Sieben Lieder – Collective Editions

PRINTED PIANO-VOCAL SCORES – high voice

Hofmeister: xi/xii. 1916   Price: M. 4 n.  Adverts date: n/a

Edition number: U.E. 5056a  Plate number: see below

In the absence of any copies that can be associated with the Hofmeister listing, it is that entry that is the only source of information about the first collective edition of the songs:

Fig. 1

Hofmeister, Monatsbericht, xi/xii 1916, p. 171

There are a number of features that are unexpected:

• that the entry names only Universal-Edition as a publisher: it seems unlikely that this was a publishing initiative that UE could have undertaken without consulting C. F. Kahnt, and the omission of that firm's name would have made it difficult for users to identify the songs included in the volumes, as the choice of title reflected UE priorities not those of the licensor;

• that only versions for high and low voice are listed (why not all three voice-ranges?);

• that (by omission) it seems that this was to be a German-only issue, although Kahnt had  English and French translations available.

Nevertheless, despite these features the announcement is corroborated in part by the UE Verlagsbuch which records deliveries of copies of the high- and low-voice versions (but not the medium-voice version) in October 1916. The possibility that there was an unrecorded parallel issue by Kahnt cannot be wholly discounted, but the next Hofmeister announcement, in the April/May 1917 issue (see the entry below) seems to be an attempt to clarify a muddled situation. Whether during the intervening six months UE supplied any copies of the announced editions remains unclear.

Hofmeister: iv/v. 1917   Price: M. 4 n.  Adverts date: n/a

Edition number: none  Plate number: see the note above

A second listing of collective volumes appeared in the Hofmeister Monatsbericht:

This entry normalises all the exceptional features of the earlier listing (see the entry above):

• both publishers are listed (and in a way that reflects the hierarchical relationship);

• versions for all three voice ranges are included;

• the text languages are identified.

The UE Verlagsbuch records no new orders for any of the three volumes placed at this time and it was not until April 1920 that the orders for all three versions were placed.

Edition number: U.E. 5056a  Plate number: [C.F.K. 7613?]

Edition number: U.E. 5056a  Plate number: not known

According to the UE Verlagsbuch this was the last substantial order of this volume. Between 1932–37 four small orders were placed (20, 10, 10, 10 copies) and the entry for the last records that according to Kahnt it was being reprinted, but does not record receipt of copies: Universal-Edition listed the availability of the high-voice collective edition in its catalogues up to the end of the 1930s.

PRINTED PIANO-VOCAL SCORES – medium voice

Title Page: PVC - this omits elements included in later variants

Wrapper: front wrapper=PVCmfw, black on light blue: GUSTAV MAHLER / SIEBEN LIEDER / AUS / LETZTER ZEIT / [CFK logo] / AUSGABE FÜR MITTLERER STIMME / C.F. KAHNT

Analysis:

[1]=tp; [2]=Inhalt;

3–5=no. 4 (3: 7613; 4–5:  C.F.K. 7614)

6–7=no. 7 (6: 7614; 7: C.F.K. 7614)

8–11=no. 3 (8: 7614; 9–11: C.F.K. 7614)

12–15=no. 5 (12: 7614; 13–15=C.F.K. 7614)

16–21=no. 6 (16: 7614; 17–21=C.F.K. 7614)

22–35=no. 1 (22: 7614; 23–35=C.F.K. 7614);

36–43=no. 2 (36: 7614; 37–43=C.F.K. 7614);

[44]=blank

Hofmeister: iv/v. 1917   Price: n/a.  Adverts date: n/a

Edition number: none  Plate number: unknown

The 1917 Hofmeister entry cited above was the first to refer to the medium-voice collective volume of the songs. Whether the copy described was ever offered for sale is perhaps doubtful: it omits (amongst other elements) advertisements and any statements of performance or publication rights. Its function may have been as an early pre-publication mock-up of the new format. The plate number, 7613 [?], on p. 3 is anomalous and it appears that some attempt was made to alter the last digit (perhaps to '4'?) rendering it rather unclear.

