A Study and Analysis of Kindertotenlieder by Gustav Mahler（1860-1911）

• Main Authors: Yin-Han Chen, 陳蔭涵
• Other Authors: Yu-Ring CHIANG
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2009
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/79252835711881583150

碩士 === 東吳大學 === 音樂學系 === 97 === This thesis centers on one of the art songs of Mahler, Kindertotenlieder (Songson the Death of Children). It explores the importance of Kindertotenlieder in Mahler's work by discussing the background of composition and comparing with Mahler's other art songs. There are four aspects of Kindertotenlierder which make the work remarkable. 1. Mahler's selection of the theme "death": "death"s a common theme in German art songs. Unlike other prior composers who anthropomorphized or divinized the subject of death, Mahler described death realistically and truthfully from an observer's point of view. 2. The elevation of music accompaniment through conservative song structure: Although conservative Strophiclied structures are found in the five songs of Kindertotenlieder, the accompaniment plays an essential role in passing on the central theme of the music work. 3. The connection between the music and the lyric: the strong linkage between tonality, rhythm and lyrics makes each of the five songs tightly connected into a complete music work. 4. Kindertotenlieder demonstrates the relationship between songs and symphonies in the music of the late Mahler. Kindertotenlieder is the second orchestral song of Mahler, which hints the coexistence between songs and symphonies in the music of the composer's later days. The innovative form found in Kindertotenlieder deeply influenced Mahler's work afterwards. At the end, Mahler composed Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth), which proves this holistic relationship between songs and symphonies.