Gustav Mahler

Sierra Jade Fox
German Vocal Literature: Final Paper

Dr. Anderson
Spring 2012
Gustav Mahler’s Settings of Des Knaben Wunderhorn: Alte Deutsches Lieder in a Historical
and Biographical Context, and a Comparison of Mahler’s Ballad Das irdische Leben
with Comparable German Balladic Works
Gustav Mahler’s musical output is a fascinating mix of symphonic and vocal music.
One of his most notable contributions to the arc of compositional style is his interest in
composing German song in a symphonic style. A large proportion of Mahler’s song output is
contained within the two books of songs known as Des Knaben Wunderhorn. Des Knaben
Wunderhorn is a collection of songs for voice and orchestra or voice and piano, and is based on
the book of German folk poetry and songs as collected by Ludwig Achim von Arnim and
Clemens Brentano1. This discourse will explore the place of Des Knaben Wunderhorn in history
and music, focusing on the individual song Das irdische Leben as an example of a Mahler ballad,
and comparing Das irdische Leben to other similar German ballads, namely Franz Schubert’s
setting of Erlkönig.
The book of poetry and songs under the title of Des Knaben Wunderhorn: Alte Deutsches
Lieder was compiled by Arnim (1781-1831) and Brentano (1778-1842) in three volumes of
2,500 pages altogether between 1805 and 1808, with the first book published in 1805 and the
1
Brentano, Clemens and Achim von Arnim. Des Knabem Wunderhorn: Alte Deutsches Lieder. Boston: G. Mueller,
1905.
second and third in 18082. The two men were writers themselves, and were good friends (later to
be brothers-in law). After years of traveling and writing, Arnim and Brentano settled in
Heidelberg, Germany, which was where they began the collaboration that became Des Knaben
Wunderhorn.3 Brentano was, according to Mahler scholar Eric Sams, “a sensitive lyricist and
romancer who collected old manuscripts, chap-books, and early editions of 16th- and 17th-century
German poets,” while Arnim was “a far less inspired novelist and versifier who collected
‘folksongs.’”4 Sam’s suspicious reference to “folksongs” is due to the somewhat dubious nature
of the sources of, specifically, many of Arnim’s contributions to the work.
The intention of the collection was to create a distinctly nationalistic, rousing set of
German songs and poems, drawn directly from the folk people of the country so as to bring the
beauty of the folk culture to the upper, more removed literary classes. Unfortunately, Arnim
found it difficult to find the meaningful, cultured writing he had hoped to include in the text
merely by pulling songs and poetry from the folk people. As such, the frustrated editor instead
found himself drawing from other sources, including other writers, other cultures/countries and
his own poetic writing for what he continued to call “mündlich,” or oral, songs and poems.5
Over time, the tampering with and sometimes fabrication of folk poetry created by Arnim and
Brentano has created uproar in the academic and scholarly community.6
While modern scholarship may question and doubt the authenticity and German folk
origins of Des Knaben Wunderhorn: Alte Deutsches Lieder, its reception at the time of its
2
Zipes, Jack. The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.
3
Sams, Eric. "Notes on a Magic Horn." The Musical Times 115, no. 1577 (1974): 556.
4
Ibid.
5
Paton, John Glenn. Gateway to German Lieder: An Anthology of German Song and Interpretation. Vol. 2. Alfred
Music Publishing, 2000.
6
Finson, Jon W. "The reception of Gustav Mahler's Wunderhorn Lieder." The Journal of Musicology 5, no. 1
(Winter 1987): 93.
publication was immensely positive.7 The collection was reviewed extensively by a wide pool of
journals and similar publications, which, especially at that time, was essential in creating notable
reputability for a new piece of writing; noted publisher Georg Joachim Goschen claimed that
such journals were read by “all classes in every city, in every little town, almost in every
village…of Germany.”8 Des Knaben Wunderhorn also received high praises from famed poet
(and the dedicatee of Arnim and Brentano’s work) Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who claimed
that the collection “has its place in every household.”9
Despite perhaps not holding the same scholarly authenticity in reality that it had hoped
(and claimed) to have in theory, Des Knaben Wunderhorn was extremely successful in its
parallel goal of creating a set of poems that elicited strong feelings of German nationality and
emotion.10 Says scholar Jon Finson in The Journal of Musicology, “Arnim and Brentano’s
motives in producing the Wunderhorn were political. By publishing the collection they hoped to
engender a sense of German cultural tradition and community which would ultimately unify the
German nation.”11 This “cultural nationalism,” as he calls it, is made quite clear in Des Knaben
Wunderhorn’s first published prospectus:
We announce the first large collection of old German songs, which
recent times know by the names: romances and ballads, which olden
times invented and passed down, which we have collected from the
lips of the people, from books and from manuscripts, arranged and
7
Brown, Susan Elisabeth, Ph.D. Des Knaben Wunderhorn (1806-08): Its Reception and an Assessment of its Impact.
Diss., Durham: Durham University, 1979.
8
Goschen, Viscount. The Life and Times of Georg Joachim Goschen: Publisher and Printer of Leipzig. London:
John Murray, 1903.
9
