Mahler completed what would become the first movement of the symphony in 1888 as a single-movement symphonic poem called Totenfeier (Funeral Rites).
Some sketches for the second movement also date from that year. Mahler wavered five years on whether to make Totenfeier the opening movement of a symphony,
although his manuscript does label it as such. In 1893, he composed the second and third movements.[1] The finale was the problem. While thoroughly aware he
was inviting comparison with Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 (both use a chorus as the centerpiece of a much longer final movement, which begins with
references to the earlier movements), Mahler knew he wanted a vocal final movement. Finding the right text for this movement proved long and perplexing.[2]
When Mahler took up his appointment at the Hamburg Opera in 1891, he found the other important conductor there to be Hans von Bulow, who was in charge
of the city's symphony concerts. Bulow, not known for his generosity, was impressed by Mahler. His support was not diminished by his failure to like or
understand Totenfeier when Mahler played it for him on the piano. Bulow told Mahler thatTotenfeier made Tristan und Isolde sound to him like a Haydn symphony.
As Bulow's health worsened, Mahler substituted for him. Bulow's death in 1894 greatly affected Mahler. At the funeral, Mahler heard a setting of
and everything was revealed to me clear and plain." Mahler used the first two verses of Klopstock's hymn, then added verses of his own that dealt more
explicitly with redemption and resurrection.[3] He finished the finale and revised the orchestration of the first movement in 1894, then inserted the song Urlicht
(Primal Light) as the penultimate movement. This song was probably written in 1892 or 1893.[1]
Mahler devised a narrative programme for the work, which he told to a number of friends. In this programme, the first movement represents a funeral and
asks questions such as "Is there life after death?"; the second movement is a remembrance of happy times in the life of the deceased; the third movement
represents a view of life as meaningless activity; the fourth movement is a wish for release from life without meaning; and the fifth movement – after a return
of the doubts of the third movement and the questions of the first – ends with a fervent hope for everlasting, transcendent renewal, a theme that Mahler would
Musically, the first movement – written in C minor – though passing through a number of different moods, often resembles a funeral march, and is
violent and angry.
The form of this movement is still debated. It is undoubtedly in an extended sonata form, and organization of the final section, beginning with the
recapitulation, just after rehearsal 20, is clear. The first theme group includes the bass theme that opens the movement and the dirge in the woodwinds
that follows; the second theme group is introduced in the distant key of E major in the violins, at rehearsal 3. After this, it is difficult to say whether
there is a second exposition, a large development section (or two), or some combination thereof. One possible reading has two expositions, the
second one beginning at rehearsal 4, and a long development section beginning after rehearsal 9. The development presents several ideas that will
be used later in the symphony, including a theme based on the Dies Irae plainchant.
Mahler uses a somewhat modified tonal framework for the movement. The secondary theme, first presented in E major, begins its second statement
in C major, a key in which it is not expected until the recapitulation. The statement in the recapitulation, coincidentally, is in the original E major.
The eventual goal of the symphony, E-flat major, is briefly hinted at after rehearsal 17, with a theme in the trumpets that returns in the finale.
Following this movement, Mahler calls in the score for a gap of five minutes before the second movement. This pause is rarely observed today.
Often conductors will meet Mahler half way, pausing for a few minutes while the audience takes a breather and settles down and the orchestra
retunes in preparation for the rest of the piece. Julius Buths received this instruction from Mahler personally, prior to a 1903 performance in Dusseldorf;[9]
however, he chose instead to place the long pause between the fourth and fifth movements, for which Mahler congratulated him on his insight, sensitivity,
The second movement is a delicate Landler in A-flat major with two contrasting sections of slightly darker music. This slow movement itself is contrasting
to the two adjacent movements. Structurally, it is one of the simplest movements in Mahler's whole output. It is the remembrance of the joyful times in the
life of the deceased.
In ruhig fliesender Bewegung (With quietly flowing movement)
The third movement is a scherzo in C minor. It opens with two strong, short timpani strokes. It is followed by two softer strokes, and then followed by even
softer strokes that provide the tempo to this movement, which includes references to Jewish folk music. Mahler called the climax of the movement, which
occurs near the end, sometimes a "cry of despair", and sometimes a "death-shriek". The movement is based on Mahler's setting of "Des Antonius von
Padua Fischpredigt" from "Des Knaben Wunderhorn", which Mahler composed almost concurrently. (This movement was the basis for the third movement
of Luciano Berio's "Sinfonia", where it is used as the framework for adding, collage-like, a great many quotations and references to other scores.)
Urlicht (Primeval Light). Sehr feierlich, aber schlicht
The fourth movement, Urlicht, is a Wunderhorn song, sung by an alto, which serves as an introduction to the Finale in a manner similar to the bass recitative
in Beethoven's Ninth. The song, set in the remote key of D-flat major, illustrates the longing for relief from worldly woes, leading without a break to the response
in the Finale.
