Das Marienleben (The Life of Mary) is a song cycle by German composer
Paul Hindemith. The cycle, written for piano and soprano, sets to music a collection of 15 poems by Rainer Maria Rilke that tells the story of the life of Mary. Thirteen years after its 1923 premiere in Frankfurt, Hindemith began extensively revising and reworking the piece, eventually producing a second version which premiered in Hanover in 1948.
Hindemith also orchestrated six of the songs: four in 1938 and two more in 1948.
A typical performance lasts around an hour and a half.
