Gustav Mahler

Songs to Poems by Rueckert No. 4 "Um Mitternacht" medium voice (A minor, original key)

Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) composed Songs to Poems by Rueckert (Songs after Rückert; Rückert-Lieder) between 1901 and 1902. They were not conceived of as a cycle, with each song only connected by the poet Friedrich Rückert and the themes. But they were published together, first as Sieben Lieder aus letzter Zeit (Seven Songs of Latter Days) with two additional Mahler songs, then with only the five songs. They have simply come to be known as Rückert-Lieder and are now most frequently performed together, although Mahler did set other Rückert poems aside from these five. Mahler orchestrated the first four songs himself, while the fifth song, Liebst du um Schönheit, was orchestrated after Mahler's death by Max Puttmann. The fourth song, Um Mitternacht (At midnight hour), was written in the summer of 1901, and it premiered among the other first four songs on January 29th, 1905, in Vienna, Mahler conducting. While the other four songs are more lyrical, the fourth stands out as a more austere symphonic ode, with hymn-like settings for the orchestra that include broad contrapuntal lines and a grand brass chorale. Versions in A minor, B minor, and G minor are available from the publisher. Instrumentation: 2.0+Obd'a.2.2+CBsn: 4.2.3.1: Timp: Hp.Pno: Solo Voice.