Im Tempo des Scherzos (In the tempo of the scherzo)
The finale is the longest, typically lasting over half an hour. It is divided into two large parts, the second of which begins with the entry of the chorus and whose
form is governed by the text of this movement. The first part is instrumental, and very episodic, containing a wide variety of moods, tempi and keys, with much
of the material based on what has been heard in the previous movements, although it also loosely follows sonata principles. New themes introduced are used
repeatedly and altered.
The movement opens with a long introduction, beginning with the "cry of despair" that was the climax of the third movement, followed by the quiet presentation
of a theme which re-appears as structural music in the choral section, and by a call in the offstage horns. The first theme group reiterates the "Dies Irae" theme
from the first movement, and then introduces the "resurrection" theme to which the chorus will sing their first words, and finally a fanfare. The second theme is
a long orchestral recitative, which provides the music for the alto solo in the choral section. The exposition concludes with a re-statement of the first theme group.
This long opening section serves to introduce a number of themes, which will become important in the choral part of the finale.
The development section is what Mahler calls the "march of the dead". It begins with two long drum rolls, which include the use of the gongs, In addition to
developing the Dies Irae and resurrection themes and motives from the opening cry of despair, this section also states, episodically, a number of other themes,
based on earlier material. The recapitulation overlaps with the march, and only brief statements of the first theme group are re-stated. The orchestral recitative
is fully recapitulated, and is accompanied this time by offstage interruptions from a band of brass and percussion. This builds to a climax, which leads into a
re-statement of the opening introductory section. The horn call is expanded into Mahler's "Great Summons", a transition into the choral section.
Tonally, this first large part, the instrumental half of the movement, is organized in F minor. After the introduction, which recalls two keys from earlier movements,
the first theme group is presented wholly in F minor, and the second theme group in the subdominant, B-flat minor. The re-statement of the first theme group
occurs in the dominant, C major. The development explores a number of keys, including the mediant, A-flat major, and the parallel major, F major. Unlike the
first movement, the second theme is recapitulated as expected in the tonic key. The re-statement of the introduction is thematically and tonally a transition to the
second large part, moving from C-sharp minor to the parallel D-flat major — the dominant of F-sharp minor — in which the Great Summons is stated.. The Epiphany
comes in, played by the flute, in a high register, and featuring trumpets, that play offstage. The choral section begins in G-flat major.
The chorus comes in quietly a little past the halfway point of the movement. The choral section is organized primarily by the text, using musical material from earlier
in the movement. (The B-flat below the bass clef occurs four times in the choral bass part: three at the chorus' hushed entrance and again on the words "Hor' auf zu
beben". It is the lowest vocal note in standard classical repertoire. Mahler instructs basses incapable of singing the note remain silent rather than sing the note an
octave higher.) Each of the first two verses is followed by an instrumental interlude; the alto and soprano solos, "O Glaube", based on the recitative melody, precede
the fourth verse, sung by the chorus; and the fifth verse is a duet for the two soloists. The opening two verses are presented in G-flat major, the solos and the fourth
verse in B-flat minor (the key in which the recitative was originally stated), and the duet in A-flat major. The goal of the symphony, E-flat major, the relative major of
the opening C minor, is achieved when the chorus picks up the words from the duet, "Mit Flugeln", although after eight measures the music gravitates to G major
(but never cadences on it).
E-flat suddenly re-enters with the text "Sterben werd' ich um zu leben," and a proper cadence finally occurs on the downbeat of the final verse, with the entrance of
the heretofore silent organ (marked "volles Werk") and with the choir instructed to sing "mit hochster Kraft" (with highest power). The instrumental coda is in this
ultimate key as well, and is accompanied by the tolling of deep bells. Mahler went so far as to purchase actual church bells for performances, finding all other means
of achieving this sound unsatisfactory. Mahler wrote of this movement: "The increasing tension, working up to the final climax, is so tremendous that I don’t know
myself, now that it is over, how I ever came to write it." [11]
Note: This text has been translated from the original German text from Des Knaben Wunderhorn 少年魔號角 to English on a very literal and line-for-line basis, without regard
for the preservation of meter or rhyming patterns.
when came a little angel and wanted to turn me away.
Ah no! I would not let myself be turned away!
I am from God and shall return to God!
The loving God will grant me a little light,
Which will light me into that eternal blissful life!
Note: The first eight lines were taken from the poemDie Auferstehung by Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock.[12] Mahler omitted the final four lines of this poem and wrote the rest himself
The symphony's first movement is in C minor, and the finale concludes in E♭ major, the relative major of C minor. Thus, the work exhibits progressive tonality; as a result,
a titular description in terms of a single key is not realistic, and is not found in serious works of reference.
The symphony is sometimes described as being in the key of C minor; the 'New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians', however, represents the progressive tonal
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