CINEMA CYCLE
(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)
DATE VIEWED: 09/25/2015
TITLE: Gustav Mahler / Ruckert Lieder
FORMAT: LaserDisc
TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 1 hour 15 minutes
DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 20.7 miles
TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 2855.9 miles
SYNOPSIS: Concert film of poetry set to music, performed in German.
- Blicke mir nicht in die Lieder! (Do not look at my songs!) – 14 June 1901
- Ich atmet’ einen linden Duft (I breathed a gentle fragrance) – July 1901
- Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen (I am lost to the world) – 16 August 1901
- Um Mitternacht (At midnight) – Summer 1901
- Liebst du um Schönheit (If you love for beauty) – August 1902
CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: The expansion of the concept of media and entertainment near the turn of the century.
PROS AND CONS: And now for something completely different. Not a film that is most folks cup of tea but an interesting work in the historical sense.
In order to move the concept of classical music forward, various composers try to expand the envelope in new ways. Back at the turn of the century, one of these ways was to set popular poetry to music. While it has had limited success over the years many great composers have dabbled in the art, including Gustav Mahler.
I would not fault Leonard Bernstein or the soloist in this work. The production value of the video is good, but not astounding.
Unless you speak German and are aware of the work being performed here, it would really help to have subtitles for the songs. This concept didn’t come along until DVDs were developed so they are lacking on this LaserDisc, although the libretto (in 3 different languages) is included with the disk for viewer reading.
This film was viewed while exercising on my recumbent cycle. A summary of my time spent working out on my journey through movie-land can be found on Strava.com.
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