Title Page: PVCa(ue) - a variant of the basic design, with a rubber-stamped revision to the price: 20% Kriegsaufschlag / C.F. Kahnt Nachfolger

Wrapper: front wrapper=UE type B, dark green on light green: GUSTAV MAHLER / SIEBEN LIEDER AUS LETZTER ZEIT / SEVEN LAST SONGS / [l.h.;] MITTEL [r.h.:] MEDIUM VOICE / [lyre logo] / UNIVERSAL-EDITION / Nr. 5056b; back wrapper not present in the copy described

Analysis: [1]=tp; [2]=Inhalt; 3–5=no. 4 (3: 7613; 4–5:  C.F.K. 7614); 6–7=no. 7 (C.F.K. 7614); 8–11=no. 2 (C.F.K. 7614); 12–15=no. 5 (C.F.K. 7614); 16–21=no. 6 (C.F.K. 7614); 22–35=no. 1 (C.F.K. 7614); 36–43=no. 2 (C.F.K. 7614); [44]=Kahnt advert Ca

Dimensions: 297 x 231 (r=179)

Printing method: lithographic transfer from engraved plates

Edition number: 5056b  Plate number: see the analysis above and the note below

According to the UE Verlagsbuch this impression was the first batch of the medium-voice piano-vocal score, ordered by the firm on the same day as parallel orders for collective volumes for the other two voice ranges.

The association of the copy described with this UE issue is conjectural: the title page suggests a date earlier than 1920, although the adoption (with one error on p. 3) of the plate number (7614) assigned to the collective volume for medium voice and piano might otherwise be thought to imply a date after that of the two other copies described below (PVcm1b, PVcm1c), which retain the original numbers of the plates for individual songs.

The rubber-stamped indication of the price increase on the title page is evidence that at least in the case of the impression exemplified by this copy Kahnt had supplied either printed sheets or completed copies to Vienna.

Title Page: see PVcbue [Preis M. 4.—n.]

Wrapper: front wrapper=UE type B, dark green on light green: GUSTAV MAHLER / SIEBEN LIEDER AUS LETZTER ZEIT / SEVEN LAST SONGS / [l.h.:] MITTEL [r.h.:] MEDIUM VOICE / [lyre logo] / UNIVERSAL-EDITION / Nr. 5056b; back wrapper=blank

Analysis: [1]=tp; [2]=Inhalt; 3–5=no. 4 (C.F.K. 7487); 6–7=no. 7 (5688); 8–11=no. 2 (C.F.K. 7484); 12–15=no. 5 (5690); 16–21=no. 6 (C.F.K. 7489); 22–35=no. 1 (C.F.K. 7479); 36–43=no. 2 (C.F.K. 7481); [44]=Kahnt advert Ca

Dimensions: 323 x 248 (r=178½)

Printing method: lithographic transfer from engraved plates

Edition number: 5056b  Plate number: see the analysis above and notes below

The association of the copy described with this is conjectural: it could be an exemplar of any of the three issued by UE up to the late 1930s, although the title page suggests a later rather than an earlier date.

The printed area on pp. [2]–43 is enclosed within a single-line border: none of the songs had been re-engraved, but existing plates reused, retaining their original numbers (cf. PVcm1c). The plate-number prefix C.F.K. is omitted on pp. [3], 6–8, 12–15, 16, 22, 36.