Chicago Symphony Orchestra 2012-2013 Season. 2012. http://cso.org/res/2012-13/content/page3.html.
10
Travers, Martin. European Literature from Romanticism to Postmodernism: A Reader in Aesthetic Practice.
Continuum International Publishing Group, 2007.
11
(Winter 1987): 93.
completed. The wealth of this national song will not escape general
attention, it will astonish many, complete or render obsolete many
endeavors of our time… by virtue of their content and sentiment
[the songs] encompass perhaps the greatest part of German poetry.12
It is important to note that Goethe’s review, which was among the first of the initial volume of
Des Knaben Wunderhorn, made note of the nationalistic tone of the work, and praised it for
exactly that reason.13 The texts run the gamut from amusing fables and anecdotes to horrifying
tales of sadness and loss. Because of this, most critics and readers found at least some aspect of
Des Knaben thatWunderhorn appealing or meaningful. Some were drawn by the nationalism
and patriotism of the (supposedly) Germanic texts, some, like composer Johann Reichardt, by the
“emphasis on full enjoyment of life,” and some by the poetic qualities and charm of the texts
themselves.14
The range and appeal of the Des Knaben Wunderhorn texts made them intriguing text
sources for German composers of vocal music. Selected texts from Arnim and Brentano’s
collection were set by such reputable composers as Felix Mendelssohn, Robert Schumann,
Johannes Brahms, Carl Loewe, Richard Strauss, Alexander von Zemlinsky, Arnold Schoenberg,
and Carl Maria von Weber.15 Goethe himself, in the same review that so highly praised the
initial publication of Des Knaben Wunderhorn, suggested that the texts of the collection would
be ideal for composers of all levels of ability, saying:
12
(Winter 1987): 94.
13
Ibid.
14
Brown, Susan Elisabeth, Ph.D. Des Knaben Wunderhorn (1806-08): Its Reception and an Assessment of its
Impact. Diss., Durham: Durham University, 1979.
15
Hampson, Thomas. Des Knaben Wunderhorn. Comps. Mendelssohn, Felix, Gustav Mahler, et al. 2006.
If, then, these songs are carried in time from ear to ear, from mouth
to mouth in their proper element of time, they will return eventually,
enlivened and enriched, to the [German] people from whom they
proceeded in part: one could then say this small book had fulfilled its
purpose and could, just as it was written and printed, be forgotten,
because it had been absorbed into the life and heritage of the nation.16
As a poet whose own texts were being set by countless composers, Goethe’s suggestion likely
held much sway in the compositional community of that time, and could have easily contributed
to the large number of composers for whom this text because a source.
Of all of the many composers who set selections from Des Knaben Wunderhorn: Alte
Deutches Lieder, Mahler may have been the most personally attached and devoted to the set of
poems. Upon discovering the texts of Arnim and Brentano’s famous anthology in 188817, he
was able to compose music on the themes of dances, nature, military music, children’s tales, and
more.18 Over his lifetime, Mahler set twenty-four poems from the Wunderhorn collection
(including nine for voice and piano, in his second and third volumes of Lieder und Gesänge aus
der Jugendzeit [Songs and Melodies from Youth],19 and fourteen in his Humoresken, which had
twelve initially, with the final two being replaced by two other songs upon being incorporated
into symphonies).20 The Wunderhorn texts themselves even had a direct effect on Mahler’s
compositional style, by which he composed so that the music would fit and support the folk-like
texts:
16
(Winter 1987): 94.
17
Abraham, Gerald. "An Outline of Mahler." Music & Letters 13, no. 4 (October 1932): 394.
18
Cherry, Daniel E. The Pedagogical and Performance Uses of Gustav Mahler's Lieder transcribed for Trombone
and Piano. Diss., Cincinatti: University of Cincinnati, 2008.
19
Palmer, John. “Aus der Jugendzeit (Lieder und Gesänge), Songs (14 for voice & piano (or orchestra) in 3
volumes).” 2012. <http://www.allmusic.com/work/aus-der-jugendzeit-lieder-und-gesnge-songs-14-for-voice--
piano-or-orchestra-in-3-volumes-c259095/description>
20
“Des Knaben Wunderhorn (Mahler, Gustav). 2012.
<http://imslp.org/wiki/Des_Knaben_Wunderhorn_(Mahler,_Gustav)>
He knew that in order to created a convincing volkstümliches Lied [folk-like song,
or song in the folk style] he must try to bring the words and the music into the
same type of union found in the typical folksong—a marriage in which one
partner, the music, dominates the other.21
Mahler was so devoted to the Wunderhorn texts that he reacted extremely strongly to any
challenge to his priority in the setting of them. For instance, in 1905, a review by Ludwig
Karpath claiming that Mahler was the first composer to set a significant amount of texts from
this collection22 was published with an “editorial query in parentheses” by the staff at the Signale
für die Musikalische Welt, for which Karpath (a devoted admirer of Mahler and his work) was
embarrassed. Apparently, the Signale für die Musikalische Welt had reviewed a set of thirty
songs by Theodor Streicher, also using the Wunderhorn texts, just about two years prior, and
thus the staff, perhaps unaware of Mahler’s previous uses of the Wunderhorn texts in his vocal
and orchestral works, questioned Karpath’s statement.23 When Karpath wrote to Mahler to
explain the review, Mahler replied bitterly, saying:
To the best of my knowledge only some of the individual songs from

