Information AboutKindertotenlieder |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT KINDERTOTENLIEDER | |
| song cycles | |
| compositions by gustav mahler | |
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The original ''Kindertotenlieder'' were a group of 425 poems written by Rückert in 1833–34 in an outpouring of grief after two of his children had died in an interval of sixteen days. Mahler selected five of the Rückert poems to set as Lied er, which he composed between 1901 and 1904: # "Nun will die Sonn' so hell aufgeh'n" – ''Now the sun will rise as brightly'' # "Nun seh' ich wohl, warum so dunkle Flammen" – ''Now I see well why with such dark flames'' # "Wenn dein Mütterlein" – ''When your mother steps into the doorway'' # "Oft denk' ich, sie sind nur ausgegangen" – ''Often I think that they have only stepped out'' # "In diesem Wetter!" – ''In this weather, in this windy storm'' The songs are written in Mahler's late-romantic idiom, and the mood and feeling they express is very much what their title implies. The final song ends in a major key and a mood of transcendence. The poignance of the cycle is increased by the fact that four years after he wrote it, Mahler lost his daughter, Maria, aged four, to scarlet fever. He wrote to Guido Adler: "I placed myself in the situation that a child of mine had died. When I really lost my daughter, I could not have written these songs any more." SCORING AND PERFORMANCE The work is scored for a vocal soloist (the notes lie comfortably for a Baritone or Mezzo-soprano ) and an orchestra consisting of Piccolo , 2 Flutes , 2 Oboes , English Horn (cor anglais), 2 Clarinet s, Bass Clarinet , 2 Bassoon s, Contrabassoon , 4 Horn s, Harp , Glockenspiel , Timpani , and the usual String section of first and second Violin s, Viola s, Cello s, and Double Bass es. The composer wrote, concerning the performance of the work, " {Link without Title} hese five songs are intended as one inseparate unit, and in performing them their continuity should not be interfered with". The ''Kindertotenlieder'' were premiered in Vienna on January 29 1905 . Friedrich Weidemann was the soloist, and the composer conducted. The work takes about 20 minutes to perform. EXTERNAL LINKS
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