Primal Light

Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) originally composed Urlicht (Primal/Primeval Light) in 1892 as the last song of Des Knaben Wunderhorn (The Boy's Magic Horn), to be sung by alto accompanied by piano or orchestra. He then re-orchestrated the music, and included it as the 4th movement in his 2nd symphony "Resurrection" a few years later. The song deals with longing for spiritual relief from earthly hardship, and is full of emotional depth and contrast, using evocative harmonic shifts and colorful orchestration. This arrangement is a semitone higher than the original and has been typeset without key-signature for better readability. No music is cut from the original, although the time signature of bar 59 was modified to follow typical performance practice. The Trumpet 2&3 and harp parts are cued in other parts, and are therefore considered optional. The timpani and glockenspiel parts can also be omitted if necessary. Furthermore, a 4-stave condensed score is provided as well as a full orchestral score, to assist in ensuring all the parts are covered. String parts include fingering and bowing suggestions where deemed useful. The arrangements of the Youth Orchestra Light series are specifically designed for smaller groups who want to play interesting and edifying music, but don't necessarily have the large resources that are often assumed in similar editions. These arrangements try to do justice to the original intent of the music, in particular with regards to orchestral color and texture.