Des Knaben Wunderhorn have been set to music. So my situation is
really rather different: up to the age of forty I took the words for my
songs—in so far as I did not write them myself (and even then they are
in a certain sense related to the Wunderhorn)—exclusively from that
collection.—But I think it would be idle to claim any priority in this
respect.—
Another difference is that I have devoted myself heart and soul to

that poetry (which is essentially different from any other kind of ‘liter-
21
Kravitt, Edward. “The Trend Towards the Folklike, Nationalism, and Their Expression by Mahler
and His Contemporaries in the Lied,” Chord and Discord 2.10 (1963): 51.
22
Karpath, Ludwig. “Wien, Mitte Februar.” Signale für die Musikalische Welt, Vol. LXIII (1905), 282-85
23
(Winter 1987): 92.
ary poetry,’ and might almost be called something more like Nature
and Life—in other words, the sources of all poetry—than art) in full
awareness of its character and tone.
And there can be no doubt that it is I, who for many years was
mocked for that choice of mine, who did, after all, set the fashion go-
ing. But it certainly is comical, in the circumstances, that precisely my
settings of these songs have still not been performed down to this
day, whereas my imitators are already very famous and their songs
frequently sung.24
The letter clearly shows Mahler’s sensitivity to any person or party claiming that anyone besides
himself showed the same initiative and devotion in regards to the texts of Des Knaben
Wunderhorn; despite many apologetic correspondences between Karpath and Mahler, their
personal relationship never healed from what Mahler perceived as Karpath’s inherent betrayal. 25
Despite Mahler’s intense devotion and dedication to the Wunderhorn texts, he did not set
the words with particular attention to the inherent poetic and rhythmic patterns of the original
writing; rather, he would set the text to the music, rather than the music to the text.26 This is not
to say that he did not pay heed to the text when composing; the entire musical works were based
around the folk elements that the texts exemplified, and he composed largely around that concept.
However, the language and spoken patterns of the text were often somewhat obscured to better
suit Mahler’s musical purposes. This manner of setting the text set Mahler apart from other
composers who also utilized the folk poetry, such as Mendelssohn, Schumann and Brahms, who
set the texts in a more straightforward manner, “preserving the texts given them, following their
24
Martner, ed. Selected Letters of Gustav Mahler, trans. Eithne Wilkins, Ernst Kaiser, et. al. London: 1979, p. 284
25
(Winter 1987): 92.
26
and Piano. Diss., Cincinatti: University of Cincinnati, 2008, p. 38.
structure faithfully, and employing a limited harmonic vocabulary.”27 Scholar Edward Kravitt
explains Mahler’s approach to text thus:
…Unlike most of his contemporaries, he approached the composition of the lied