Title Page: PVCc(ue)

Wrapper: none present

Analysis: [1]=tp; [2]=Inhalt; [3]–5=no. 4 (C.F.K. 7487); 6–7=no. 7 (5688); 8–11=no. 2 (C.F.K. 7484); 12–15=no. 5 ([5690]); 16–21=no. 6 (C.F.K. 7489); 22–35=no. 1 (C.F.K. 7479); 36–43=no. 2 (C.F.K. 7481); [44]=Kahnt advert Ca

Dimensions: 313 x 226 (r=179)

Printing method: lithographic transfer from engraved plates

Edition number: 5056b  Plate number: see the analysis above and notes below

The association of the copy described with this impression is conjectural: the reduced dimensions and increase in price (from M. 4 to M. 5) suggest a later, rather than an earlier date. The plate-number prefix C.F.K. is omitted on pp. [3], 6–8, 16, 22, 36; the prefix and number are both omitted on p. 12, the number on pp. 13–14, and the prefix on p. 15.

According to the UE Verlagsbuch this was the last order for copies of the medium-voice piano-vocal score placed by the firm but Universal-Edition listed the availability of the medium-voice collective edition in its catalogues up to the end of the 1930s.

Title Page: PVCc(ue) [Preis M. 5.—n.]

Wrapper: [Dark blue text on light blue; fwr:] GUSTAV / MAHLER / SIEBEN LIEDER / AUS / LETZTER / ZEIT / [CFK logo] / AUSGABE FÜR MITTLERE STIMME / C.F. KAHNT, LEIPZIG / Made in Germany; [fwv:] tp L; [bwr:] Kahnt advert Ab; bwv = Kahnt advert D

Analysis: [1]=tp; [2]=Inhalt; 3–5=no. 4 (C.F.K. 7487); 6–7=no. 7 (5688); 8–11=no. 2 (C.F.K. 7484); 12–15=no. 5 (5690); 16–21=no. 6 (C.F.K. 7489); 22–35=no. 1 (C.F.K. 7479); 36–43=no. 2 (C.F.K. 7481); [44]=Kahnt advert Cb

Dimensions: 322 x 245 (r=177)

Printing method: lithographic transfer from engraved plates

Edition number: none  Plate number: see the analysis above and notes below

The increase in price (from M. 4 to M 5) suggest a later, rather than an earlier date. Although this was a Kahnt issue of the collective volume, the title page retains In die Universal-Edition aufgenommen. The plate-number prefix C.F.K. is omitted on pp. [3], 6–8, 12–15, 16, 22, 36.

PRINTED PIANO-VOCAL SCORES – low voice

Hofmeister: xi/xii. 1916   Price: M. 4 n.  Adverts date: n/a

Edition number: U.E. 5056c  Plate number: see below

In the absence of any copies that can be associated with the Hofmeister listing, it is that entry that is the only source of information about the first collective edition of the songs:

There are a number of features that are unexpected:

• that the entry names only Universal-Edition as a publisher: it seems unlikely that this was a publishing initiative that UE could have undertaken without consulting C. F. Kahnt, and the omission of its name would have made it difficult for users to indentify the songs concerned, as the choice of title reflected UE priorities not those of the licensor;

• that only versions for high and low voice are listed (why not all three voice-ranges?);

• that (by omission) it seems that this was to be German-only issue, although Kahnt had  English and French translations available.

Nevertheless, despite these features the announcement is corroborated in part by the UE Verlagsbuch which records deliveries of copies of the high- and low-voice versions (but not the medium-voice version) in October 1916. The possibility that there was an unrecorded parallel issue by Kahnt cannot be wholly discounted, but the next Hofmeister announcement, in the April/May 1917 (see the entry below) suggests that a muddled situation was being normalised. Whether during the intervening six months UE supplied any copies of the announced editions remains unclear.

Hofmeister: iv/v. 1917   Price: M. 4 n.  Adverts date: n/a

Edition number:   Plate number: [7615]

A second listing of collective volumes appeared in the Hofmeister Monatsbericht:

This entry normalises all the exception features of the earlier listing (see the entry above):

• both publishers are listed (and in a way that reflects the hierarchical relationship);

• versions for all three voice ranges are included;

• the text languages are identified.

The UE Verlagsbuch records no new orders for any of three volumes placed at this time and it was not until April 1920 the orders for all three versions were placed.

