Song as the spontaneous melodic expression of one's feelings is
as old as man. Great composers such as Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven
wrote songs which are considered masterpieces. But the art song
as we know it today began with Franz Schubert, whose extraordinary
compositions for one voice and piano along with his prodigious
song output revolutionized the German Lied at the turn
of the 19th century (see Schubert
and Lieder). Thus a new intimate genre of
short works - romantic miniatures - was born, which in its union
of poetry and music, distilled the essence of the romantic spirit.
In the art song, the pianist becomes equal partner to the singer,
not a mere accompanist. Although composers of Lieder
may decide to orchestrate the music (as Richard Strauss did in
his Four Last Songs), the essence of the art song remained
unchanged: poetry of some literary distinction set to beautiful
music which enhances the poem in a very unique way. Some songs
may be strophic, in which a tune is repeated
for each stanza (in the manner of church hymns); or through-composed
(or durchkomponiert) in which there are different musical
settings for each stanza, usually adding more drama to the song.
Schubert used both to good effect in his song cycle Die schöne
Müllerin (CLICK BELOW for an example of each.).
The art song flourished
well into the Romantic era and on to the early 20th century, becoming
popular outside the Germanic countries as well. It is a living
musical language that draws on the contemporary traditions of
poetry and song of each country. In Germany and Austria where
the influence of folk song is exceptionally strong, Lieder
often tell a story through melody and chromatic harmony. Robert
Schumann (1810-1856) and after him Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
are considered the legitimate heirs to Schubert, but Felix Mendelssohn
(1809-1847), Richard Wagner (1813-1883), Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
- who is Hungarian by birth but (to his dying day) spent half
of his life in Germany, Hugo Wolf (1860-1903), Richard Strauss
(1864-1949), Gustav Mahler (1860-1911), Arnold Schönberg
(1874-1951), and Alban Berg (1885-1935) also contributed to the
body of Lieder that make up today's
song recital repertoire.
In France art songs are known as mélodies.
Unlike Lieder, they are more atmospheric
than narrative, derived more from the romance of the period than
from folk traditions. Among the French composers of mélodies
(as opposed to the other word for song, the simpler, more popular,
and usually folk-inspiredchanson) are
Hector Berlioz (1803-8169), Charles Gounod (1818-1893), Jules
Massenet (1842-1912), Claude Debussy (1862-1918), Gabriel Fauré
(1825-1924), Henri Duparc (1848-1933), Maurice Ravel (1875-1937),
Reynaldo Hahn (1874-1947), and (Francis Poulenc (1899-1963).
There is also a"Russian School" of song, and among its
major composers are: Mikhail Glinka (1804-1857) who is considered
its founding father, Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881), Alexander
Borodin (1833-1887), Rimsky-Korsakov (1884-1908), Peter Tchaikovsky
(1840-1893), and Sergei Rachmaninov (1873-1943).
In England, Ralph Vaughn Williams (1872-1958) and Benjamin Britten
(1913-1976) are among the major composers who carried on the tradition
of the art song.
Today, the art song is alive and well in America. The composer
Charles Ives (1874-1954) left a rich legacy of songs which, along
with the works of contemporary composers such as Ned Rorem and
the young Jake Heggie, are gaining a following among modern audiences,
thanks to the emergence of outstanding American opera singers
in the late 20th century who have enthusiastically embraced the
songs of these composers making them an important part of their
recital repertoires.
SONG CYCLES
A composer may group his songs into cycles, such as when a narrative
or a common idea, emotion, or theme runs through the songs,
forming a dramatic unity. In An die ferne Geliebte (To
the distant Beloved) Beethoven took song to a new level; it
is thus considered the first important song cycle, although
it is sometimes referred to as a "song cycle in embryo"
perhaps because the poetry is trite, and because Schubert took
song to even greater heights. But it is definitely the immediate
precursor to Schubert's two song cycles, both masterpieces:
Die schöne Müllerin written in 1823 when
he became seriously ill and whose tragic ending foreshadowed
the despondency of Winterreise (Winter Journey), composed
in 1827 before the year of his death.