via the music. In fact, his attention, while setting a text, was absorbed by purely
musical considerations. Consequently, he did not exercise special care to the
parallel metre of the poetry in the rhythm of his vocal line. To be specific: he
often applied rhythmic patterns, melodic sequences, or figures associated with the
dance or the march to phrases of text. Then too, he would call for a regularity of
musical stresses which produces a tripping and jigging rhythm, a metre not
present in each line of poetry thus set. And he often juxtaposed two groups of
time values such as eighths and sixteenths instead of assigning the longer and
shorter values to the words according to their relative importance in the central
meaning of the poem. And examples of incorrect accentuation of individual
words are not infrequent.28
Mahler’s use of the folk texts as more of a musical inspiration than poetic works requiring setting
according to their own inherent rhythms and flow is likely a large part of what made Mahler’s
song-writing so easily transferable into orchestral literature; many of his Wunderhorn songs were
used as themes for his symphonic works (such as “Urlicht” for Symphony No. 2, movement 4,
and “Es sungen drei Engel einen süssen Gesang” for Symphony No. 3, movement 5).29
Music scholar Deryck Cooke similarly explains Mahler’s vocal writing as akin to
orchestral writing:
27
(Winter 1987): 101.
28
Kravitt, Edward. “The Trend Towards the Folklike, Nationalism, and Their Expression by Mahler
and His Contemporaries in the Lied,” Chord and Discord 2.10 (1963): 51-52
29
[Mahler] uses the poems freely as a basis for brief ‘movements built out of short
motives: the texts are often lopped or modified, the words repeated or drawn out
to fit the thematic development; the voice is just one more instrument (a highly
expressive one) in the motivic texture.30
Again, it is clear that though the text is very important, it is important more as another means of
supporting the folk themes of the music. Essentially, theme was his Mahler’s primary concern,
and he was known to have said, “I demand a theme, development of a theme, thematic
manipulation, song, not declamation!”31 While some considered Mahler’s lack of attention to
the patterns of the text a “lack of ‘refinement,’”32 Mahler was acutely aware of his intentions in
regards to setting the text to the music. In a conversation with violist and musicologist Natalie
Bauer-Lechner, Mahler explained his feelings towards the text, saying, “…you can express so
much more in the music than the words directly say. The text is actually a mere indication of the
deeper significance to be extracted from it, of hidden treasure within.”33 Mahler also felt that the
modifications of the initial folk poetry by Arnim and Brentano to fit their purpose justified his
modifications of their versions to fit his own.34
To use the music as he intended (as a more indicative means of expression than the text),
Mahler utilized various techniques and composition elements. He often included examples of
musical irony, juxtaposing tonalities, styles and levels of intricacy. He often would mix folk
styles, such as children’s melodies, military music and popular dance music with complex and
intricate harmonization and forms. The purposeful combinations of the folk themes with
30
Cooke, Deryck. Gustav Mahler: An Introduction to His Music. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1980.
31
Bruner, Ellen Carole. “The Relationship of Text and Music in the Lieder of Hugo Wolf and
Gustav Mahler.” Diss., Syracuse: Syracuse University, 1974, p. 351.
32
33
Bauer-Lechner, Natalie. Recollections of Gustav Mahler. Trans. Dika Newlin. Ed. Peter Franklin. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1980, p. 32.
34
(Winter 1987): 101.
harmonic and tonal shifts/progressions allowed the music to be a most informative part of the
full work; the use of folk elements would present a concept, and the intricate harmonic and
developmental forms presented along with the folk elements would present a commentary on
that concept.35
One of the most striking elements of Mahler’s use of the Des Knaben Wunderhorn texts
is his use of an orchestral accompaniment (in the Humoresque settings, specifically). This was
unusual at the very least among Mahler’s contemporaries, and critics and audiences alike
commented largely on this surprising compositional choice (in both favorable and unfavorable
reviews). This reaction was first expressed by critic Eduard Hanslick, who, upon his first
encounter with Mahler’s settings of the Wunderhorn texts on January 15th, 1900, wrote in the
Neue Freie Presse:
Mahler, one in the forefront of modernism, shows a desire, as often happens, to

