Songs to Poems by Rueckert; No. 5: Liebst du um Schoenheit?, low voice (B-flat, transposed) [Alf:36-A566701]

Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) composed Songs to Poems by Rueckert (Songs after Rĵckert; Rĵckert-Lieder) between 1901 and 1902. They were not conceived of as a cycle, with each song only connected by the poet Friedrich Rĵckert 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 Rĵckert-Lieder and are now most frequently performed together, although Mahler did set other Rĵckert poems aside from these five. Mahler orchestrated the first four songs himself, while the fifth song, Liebst du um Schĥnheit, was orchestrated after Mahler's death by Max Puttmann. The fifth song, Liebst du um Schĥnheit (If you love for beauty), was written in the summer of 1902, and it is different from the first four Rĵckert-Lieder in that it was written specifically for his wife, Alma, as a gift. The intimate and beautiful love song is simple, yet expressive. Max Puttmann's orchestration maintains the subtlety of the piano accompaniment. Version in the original key of C and a transposition to B-flat are available from the publisher. Instrumentation: 0.2+EH.2.2: 4.0.0.0: Hp: Str (9-8-7-6-5 in set): Solo Low Voice.