a copy of Die
chinesische Flöte (The Chinese
Flute)—a collection of Chinese
poems adapted by German poet
Hans Bethge—in autumn 1907, the
composer was already familiar with
the artistic world within its pages.
Mahler’s life was also in a turbulent
state, coloring his view of life and
death. The devastating death of
his four-year-old daughter in the
summer of 1907 was followed by
the onset of a heart condition that
required Mahler to slow down. In
a letter to the conductor Bruno
Walter, his former assistant at the
Vienna Court Opera, Mahler wrote:
“I have always known that I must
die ... but all at once I have lost theEXOTIC WORLDS IN MUSIC
serenity and clarity which I had
acquired. I have to start a new
life as a complete beginner.”
Bethge’s adaptation of the
original Chinese texts was not
particularly faithful. He knew no
Chinese and used a German
translation of a French translation
of the original. In effect, Bethge’s
poems were beautifully written
paraphrases, evoking an emotional
world that was by turns anguished,
poignant, idyllic, resigned,
drunken, or quietly radiant, all
reflected in exquisitely drawn
scenes from nature. This approach
connected more to the world of
German lyric poetry that was
familiar to Mahler than to the
9th-century Chinese originals, with
their ultra-concentrated diction.
Still, Mahler alluded to exotic
influences by using the orientalRomantic themes and images in Das Lied von der Erde
The Wanderer
A solitary protagonist
searches for comfort for
his lonely heart and solace
in the face of life’s brevity.Wine
A goblet of wine beckons
the Wanderer, representing
both joy in life and a desire
for oblivion.A howling ape
An ape cries out on
a tombstone in the
moonlight, symbolizing
death and the transitory
nature of life.Galloping horses
Some maidens are
drawn to handsome
young men who
appear on horseback,
but their passion is
fleeting and unfulfilled
as the horses carry
the riders away.An extinguished lamp
The light of love burns bright
but cannot burn forever and
will, in time, fade, to be taken
over by the darkness of death.Setting sun and rising moon
Darkness approaches as the
inevitable end to the day, just as
death will follow life—but with
the promise that a new day will
dawn and nature will persist.US_198-201_Mahler.indd 200 26/03/18 1:01 PM