seek refuge in the opposite extreme, in naivety, in unremitting sentiment, in the
terse, even awkward language of the old folk song. However, it would have been
contrary to his nature to have treated these poems in the simple, undemanding
manner of earlier composers. Although a folk-like character is retained in the
vocal line, this is underlaid by a sumptuous accompaniment, alert in its
sprightliness and vivid modulation, which Mahler gives, not to the piano, but to
the orchestra. For folk songs, this is an uncommonly large and indeed refined
ensemble: three flutes, piccolo, three clarinets, bass clarinet, cor anglais, four
horns, two harps. It is impossible to ignore the fact that there is a contradiction, a
dichotomy between the concept of the “folk song” and this artful, superabundant
35
orchestral accompaniment. Yet Mahler has pursued this adventure with
extraordinary delicacy and masterly technique.”36
As with his compositional style, the use of orchestration for these folk texts is in and of itself an
example of juxtaposition and contrast. Even in the songs for voice and piano (which, in most
cases, were later arranged for orchestral accompaniments), the piano accompaniments were more
orchestral than pianistic in their style and nature.37
Of the many songs that Mahler composed using texts from Des Knaben Wunderhorn, at
least eighteen of them are representative of the ballad style, as defined in 1821 by Goethe
himself:
The ballad has something mysterious, without being mystic. This

