Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen

"Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen" ('Songs of a Travelling Comrade, Companion, or Journeyman', usually translated as 'Songs of a Wayfarer') is Gustav Mahler's first song cycle. While he had previously written other lieder, they were grouped by source of text or time of composition as opposed to common theme. The four-movement cycle, for low voice (but often performed by a female singer), is widely believed to have been inspired by the conclusion of an unhappy love-affair.

Introduction

The work's compositional history is complex and difficult to trace. Mahler appears to have begun composing the songs in December 1884 and to have completed them in 1885. He subjected the score to a great deal of revision, however, probably between 1891 and 1896, and some time in the early 1890s orchestrated the original piano accompaniments. As a result of this situation, various discrepancies exist between the different sources.

It appears to have been in the orchestral version that the cycle was first performed, in 1896, but possible indications of an earlier, voice-and-piano performance cannot be discounted. The work was published in 1897 and is one of Mahler's most well-known compositions.

The lyrics are by the composer himself, though they are influenced by "Des Knaben Wunderhorn", a collection of German folk poetry that was one of Mahler's favorite books, and the first song is actually based on the "Wunderhorn" poem "Wann" [sic] "mein Schatz".

Contents

I - "Wenn mein Schatz Hochzeit macht" ("When My Sweetheart is Married")

The first movement is entitled "Wenn mein Schatz Hochzeit macht" ("When My Sweetheart is Married"), and the text discusses the Wayfarer's grief at losing his love to another. He remarks on the beauty of the surrounding world, but how that cannot keep him from having sad dreams. The orchestral texture is bittersweet, using much double reed instruments, clarinets and strings.

:Original German :Wenn mein Schatz Hochzeit macht,:Fröhliche Hochzeit macht,:Hab' ich meinen traurigen Tag!:Geh' ich in mein Kämmerlein,:Dunkles Kämmerlein,:Weine, wein' um meinen Schatz,:Um meinen lieben Schatz! :Blümlein blau! Verdorre nicht!:Vöglein süß!:Du singst auf grüner Heide.:Ach, wie ist die Welt so schön!:Ziküth! Ziküth! :Singet nicht! Blühet nicht!:Lenz ist ja vorbei!:Alles Singen ist nun aus!:Des Abends, wenn ich schlafen geh',:Denk'ich an mein Leide!:An mein Leide!

:In English :When my darling has her wedding-day,:her joyous wedding-day,:I will have my day of mourning!:I will go to my little room,:my dark little room,:and weep, weep for my darling,:for my dear darling! :Blue flower! Do not wither!:Sweet little bird:you sing on the green heath!:Alas, how can the world be so fair?:Chirp! Chirp! :Do not sing; do not bloom!:Spring is over.:All singing must now be done.:At night when I go to sleep,:I think of my sorrow,:of my sorrow!

II - "Ging heut Morgen übers Feld" ("I Went This Morning over the Field")

The second movement, "Ging heut Morgen übers Feld" ("I Went This Morning over the Field"), is the happiest movement of the work. Indeed, it is a song of joy and wonder at the beauty of nature in simple actions like birdsong and dew on the grass. "Is it not a lovely world?" is a refrain. However, the Wayfarer is reminded at the end that despite this beauty, his happiness will not blossom anymore now that his love is gone. This movement is orchestrated delicately, making use of high strings and flutes, as well as a fair amount of triangle. The melody of this movement, as well as much of the orchestration, is developed into the 'A' theme of the first movement of the First Symphony.

:Original German :Ging heut morgen übers Feld,:Tau noch auf den Gräsern hing;:Sprach zu mir der lust'ge Fink::"Ei du! Gelt? Guten Morgen! Ei gelt? :Du! Wird's nicht eine schöne Welt?:Zink! Zink! Schön und flink!:Wie mir doch die Welt gefällt!" :Auch die Glockenblum' am Feld:Hat mir lustig, guter Ding',:Mit den Glöckchen, klinge, kling,:Ihren Morgengruß geschellt::"Wird's nicht eine schöne Welt?:Kling, kling! Schönes Ding!:Wie mir doch die Welt gefällt! Heia!" :Und da fing im Sonnenschein:Gleich die Welt zu funkeln an;:Alles Ton und Farbe gewann:Im Sonnenschein!:Blum' und Vogel, groß und Klein!:"Guten Tag,:ist's nicht eine schöne Welt?:Ei du, gelt? Schöne Welt!" :Nun fängt auch mein Glück wohl an?:Nein, nein, das ich mein',:Mir nimmer blühen kann!

:In English :I walked across the fields this morning;:dew still hung on every blade of grass.:The merry finch spoke to me::"Hey! Isn't it? Good morning! Isn't it?:You! Isn't it becoming a fine world?:Chirp! Chirp! Fair and sharp!:How the world delights me!" :Also, the bluebells in the field:merrily with good spirits:tolled out to me with bells(ding, ding):their morning greeting::"Isn't it becoming a fine world?:Ding, ding! Fair thing!:How the world delights me!" :And then, in the sunshine,:the world suddenly began to glitter;:everything gained sound and color:in the sunshine!:Flower and bird, great and small!:"Good day,:Is it not a fine world?:Hey, isn't it? A fair world?" :Now will my happiness also begin?:No, no - the happiness I mean:can never bloom!

