The original Kindertotenlieder were a group of 428 poems written by Rückert in 1833–34 in reaction to the scarlet fever and death of two of his children, and not meant for publication. Mahler selected five of Rückert's poems to set as Lieder, which he composed between 1901-4. The songs are written in Mahler's late-romantic idiom, and like the texts reflect feelings of anguish, fantasy resuscitation of the children and resignation. The final song ends in a major key and a mood of transcendence. The poignancy of the cycle is increased by the fact that four years after he wrote it, Mahler lost his daughter, Maria, aged four, to scarlet fever. He wrote to Guido Adler: "I placed myself in the situation that a child of mine had died. When I really lost my daughter, I could not have written these songs any more."
