"Ging heut Morgen übers Feld" (I Went This Morning over the Field) is the second song from one of my favorite song cycles, Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (Songs of a Wayfarer), written by a young Gustav Mahler. The song begins in a cheerful state as the traveler examines the beauty of nature, the song of birds, and the "ring" of the bellflowers. But suddenly the traveler remembers that he has lost his love, and laments that he will never feel as loved as the lovely scenery around him. Mahler later reused the melody of this song in his first symphony. Leland Smith, baritone Billy Xiong, conductor with the UCLA Philharmonia Schoenberg Hall 2/4/2023