Das klagende Lied (literally, "The Song of Lament") is a cantata by Gustav Mahler, composed between 1878 and 1880, although often corrected during the next two decades. In its original form, Das klagende Lied is one of the earliest of his works that have survived until our time (the movement of the Quartet for Piano in The minor is believed to be from 1876). History of its composition
Mahler began to write the Das klagende Lied text (presumably based on a fairy tale of the same name by Ludwig Bechstein and / or in the tale Der singende Knochen ("The singing bone") by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm) during the first part of his final year at the Vienna Conservatory (University of Music and Performing Arts), where he studied between 1875 and 1878. The draft of the text for the work is dated 18 March 1878, and the composition of the music began in the fall of 1879 and was completed on November 1, 1880. The work is presented on a very large and complex scale, requiring a large orchestra and taking between 60 and 70 minutes its full performance.
Originally, Das klagende Lied consisted of three parts:
The first performance did not occur until 1901, when Mahler had already made several revisions to the original score. The first revision took place in the second half of 1893, and with it there was a significant reduction and modification of the arrangements of the orchestral and vocal forces; the number of harps from the first part of six to two was reduced, and the vocal soloists, from eleven to four.
Further revisions, up to the present work in two parts (with the elimination of the first part), were made between September and December 1898. Actually, this revision was so extensive that Mahler was forced to write a completely new score. Releases and recordings
The premiere of Das klagende Lied took place on February 17, 1901 in Vienna, with Mahler himself as director. It was this version in two parts which was published and entered the repertoire. But when the original manuscript in three parts was known in 1969, this version was also interpreted and recorded. It was also published in 1997 as part of the Gustav Mahler Edition.
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