III - "Ich hab'ein glühend Messer" ("I Have a Gleaming Knife")

The third movement is a full display of despair. Entitled "Ich hab'ein glühend Messer" ("I Have a Gleaming Knife"), the Wayfarer likens his agony of lost love to having an actual metal blade piercing his heart. He obsesses to the point where everything in the environment reminds him of some aspect of his love, and he wishes he actually had the knife. The music is intense and driving, fitting to the agonized nature of the Wayfarer's obsession.

:Original German :Ich hab'ein glühend Messer, :Ein Messer in meiner Brust,:O weh! Das schneid't so tief:in jede Freud' und jede Lust.:Ach, was ist das für ein böser Gast!:Nimmer hält er Ruh',:nimmer hält er Rast,:Nicht bei Tag, noch bei Nacht, :wenn ich schlief!:O weh! :Wenn ich den Himmel seh',:Seh'ich zwei blaue Augen stehn!:O weh! Wenn ich im gelben Felde geh',:Seh'ich von fern das blonde Haar :Im Winde weh'n!:O weh! :Wenn ich aus dem Traum auffahr':Und höre klingen ihr silbern Lachen,:O weh!:Ich wollt', ich läg auf der :Schwarzen Bahr',:Könnt' nimmer die Augen aufmachen!

:In English :I have a red-hot knife,:a knife in my breast.:O woe! It cuts so deeply:into every joy and delight.:Alas, what an evil guest it is!:Never does it rest,:never does it relax,:not by day, not by night,:when I would sleep.:O woe! :When I gaze up into the sky,:I see two blue eyes there.:O woe! When I walk in the yellow field,:I see from afar her blond hair:waving in the wind.:O woe! :When I start from a dream:and hear the tinkle of her silvery laugh,:O woe!:I wish I could lay down on my:black bier - :Would that my eyes never open again!

IV - "Die zwei blauen Augen von meinem Schatz" ("The Two Blue Eyes of my Beloved")

The final movement culminates in a resolution. The music (also reused in the First Symphony) is subdued and gentle, lyrical and often reminiscent of a chorale in its harmonies. Its title, "Die zwei blauen Augen von meinem Schatz" ("The Two Blue Eyes of my Beloved"), deals with how the image of those eyes has caused the Wayfarer so much grief that he can no longer stand to be in the environment. He describes lying down under a linden tree, allowing the flowers to fall on him. He wishes to return to his life before his travels. He asks that the whole affair had never occurred: "Everything: love and grief, and world, and dreams!"

:Original German :Die zwei blauen Augen :von meinem Schatz,:Die haben mich in die :weite Welt geschickt.:Da mußt ich Abschied nehmen vom allerliebsten Platz!:O Augen blau, :warum habt ihr mich angeblickt?:Nun hab' ich ewig Leid und Grämen! :Ich bin ausgegangen:in stiller Nacht:wohl über die dunkle Heide.:Hat mir niemand Ade gesagt:Ade!::Mein Gesell' war Lieb und Leide! :Auf der Straße stand ein Lindenbaum,:Da hab' ich zum ersten Mal :im Schlaf geruht!:Unter dem Lindenbaum, :Der hat seine Blüten :über mich geschneit,:Da wußt' ich nicht, wie das Leben tut,:War alles, alles wieder gut!:Alles! Alles, Lieb und Leid:Und Welt und Traum!

:In English :The two blue eyes:of my darling:they sent me into the:wide world.:I had to take my leave of this most-beloved place!:O blue eyes,:why did you gaze on me?:Now I have eternal sorrow and grief. :I went out into the quiet night:well across the dark heath.:To me no one bade farewell.:Farewell!:My companions are love and sorrow! :By the road stood a linden tree,:Where, for the first time,:I found rest in sleep!:Under the linden tree:that snowed its blossoms:over me,:I did not know how life went on,:and all was well again!:All! All, love and sorrow:and world and dream!

About the Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen

"Songs of a Wayfarer" is the normal English translation of the work's title, but Fritz Spiegl pointed out that "ein Geselle" is a journeyman; that is, the stage between apprentice and master craftsman, in which payment was by the day, or "jour", and with the 'journeyman' traditionally travelling to gain experience with other masters. A more accurate translation, therefore, may be "Songs of a Travelling Journeyman". With this clarified, the cycle reveals an autobiographical aspect of a kind that is familiar from other Mahler works: as a young and newly qualified composer and conductor, Mahler was himself somewhere between an 'apprentice' and a 'master craftsman' and was indeed travelling between towns (Bad Hall; Laibach; Olmütz; Vienna; Kassel...). All the while, he was honing his skills and learning from the great masters in his field.

External links

* [http://opera.stanford.edu/iu/libretti/gesell.html Text of the Lieder at Stanford (Public Domain)]
* [http://www.dlib.indiana.edu/variations/scores/cag4966/large/index.html Sheet Music of the Lieder at Indiana University]
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* [http://www.impresario.ch/karaoke/index.php?query=Mahler+Gesellen Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (MIDI)]