The first movement: "Das Trinklied vom Jammer der Erde" (Das Trinklied vom Jammer der Erde)

Sonata form, double exposition, the lyrics are Li Bai's "Elegy". The movement is based on the lyrics of an ancient poem. The author divides the poem into three sections, and each section ends with "Life is dark, and death is also dark." The original meaning of this poem is: A person's life span is only a hundred years. Faced with this reality, the best way is to drink away sorrow. The music begins with praise for life and ends with anguish. The introduction of the first exposition is filled with sorrow and anger, with the horns playing in unison and the trumpet assisting to play an exciting motive like a cry. Then, the tenor solo sings the main theme. This is a very difficult phrase, expressing the author's resentment and resistance to the world: the second exposition is basically a variation and repetition of the first exposition, with the tenor singing the second verse. In the development, the muted trumpet and English horn alternately play the introduction motive, and then the violin and clarinet form a duet full of beautiful fantasy and longing for life. When the tenor sang passionately again, he expressed a kind of doubt and despair about limited life. The recapitulation is short. Every time "Life is dark, death is also dark" is sung, it is moved up a key, the music appears dim, and the music ends with a high-pitched but somewhat thin melody.

Second movement: "Der Einsame im Herbst" (Der Einsame im Herbst)

Sonata form, double presentation, the original lyrics are "Night Mooring on the Maple Bridge" by Zhang Ji in the Tang Dynasty. The poem describes the scene of autumn, "the flowers are withered and the leaves are falling." It is a lonely and desolate love poem. The introduction to the first presentation is an infinitely moving flowing melody played by the violin, which runs almost throughout the entire movement. On this dull and even dull background, the oboe played the melancholy, lonely and desolate main theme of the "Sad Lonely Man": then, the clarinet played the submelody and the mezzo-soprano filled it with a slow melody. Poignantly pouring out the melancholy in his heart, the second theme is played by the first horn solo. The second exposition is basically a repetition of the first exposition, without the theme of "Sad Lonely Man", but a variation of the mezzo-soprano solo's theme. After a short development, the oboe and the singing are intertwined, and the bitter and melancholy melody adds to the emotion of sadness and pain, making people cry. Finally, the oboe plays the theme of "Sad Lonely" again, and the music returns to an atmosphere full of exhaustion and melancholy.

The third movement: "Youth" (Von der Jugend)

The author of the lyrics is signed by Li Taibai, and the original poem is "A Journey from a Guest". This is a joyful ode to youth and a beautiful episode of the entire symphony in the troubled journey of life. The introduction of the music is a smooth and lively pentatonic melody played by the flute and oboe, which expresses the ancient and distinctive Chinese sentiment; then, the tenor sings a fresh and lively melody based on Li Bai's poems in a brisk and unrestrained way. The theme of joy describes a group of teenagers gathering in a pavilion, admiring the beautiful scenery reflected in the pool. They talk and laugh, drink and compose poems. In the middle section, after the woodwind and trumpet paused to play the first theme, the woodwind played against it with a brisk pause, and the tenor sang a smooth and heroic theme. When the violin changes and repeats the above theme, it makes people feel particularly comfortable, full of youthful vitality, and hopes for a better and happy future. But the singing in the back, especially the repetition of the strings' descending jump, casts a gray veil on this hope, giving it an illusory color. The recapitulation is shorter, but the fresh melody is still so bright, and the scholars who have forgotten reality still recite poems and answer questions, but this is nothing more than a reflection in the mirror.

The fourth movement: "Beauty" (Von der Schonheit)

It is a trilogy. The original poem is Li Bai's "Lotus Plucking Song". The music is based on the lively vibrato background of the flute in parallel thirds, and the violin with a mute plays a soft introduction motive. The violin's performance in the high register expresses a scene of bright spring and the fragrance of birds and flowers.