Title Page: PVCa(ue)

Wrapper: front wrapper=UE type B, dark green on green:] GUSTAV MAHLER / SIEBEN LIEDER / AUS LETZTER ZEIT / GESANG UND KLAVIER / TIEF / [lyre logo] / UNIVERSAL-EDITION / No. 5056a [sic]; back wrapper=blank

Analysis: [1]=tp; [2]=Inhalt; 3–5=no. 4; 6–7=no. 7; 8–11=no. 2; 12–15=no. 5; 16–21=no. 6; 22–35=no. 1; 36–43=no. 2; [44]=blank

Dimensions: 320 x 247 (r=174)

Printing method: lithographic transfer from engraved plates

Edition number: 5056a [recte: 5056c]  Plate number: C.F.K. 7615 throughout

The identification of this copy as an exemplar of the second impression is conjectural, based on circumstantial evidence. It probably cannot be earlier than 1919 (when the rectangular front wrapper design it uses seems to have been first introduced by UE); on the other hand, by 1920 the title page, which refers to Kahnt's ducal appointment, had been rendered anachronistic by the collapse of the German Reich, and the trading name of the publisher is in the form that was replaced in late 1919, so a date even later than 1920 would appear to be less plausible. As it is, this may be an example of a more up-to-date wrapper being attached to sheets of a rather earlier printing.

The printed area on pp. [2]–43 is enclosed within a single-line border: none of the songs had been re-engraved, but existing plates reused with the plate number assigned to the collective volume replacing the original numbers throughout.

Edition number: 5056c  Plate number: unknown

According to the UE Verlagsbuch this was the last order for copies of the low-voice piano-vocal score placed by the firm, but Universal-Edition listed the availability of the low-voice collective edition in its catalogues up to the end of the 1930s.

Copies: A-Wst UE Deposit, Mahler/G. 023(D)

Marked-up proofs: full description required

Title Page: see facsimile

Wrapper: fwr: facsimile; fwv = advertisement; bwr = advertisement; bwv = advertisement (date code: IV. 23.)

Analysis: [frontispiece, tipped onto [i]: recto = blank; verso = sepia photograph, Gustav Mahler / (1903) (MA, no. 37); [i]=tp; [ii]=Inhalt / Contents; iii–iv=notes by Richard Specht; 1–40=1; 41–58=2; 59–66=3; 67–70=4; 71–81=5; 82–91=6; 92–96=7

Dimensions: 181 x c.130 (p. 1: r=122) [121 in DK-Kk copy]

Printing method: lithographic transfer from engraved plates

Hofmeister: v.1926    Prices: M 3,50

Edition number: 253    Plate number: W.Ph.V.253

Contents:

Copies: A-Wn MS67475-8° (ex coll. Anna von Mildenburg; not seen); D-B O. 58487 (not seen); DK-Kk U208  1951-52 765 (bound copy, trimmed, but retains wrappers); GB-Lbl B.1003.(2.) (trimmed, bound copy; red stamp: 20 MAR 48); GB-Lpc; US-NYpo LB1071 c#2167 (annotations by Leonard Bernstein).

It is worth noting that the order is not that of the piano and voice collective volumes (issued from 1917 onwards), but that used on the original title pages and wrappers of the individual songs from 1905 onwards. The keys used are those of the initial publications in 1905: in the cases of nos. 5 and 6, the medium-voice versions are preferred. No. 7 is published in the medium-voice version of Max Puttmann's orchestration (1916).

The scores have been entirely re-engraved and provide tempo and other performance instructions in German and Italian. The collection title and the notes by Richard Specht are given in German, English and French, the vocal text in German and English only.

Fig. 3

Gustav Mahler: Sieben Lieder.... (Vienna: Wiener Philharmonia Verlag, 1926), p. 1

According to the UE Verlagsbuch there were no further orders until 1968.