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Sir John Barbirolli leads the Hallé Orchestra with mezzo-soprano soloist Dame Janet Baker in these renditions of selections of Mahler's lieder. "Kindertotenlieder" (Songs on the Death of Children) is a song cycle (1904) for voice and orchestra. The words of the songs are poems by Friedrich Rückert. "Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen" (Songs of a Wayfarer) is a song cycle based on Mahler's own texts. The cycle of four Lieder for medium voice (often performed by women as well as men) was written around 1884–85 in the wake of Mahler's unhappy love for soprano Johanna Richter Warner Classics releases this stunning recording as part of a brand new series, The Complete Warner Recordings. Spanning over 40 years, these recordings trace the career of Sir John Barbirolli, a conductor of proverbial warmth and generosity, a transformative force in British music and a legendary figure who collaborated with the greatest artists of his time. Shortly before his death in 1970 he completed a Sibelius cycle with the Hallé Orchestra, whose fortunes he had steered for nearly three decades, and among other composers closely linked with his name are Elgar, Delius, Brahms, Mozart, Mahler and Puccini. The wide-ranging contents of this landmark set, which comprises all the recordings Barbirolli made for HMV and PYE. Everything has been remastered in high definition, LP-era recordings from the original tapes, and 78-era recordings from the best available sources.