Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (Songs of a Wayfarer, although Songs of a Travelling Journeyman would be a better translation) is a song cycle originally for voice and piano in 1885, and a few years later orchestrated, by Austro-Bohemian composer Gustav Mahler (1860 - 1911). The words of the four songs are by Mahler himself. The mood of the songs varies from pastoral to complete despair. The average playing time is 16 minutes (AllMusic). I have dozens of recordings, both by male and female singers, and I have picked one of several candidates, by Thomas Quasthoff and the Vienna Philharmonic under Pierre Boulez on a Deutsche Grammophon CD.