The flute plays a pentatonic melody, leading to the lingering, leisurely and sweet singing voice of the mezzo-soprano in the first part. This is an unhurried pentatonic melody. The song sings "The handsome young man is singing on the green willow on the shore." "Riding Horses and Galloping": The submelody is a mezzo-soprano solo accompanied by broken chords of the violin. It delicately depicts the inner world of the girl, making people seem to see the voice and smile of an oriental girl. Then there are variations and repetitions of the introduction and the main melody, depicting the scene of girls and boys meeting in an intoxicating scenery. The middle part is the introduction and the development of the main melody. Several instrumental passages fully mobilize the motivation development, modulation and other means, and also add the orchestration of mandolin, celesta and tambourine to describe the "empty and heartbroken" mood as almost desperate. degree. The recapitulation inserts an expansion sentence between the main melody and the submelody. Before the expansion sentence, the violin once again expresses the charm and passion of the lotus picker girl with a deep and implicit tone. Finally, the music gradually and calmly ended on the very unstable 4th and 6th chords, making the "heartbroken" feeling even stronger, as if the infatuated girl was following the departing boy with a lost look, and fell into endless reverie.

Fifth movement: "Drunkene im Fruhling" (Der Trunkene im Fruhling)

A complex trilogy, the original poem is Li Bai's "Spring Drunkenness" in order to reflect The intention is to describe the posture of a drunk person. At the beginning of the music, the woodwind instruments play a sound pattern full of decorative sounds, using very unstable speed and tonality, breaking the silence at the end of the previous movement. The theme presents a A charming melody full of natural spring: followed by simple changes and repetitions of the development sentences. The middle part is fully developed, and the solo violin is sometimes lively and lively, and sometimes it is lyrical and melancholy. Later, the tenor sang the firm and powerful tune "Life is Like a Dream". The music perfectly depicts the state of drunkenness and sobriety of those who drink to relieve their sorrows in a dream-like world. The composers wonderfully intertwined their curses and hopes for life into various melodies, tones and orchestrations. At the same time, with its superb orchestration skills, we felt the slightly cold "spring breeze", smelled the refreshing "flower fragrance", and heard several touching songs of "Liu Ying" from time to time. In the recapitulation, some ascending and descending flowing scales of the woodwind are added to further describe the expression of the drunken person. The music finally ended in a fanatical atmosphere, as if a drunkard was drowning his sorrows and escaping reality with wine, picking up a glass of wine and drinking endlessly.

Sixth Movement: "Der Abschied"

The sonata form of the double expansion section, the first half of the lyrics comes from Meng Haoran's poem "The Master's Mountain House Waits for Ding Da Bu to Come" ", the second half of which comes from Wang Wei's poem "Farewell". The beginning of the music leaves an unforgettable impression on people. On the background of the low, depressing, eerie gong and long-toned bass chords, the oboe repeatedly plays an extremely sad and painful echo tone: before the violin sighs** After the first bell, the mezzo-soprano first sang the main theme of the main part, which is cold and absent-minded and painful and melancholy. The desolate wooden pipes fluttered on it from time to time, adding to the melancholy and expressing the protagonist's hesitant mood when bidding farewell to his friends. Accompanied by monotonous and irregular rhythmic patterns, the oboe introduces the secondary theme with a long transitive sentence. In the first part of the expansion part, the mezzo-soprano continues to express her feelings about life. The second part is an instrumental passage, with great emotional changes. Although the tone remains unchanged, it is very lively and full of warmth and human love. It is a warm praise of beauty and life. However, it was soon destroyed by the gloomy sound of the big gong. The sound of the band went from high to low, pushing people into the abyss of disillusionment. Although they were still attached to life, fate forced people to leave the world behind and find a place to live. place. The lyrics of the recapitulation use Wang Wei's "Farewell", which is a heart-broken lament for bidding farewell to the world. The rhythm of a funeral march runs throughout, and the tone is full of sad and desolate emotions. The movement ends with a lyric written by Mahler himself to express his attachment to life and the earth. When the song reaches the word "forever" and repeats it seven times, it seems that the protagonist has reached the end of his life and will leave this world and enter another world, thus bidding farewell to the earth. The music disappeared unconsciously with extremely weak intensity.