Selected songs from "Des Knaben Wunderhorn" by Gustav Mahler, partly arranged by Detlev Glanert. Sung by baritone Matthias Goerne and accompanied by the WDR Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Cristian Măcelaru. Recorded live on 02.09.2023 at the Philharmonie Cologne.
Gustav Mahler - Des Knaben Wunderhorn, D. Glanert (Transcription)
00:00:00 Zu Straßburg an der Schanz' (Gustav Mahler / Detlev Glanert (arranger))
00:03:33 Rhine Legends (Gustav Mahler)
00:06:48 Where the Beautiful Trumpets Blow (Mahler)
00:13:45 Nicht wiedersehen! (Gustav Mahler / Detlev Glanert (Transcription))
00:17:57 The Earthly Life (Mahler)
00:20:33 Primordial Light (Mahler)
00:25:44 Ich ging mit Lust durch einen grünen Wald (Gustav Mahler / Detlev Glanert (Transcription))
00:30:12 Revelge (Mahler)
00:36:25 The Tamboursg'sell (Mahler)
Matthias Goerne, baritone
WDR Symphony Orchestra
Cristian Măcelaru, conductor
► For more on the symphony orchestra, concerts and current livestreams, visit sinfonieorchester.wdr.de
► The WDR Symphony Orchestra on Facebook / wdrsinfonieorchester
Work introduction:
"Das klag ich an!" This last line from Gustav Mahler's song "Zu Straßburg auf der Schanz'" could stand as a possible heading over his work. Mahler's music does not deny the suffering of earthly reality, it looks closely, traces pain, fear and sorrow - without any glossing over. But: it also relieves and elevates, beyond all doubt, the meanness and the torment. At the same time, the longing for an ideal world blossoms in Mahler's music. "I am from God" is how a line from the song "Urlicht" sums this up as another possible heading. Despite all the struggles, Mahler always strives for peace of mind. But time and again, brutality breaks into the idyll. And so the hope for inner happiness is joined by an impulse to flee the world. As it says in the song "Der Tamboursg'sell" quasi as a third heading: "Von Euch ich Urlaub nimm!" (From you I take a holiday!).
Mahler's work carries within it a dichotomy, an oscillation between despair and hope. This characterises his two major work complexes, the nine completed symphonies as well as his songs. In addition to the three cycles "Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen" (Songs of a Travelling Journeyman), the five Rückert songs and the "Kindertotenlieder" (Children's Death Songs), Mahler mainly set texts from the folk song collection "Des Knaben Wunderhorn" (The Boy's Magic Horn), which appeared at the beginning of the 19th century. There are a total of 24 individual songs that were written in the ten years between 1887 and 1898. The composer integrated three of them into his symphonies. Mahler also composed piano and orchestral versions of a total of 15 of the songs from "Des Knaben Wunderhorn". Three of the songs, which are only available with piano accompaniment, will be heard in today's concert in orchestral versions by Detlev Glanert, one of the most successful composers of our time. In addition to his rich oeuvre of operas, orchestral works and chamber music, Glanert is always tempted to explore the tonal potential of pieces by other composers, such as Brahms' Vier Ernste Gesänge or songs by Schubert. Glanert has set Mahler's nine pure piano songs from "Des Knaben Wunderhorn" all for orchestra.
Text: Otto Hagedorn