latter quality of a poem lies in its subject matter, the former in its treatment.
The mysterious quality of a ballad derives from how it is presented. The singer
has his pregnant subject, his characters, their acts and gestures, so deeply
sensed, that he does not know how he will bring them forward to the light of
day. He utilizes, therefore, all three basic poetic modes to begin to express that
which arouses the power of imagination and occupies the spirit. He can begin
lyrically, epically, or dramatically, continually changing mode at will, rushing to
the end or drawing it out. The refrain, the continually recurring final passage,
gives this poetic art a determinedly lyrical character. One has a welcome friend, a
very German one, that is understood as the entirely folk-like ballad because the
spirit of these old times remains the same, both for contemporaries and for those
who follow, living in the same ways. A selection of this type of verse, moreover,
displays the whole range of poetry, because here the elements are not yet
separate but are still united, as in a living, primeval egg (Ur-Ei) that need only be
36
Mitchell, Donald. Gustav Mahler: The Wunderhorn Years: Chronicles and Commentaries. Berkeley: University
of California Press, 1980.
37
Holden, Robert Bruce, DMA. “The German Narrative Dramatic Ballad from Loewe to Mahler: The Development
of the Genre and its use as a Teaching Tool for Communication.” Diss., Philadelphia: Temple University, 2000.
hatched to launch the most marvelous phenomenon flying into the air on wings
of gold. 38
Mahler epitomized this genre of song-writing by spanning the flexible range expressed in
Goethe’s definition. Scholar and author Jon Finson describes such ballads as Mahler’s
“miniature ballads,” similar to those of Robert Schumann, due to their length and the brevity of
their poetic material.39 Such ballads unite dramatic, lyric and epic qualities to tell a clear
narrative, expressing distinct characters and presenting a story that transpires in time.40 In this
way, Mahler is “like the storyteller,” presenting the stories subjectively using the music in
conjunction with his versions of the texts.41 This allows Mahler to utilize a story arch within his
musical writing, with the story and music alike having a distinct introduction, middle section and
conclusion. According to scholar Elizabeth Mary Dargie,42 there are five specific types of
subject matter in Mahler’s Wunderhorn songs: “songs from the folk song heritage, songs of love,
songs of “earthly life” and death, humorous songs, and songs on the childlike mind.” 43
The subject category regarding songs of “earthly life” and death is exemplified in
Mahler’s ballad “Das irdische Leben” (literally, “The Earthly Life”). The text of this ballad is
drawn from the text from Des Knaben Wunderhorn originally entitled “Verspätung” (literally
lateness, or delay). The text of the original poem tells the story of a starving child, begging his
or her mother for food that she is unable to provide:
38
Breckling, Molly M. Narrative strategies in Gustav Mahler's balladic "Wunderhorn" lieder. Diss., Chapel Hill:
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2010.
39
Finson, Jon. “Between Lied and Ballade—Schumann’s Op. 40 and the Tradition of Genre,” Schumanniana Nova:
Festrschrift Gerd Nauhaus zum 60. Geburtstag, ed. Bernard Appel, Ute Bar, et. al. Sinzing: Studio Verlag, 2002.
40
41
Adorno, Theodor. Mahler: A Musical Physiognomy, trans. E. Jephcott. Chicago: University of Chicago Press,
1992.
42
Dargie, E. Mary. “Music and Poetry in the Songs of Gustav Mahler.” European University Studies: Series 1,
German Language and Literature. Vol. 401: 1981.
43
Mutter, ach Mutter, es hungert mich! Mother, oh mother, so hungry am I!
Gieb mir Brod, sonst sterbe ich. - Give me bread, or I shall die. –
„Warte nur, mein liebes Kind! “Just wait, my dear child!
Morgen wollen wir säen geschwind.“ Tomorrow we will quickly sow.”
Und als das Korn gesäet war, And when the corn was sown,
Rief das Kind noch immerdar: Cried the child ever still:
Morgen wollen wir ernten geschwind.“ Tomorrow we will quickly harvest.”
Und als das Korn geerntet war, And when the corn was harvested,
Morgen wollen wir dreschen geschwind.“ Tomorrow we will quickly thresh.”
Und als das Korn gedroschen war, And when the corn was threshed,
Morgen wollen wir mahlen geschwind.“ Tomorrow we will quickly grind.”
Und als das Korn gemahlen war, And when the corn was ground,
Morgen wollen wir backen geschwind.“ Tomorrow we will quickly bake.”
Und als das Brod gebacken war, And when all the bread was baked,
Lag das Kind schon auf der Bahr.44 The child was already on the stretcher.
Mahler’s setting, however, alters the text significantly to fit the musical and literary arch that is
typical of his ballad style. He eliminates several verses entirely, such as the first and the fifth, to
reduce some of the redundancy of the lengthy, repetitive poem. It is possible that he originally
composed music for at least the fifth stanza of the original Arnim and Brentano version and later
removed it; the original manuscript shows evidence of different paper used for the final verse,
which would have directly followed the fifth. This suggests that Mahler may have written a
longer song originally, including the fifth stanza, but later changed his mind and omitted the
pages entirely from the manuscript. The deletion of the first verse also allows for a more
practical temporal narrative; the audience can understand the mother ignoring or being unable to
address her child’s need for food over the time between harvesting the corn and baking the bread,
but not over the long period between planting the seeds and harvesting the grain. 45 Mahler does
add a repetitive of the “’Warte nur,” spoken by the character of the mother, to emphasize the
desperation of her plea for the child to remain well until she is able to provide him or her with
bread. This repetition also fits the metrical form of the music more fluidly, and thus this change
is not a surprising one; Mahler was ever ready to alter the text to fit his rhythms and musical
concepts. The other change Mahler made to the original text is in the final line; he changes “Lag
44
Brentano, Clemens and Achim von Arnim. Des Knabem Wunderhorn: Alte Deutsches Lieder. Boston: G. Mueller,
1905 (Trans. Sierra Fox, 2012)
45
das Kind schon auf der Bahr” (The child was already on the stretcher”) to “Lag das Kind auf der
Totenbahr” (“The child lay on the funeral bier”).
The poem itself has been interpreted as having a variety of potential meanings by folklore
and musical scholars alike. It is not entirely clear whether the mother was truly unable to attend
to her child’s hunger, without a scrap of food to offer him/her while he or she perished, or if she
merely disregarded the child’s pleas, not wholly believing or understanding his or her needs.
Some also suggest that the song is less about the tragedy of this small family, and rather about “a
society that allows the poor to suffer needlessly,” disregarding their pain and suffering until it
results in death.46 Scholar Theodor Adorno explains the child death by starvation as a metaphor
for the unaccomplished dreams of all who die, saying, “The hope of the unrealized, which settles
like a ray of holiness about those who die early, is not extinguished even for grown-ups.
Mahler’s music brings food to the mouth that is no more, watches over the sleep of those who
shall never wake.”47
Musically, Mahler uses strophic form to set this text, with slight alterations. The
accompaniment maintains a rolling pattern of sixteenth notes throughout, played Umheimlich
bewegt [with sinister agitation], as evident in the brief introductory music (shown here are
thereafter in piano reduction):
46
Ibid.
47
Theodor Adorno, Mahler: A Musical Physiognomy, E. Jephcott, trans., Chicago: University
of Chicago Press, 1992
The constantly moving accompaniment could represent the mill turning, trying to complete the
baking process; the cyclical nature of the accompaniment could also be a reference to the
monotonous nature of a peasant’s life, with a never-ending cycle of work necessary for survival.
Mahler explained it thus:
I feel that human life is symbolized by the child’s crying for bread and
the answer of the mother, consoling it with the promises again and again. In
