ABSTRACT
Mahler's lifelong struggle to come to terms with death reaches its peak in Das Lied von der Erde, which is his most loved and frequently performed work. Intriguingly enough, the text of Das Lied von der Erde characterizes the Daoist poetic imagery of nature, dream, wandering and death the themes which were equally popular in the poetry of the Romantic era that was set to music, notably in Schubert's Winterreise. Das Lied von der Erde embodies most fully Mahler's notion of Wie ein Naturlaut, which centres on the spontaneity of art and life, not only in terms of the 'poetical music' Mahler pursued but also in terms of the way it came into being as a musical composition. Deryck Cooke remarks in his introduction to Das Lied von der Erde that 'Mahler's hardwon religious faith had deserted him, and left him with only the certain facts of earthly life and death'.
