In a letter to his publishers of 19 September 1922, Zemlinsky described the work-in-progress as "...something along the lines of [Mahler's] Das Lied von der Erde".
[1] The sung texts are taken from The Gardener by Rabindranath Tagore in a German translation by Hans Effenberger.
The work received its premiere in Prague at the New German Theatre on June 4, 1924, under the composer's direction.
The vocal solos were sung by Tilly de Garmo and Joseph Schwarz.
[2] The work is in seven connected movements, sung alternately by the two soloists: The performance duration is approximately 45 minutes.