What is an art song?
An art song is a short piece in which a composer sets a poem for one voice and piano. Unlike a folk song (passed on by ear, composer unknown) or a pop song (lyrics often written for the tune), the art song begins with a serious poem and is written down in full for concert performance.
- Lied (plural Lieder): German art song. Peak in the 1800s: Schubert (over 600 songs), Schumann, Brahms, Hugo Wolf, Richard Strauss.
- Mélodie: French art song: Fauré, Debussy, Duparc.
- English, Russian, Spanish and many other traditions followed.
The art song shows how music and literature work together: the composer is first a careful reader of the poem.
Fitting words to notes
- Syllabic setting: one note per syllable. Words stay clear, like heightened speech.
- Neumatic setting: two to four notes on some syllables.
- Melismatic setting: a single syllable sung over many notes (a melisma), often on an important or emotional word.
Prosody: respecting the words
Good setting places stressed syllables on strong beats or higher/longer notes, and weak syllables on weak beats. Say "to-MOR-row": a good tune puts "MOR" on a strong beat. Rests can mirror commas; the end of a line often lands on a longer note.
Word painting and mood
Word painting (text painting) makes the music imitate what the words describe:
- Direction: "rise", "heaven" → rising notes; "fall", "grave" → falling notes.
- Motion: running water, a spinning wheel, a horse → repeating fast figures.
- Feeling: a shift from major to minor for sadness; a dissonant chord for pain; silence for death or surprise.
Composers also paint the overall mood with key, tempo, dynamics and the piano's texture.
Form follows the poem
- Strophic: every stanza is sung to the same music (A A A). Good for poems with a steady mood.
- Modified strophic: mostly the same, but one stanza is changed to match a turning point (A A B A or A A A′).
- Through-composed: new music for each section (A B C D), following a story or changing feelings. Schubert's "Erlkönig" (1815) is a famous example: one singer plays the narrator, a father, a child and a spirit.
A song cycle is a set of songs linked by poet, story or theme, such as Schubert's Winterreise (24 songs) or Schumann's Dichterliebe.
The piano as partner
In an art song the piano is an equal partner. It can play an introduction that sets the scene, interludes between verses and a postlude after the voice stops. It can depict an image (the turning spinning wheel in Schubert's "Gretchen am Spinnrade") or show what the singer cannot say. When analysing a song, ask: what does the piano add that the words do not?
How to analyse an art song
- Read the poem aloud. Note its speaker, mood and turning points.
- Listen once just for the overall form: strophic, modified strophic or through-composed?
- Find syllabic and melismatic places. Which words get melismas, and why?
- Look for word painting and changes of key, tempo or dynamics.
- Describe the piano's role in the introduction, interludes and postlude.
- Sum up: how does the music change the way we feel the poem?
Try it at home
Choose a four-line poem you like (any language). Speak it and clap on the stressed syllables. Then hum a tune: one note per syllable first, then add a melisma on the most important word. Make the tune rise or fall to match one image in the poem.
Key formulas and definitions
- Art song = poem + solo voice + piano (composed, written down)
- Syllabic: 1 syllable → 1 note; Melismatic: 1 syllable → many notes
- Strophic = A A A; Modified strophic = A A B A; Through-composed = A B C D
- Lied (German), mélodie (French); song cycle = linked set of songs
- Introduction → verses with interludes → postlude
Worked examples
1. A song has 3 verses. The music is the same for verses 1 and 2, but verse 3 (where the lover dies) moves to a minor key with a new melody. What is the form?
Modified strophic (A A B): mostly repeated music, changed at the turning point of the poem.
2. In a phrase, the word "Alleluia" lasts 12 notes, but each other word gets one note. Describe the setting.
Mostly syllabic, with a melisma on "Alleluia" to highlight the joyful word.
3. The piano plays fast, repeating triplets all through a song about a night ride on horseback. Name the technique and its purpose.
Word (scene) painting in the accompaniment: the triplets imitate galloping hooves and create tension and urgency.
Common mistakes
- Calling every song with piano an "art song". It must be a composed setting of a literary poem for concert performance.
- Thinking melismatic means "sung loudly". It means many notes on one syllable.
- Treating the piano as just background. In art song it carries meaning and imagery.
- Mixing strophic with through-composed. Ask: does the music repeat for each verse?