Below are some of the song cycles of the 19th and early 20th
centuries, many of which are part of today's recital/concert
repertoire:
COMPOSER
SONG CYCLE
GERMAN
LIEDER
Ludwig van Beethoven
(1770-1827)
An die ferne Geliebte
(To the distant Beloved)
Franz Schubert
(1797-1828)
Die schöne Müllerin
(The Fair Maid of the Mill)
Winterreise (Winter Journey) Schwanengesang (Swan Song Cycle - a group of songs
assembled after his death)
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Dichterliebe (Poet's
Love) Frauenliebe und Leben (A Woman's Love and Life) Liederkreis (Song Cycle)
Johannes Brahms
(1833-1897)
Die schöne Magelone
(The Beautiful Magelone)
Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
Wesendonck Lieder (WesendonckSongs)
Hugo Wolf (1860-1903)
Mörike Lieder
(Songs on poems by Mörike)
Italienisches Liederbuch (Italian Book of Songs) Spanisches Liederbuch (Spanish Book of Songs)
Richard Strauss (1864-1949)
Vier letzte Lieder (Four
Last Songs)
Krämerspiegel (Shopkeeper's Mirror)
Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)
Lieder eines fahrenden
Gesellen (Songs of a Wayfarer) Kindertotenlieder (Songs on the Deaths of Children) Rückert-Lieder (Songs on Poems by Rückert) Des Knaben Wunderhorn (The Youth's Magic Horn)
Arnold Schönberg
(1874-1951)
Pierrot
Lunaire
Das Buch der haengenden Gaertner (The Book of Hanging
Gardens)
Alban Berg (1885-1935)
Seven Early Songs
Altenberg Lieder
FRENCH
MÉLODIES
Hector Berlioz
(1803-1869)
Nuits d'ete (Summer
Nights)
Charles Gounod
(1818-1893)
Biondina, poème
musical
Jules Massenet
(1842-1912)
Poëme d’Avril
Poëme Pastoral
Poëme du Souvenir
Poëme d’Amour
Poëme d’Hiver
Poëme d’un Soir, and
Quelques Chansons Mauves
Expressions Lyriques
Claude Debussy
(1862-1918)
Ariettes Oubliées
Chansons de Bilitis
Cinq Poèmes de Baudelaire
Deux Romances
Fêtes Galantes
Le promenoir des deux amants
L'enfant prodigue
Proses Lyriques
Trois Ballades de François Villon
Trois Chansons de Charles d'Orléans
Trois Chansons de France
Trois Poèmes de Stéphane Mallarmé
Gabriel Fauré
(1825-1924)
La bonne chanson
La chanson d'Eve
Cinq mélodies "de Venise"
L'horizon chimérique
Le jardin clos
Maurice Ravel
(1875-1937)
Chansons madécasses
Cinq Mélodies Populaires Grecques (Five Popular Greek
Melodies)
Don Quichotte à Dulcinée
Épigrammes de Clément Marot
Histoires naturelles
Shéhérazade
Trois chansons
Trois Poèmes de Stéphane Mallarmé
Reynaldo Hahn
(1874-1947)
Chansons grises
Douze rondels
Études Latines
Five Little Songs
Les feuilles blessées
Love without wings
Venezia
Francis Poulenc
(1899-1963)
Airs
chantés
Banalités
Calligrammes Chansons villageoises
Cinq Poèmes de Max Jacob
Cinq Poèmes de Paul Éluard
Cocardes
Deux Mélodies
Deux Mélodies de Guillaume Apollinaire
Deux Mélodies inédites du Bestiaire
Deux Mélodies sur des poèmes de Guillaume
Apollinaire
Deux poèmes de Guillaume Apollinaire
Deux Poèmes de Louis Aragon
Fiançailles pour rire
Huit Chansons françaises
La Courte Paille La Fraîcheur et le feu
La Travail du peintre
Le bal masqué: Cantate Profane
Le Bestiaire
Métamorphoses
Miroirs brûlants
Osiem pies'ni polskich
Parisiana
Poèmes de Ronsard
Quatre Chansons pour Enfants
Trois Poèmes de Louise Lalanne