life, everything that one most needs for the growth of spirit and body is
withheld—as with the dead child—until it is too late. And I believe that
this is characteristically and frighteningly expressed in the uncanny notes of the
accompaniment, which bluster past as in a storm; in the child’s anguished cry
of fear, and the slow, monotonous responses of the mother—of fate, which
is in no particular hurry to satisfy our cries for bread.48
The accompaniment is also tonally unclear; it is certainly in the key of E flat minor, but the
accompaniment obscures the tonality with (often non-diatonic) non-chord tones throughout.
This contributes to the overall tension and uneasiness of the song, and creates a yearning for
resolution that is not fully realized until it is too late, and the child has already starved to death;
the only definitive cadence of the song is in the very last note.49
The form of the song, as mentioned previously, is essentially strophic with some
alterations. The child’s pleas to the mother, for example, differ each time; the first time, the
child exclaims his or her hunger with octave leaps up and down, crying out to his mother:
48
Bauer-Lechner, Natalie. Recollections of Gustav Mahler. Trans. Dika Newlin. Ed. Peter Franklin. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1980, p. 32.
49
Gieb mir Brod, Sonst ster - be ich!
The second iteration of the child’s cry for food also utilizes the octave leaps, but instead of
jumping up an octave to the E flat and then ascending to the F flat, it instead sinks down from the
E flat to the D natural, perhaps showing the child’s diminishing strength:
The final cry of the child changes the octave jumps into leaps of twelfths, adding a minor third to
the initial octave. This likely represents the child’s final desperate attempt to save him- or
herself from starvation:
The final calls of “Mutter, ach Mutter, es hunger mich” also include extra leaps not previously
present, which solidifies the final desperation of the child. The mother’s dialogue, however,
remains musically the same throughout, with the only change being the step of the baking cycle
that they must next complete. This suggests either that the mother is aware of the terrifying issue
and is merely ttrying to calm the child with her monotony and stasis, or that she is entirely too
distracted by the baking process or other worldly issues to realize the severity of her child’s
hunger.50
The shifting between speakers in “Das irdische Leben,” among many other things, is
distinctly reminiscent of various settings of Goethe’s “Der Erlkönig,” especially Franz
Schubert’s setting composed in 181551. Like in “Erlkönig,” each character (the child, mother
and narrator) gives a separate view of the situation; the child and mother address each other, as
the child and father do in “Erlkönig,” and the narrator addresses the audience, revealing the
passage of time and, eventually, the death of the child in both stories.52 The Schubert setting of
“Erlkönig” maintains a similar underlying pattern in the accompaniment for most of the song,
representative both of the action (the riding through the forest, akin to the turning of the mill
wheel) and of the uneasiness and tension:
50
51
Ibid.
52
In both songs, the fast, repetitive, motivic accompaniments contribute greatly to the anxiety
inherent in the tales that they are depicting. They also represent a movement forward- riding
towards a destination in the Schubert accompaniment, and working towards completing the
bread in the Mahler accompaniment (though both are, in truth, moving most quickly towards the
death of the child).
Another shared trait of the Schubert “Erlkönig” and Mahler’s “Das irdische Leben” is its
treatment of the contrast between characters. As previously mentioned, Mahler shows some
contrast between the mother and the child in their level of desperation; the child changes his/her
melody to show his anxiety and need, while the mother remains the same in her verses, giving a
sense of monotony and possibly disinterest. In “Erlkönig,” the child similarly calls out to his
parent (“Mein Vater, mein Vater!”), expressing his fear of his own impending doom at the hands
of the Elf King; the child’s cry also changes each time he calls out to his father, rising by a whole
tone to depict his growing terror and desperation. The final iteration of his cry is only raised a
semitone; this, like the second cry of the child in “Das irdische Leben,” could also represent his
weakening body, unable to exert himself to fully express his anxiety.53 Also like “Das irdische
Leben,” the parent attempts to calm the child, disregarding the child’s claims (whether due to
genuine disbelief, a frightened attempt to ignore the situation, or simply to try to convince the
child that all will be well), and this is musically represented by a relatively stable and calm
melody54. These attempts are depicted in both songs by a tonal shift into another key, perhaps to
show the parents’ desire to disregard the situation or distract the child from the immense trouble
at hand.
53
“How Schubert Portray the Three Characters in setting of the Erlking.” Musicouch, Music Theory, 2009.<
http://musicouch.com/music-theory/how-schubert-portrays-the-three-characters-in-setting-of-the-erlking/>
54
In fact, each of the speakers of “Das irdische Leben” have their own tonal center; the
child sings in the tonic of E flat minor, the mother sings in the dominant key of B flat major to
show the instability of her situation, and the narrator’s pitch centers rise at each verse, with
added chromaticism each time, increasing the tension of the music. 55 This also is notably
similar to the “Erlkönig,” in which the characters of the child, father, Elf King and narrator also
are represented harmonically. The narrator begins in G minor, with a modulation do D major
soon after; this typical progression is indicative of the narrator’s role as a storyteller. The child is
represented by higher pitches, to show his youthfulness and fear- as mentioned previously, his
cries become higher as the piece progresses. The Elf King has two harmonic approaches;
initially, his false sweetness is represented by a change to the relative major of G flat minor, B
flat major, and maintains major sonorities throughout (in which he sings generally high, eerie
melodies). Eventually, however, the Elf King’s evil nature is fully revealed in his final lines,
“Ich lieb dich, mich reizt deine schöne Gestalt/Und bist du nicht willig, so brauch ich Gewalt! [I
love you, I’m charmed by your beautiful form, and if you are not willing, I shall take you by
force!]”56 The father, trying to calm the son, also sings in the key of B flat major, trying to move
the son out of his fear; however, as this is the same key of some of the Elf King’s material, it
offers the poor child little comfort.
The similarities between Schubert’s “Erlkönig” and Mahler’s “Das irdische Leben” share
not only balladic, harmonic, and characteristic traits, they also hold a similar message: “parents
who become so caught up in the task of caring for their children that they forget to listen can
55
“How Schubert Portray the Three Characters in setting of the Erlking.” Musicouch, Music Theory, 2009.<
http://musicouch.com/music-theory/how-schubert-portrays-the-three-characters-in-setting-of-the-erlking/>
56
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang Von. Selected Poems, Vol. 1. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994. Trans.
Sierra Fox, 2012
often lose what matters most.”57 Mahler takes the methods of Schubertian (and general German)
ballad and expands, them, however, into new territory; he uses orchestral, symphonic mediums
to paint a picture of, as “Das irdische Leben” so clearly epitomizes, “earthly life” and the
tales/experiences of the folk people. The importance of Des Knaben Wunderhorn shows itself
throughout his musical writing, and created a permanent place for Mahler as a composer of
German song.
57
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Chicago Press, 1992.
Bauer-Lechner, Natalie. Recollections of Gustav Mahler. Trans. Dika Newlin. Ed. Peter
Franklin. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1980, p. 32.
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Diss., Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2010.
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Sierra Jade Fox

German Vocal Literature: Final Paper

with Comparable German Balladic Works

of the sources of, specifically, many of Arnim’s contributions to the work.

Brentano has created uproar in the academic and scholarly community.6

that the collection “has its place in every household.”9

Wunderhorn’s first published prospectus:

We announce the first large collection of old German songs, which

attention, it will astonish many, complete or render obsolete many

endeavors of our time… by virtue of their content and sentiment

[the songs] encompass perhaps the greatest part of German poetry.12

be ideal for composers of all levels of ability, saying:

explain the review, Mahler replied bitterly, saying:

To the best of my knowledge only some of the individual songs from

Another difference is that I have devoted myself heart and soul to

explains Mahler’s approach to text thus:

…Unlike most of his contemporaries, he approached the composition of the lied

modifications of their versions to fit his own.34

Neue Freie Presse:

Mahler, one in the forefront of modernism, shows a desire, as often happens, to

orchestral than pianistic in their style and nature.37

The ballad has something mysterious, without being mystic. This

or her mother for food that she is unable to provide:

Totenbahr” (“The child lay on the funeral bier”).

shall never wake.”47

accompaniment maintains a rolling pattern of sixteenth notes throughout, played Umheimlich

thereafter in piano reduction):

Mahler explained it thus:

this is characteristically and frighteningly expressed in the uncanny notes of the

accompaniment, which bluster past as in a storm; in the child’s anguished cry

is in no particular hurry to satisfy our cries for bread.48

E flat to the D natural, perhaps showing the child’s diminishing strength:

Gieb mir Brod, Sonst ster - be ich!

herself from starvation:

Gieb mir Brod, Sonst ster - be ich!

distinctly reminiscent of various settings of Goethe’s “Der Erlkönig,” especially Franz

wheel) and of the uneasiness and tension:

death of the child).

offers the poor child little comfort.

Adorno, Theodor. Mahler: A Musical Physiognomy, trans. E. Jephcott. Chicago: University of

Breckling, Molly M. Narrative strategies in Gustav Mahler's balladic "Wunderhorn" lieder.

Chicago Symphony Orchestra 2012-2013 Season. 2012. http://cso.org/res/2012-

Cooke, Deryck. Gustav Mahler: An Introduction to His Music. Cambridge: Cambridge

“Des Knaben Wunderhorn (Mahler, Gustav). 2012.

Travers, Martin. European Literature from Romanticism to Postmodernism: A Reader in

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