vocal music

Introduction

      any of the genres for solo voice and voices in combination, with or without instrumental accompaniment. It includes monophonic music (having a single line of melody) and polyphonic music (consisting of more than one simultaneous melody). This article deals with Western art music preserved in staff notation, either for a single solo voice or for voices in unison, and briefly discusses the differences between Western and non-Western traditions. It excludes the complex forms of opera, oratorio, cantata, mass, and requiem, in which solo singing is frequently combined with choral music. The earliest written examples date from the 10th century, prior to which music was transmitted principally by oral tradition.

Genres of vocal music

Medieval and Renaissance periods

      The chant most important for Western music is the so-called Gregorian (Gregorian chant) repertory, earliest preserved in French manuscripts beginning from c. 900. Music for other major early medieval Latin repertories either has not survived (old Frankish, or Gallican, chant), is indecipherable (Mozarabic chant from Spain), or did not serve as the basis for later musical development (Ambrosian chant from Milan).

      From c. 750 to 850, music and musicians moved freely between the north and south with the intention of transferring Roman chant to France, but the methods and the extent of the process cannot be documented. The French greatly expanded their repertory until c. 1150 through the addition of both melodies and texts. Particularly important for future developments in vocal music were the new hymns, sequences, and other poetic settings, which were organized into regular stanzas with rhymes and metrical patterns. Gregorian chants not only served a liturgical function but also provided source material for much of the polyphonic music of the Middle Ages and Renaissance.

      The degree of elaboration in a particular chant melody generally relates to its function within the liturgy. In chants that serve for recitations, such as psalms, lessons, or prayers, the music is secondary to a clear projection of the text; these settings are predominately syllabic (i.e., only one note per syllable) and use relatively few pitches. Somewhat more ornate are melodies that accompany a liturgical action (such as processionals or communions in the mass), while chants completely independent of these functions, such as mass graduals and alleluias, tend to become the most elaborate. In these last two types, settings vary from neumatic (two to five notes per syllable) to highly melismatic (many notes per syllable).

      Unlike the Gregorian repertory, the medieval chants of the major Eastern churches no longer continue as living traditions. The Byzantine (Byzantine chant) liturgy, codified by the 11th century, has been subject to continual change since the fall of Constantinople in 1453. The early chants, preserved in manuscripts from the 11th to the 15th centuries, show fascinating parallels with the Gregorian repertory, suggesting close relationships or common origins between the two liturgies. Other Eastern churches developed independent chant repertories: Coptic (Egyptian), Abyssinian, and Armenian; but written sources for these chants are either nonexistent or presently indecipherable. Russian (znamenny) chant evolved from the Byzantine liturgy imported in the 10th century and reached a classical stage in the 15th–17th centuries; but the only legible manuscripts date from the end of this period.

      Latin songs by wandering scholars as early as the 7th century survive in a musical notation now unreadable. But the largest repertories of monophonic songs come from the troubadours (troubadour) in southern France (late 11th to early 13th centuries), the trouvères (trouvère) in northern France (mid-12th through 13th centuries), and the German minnesingers (minnesinger) (mid-12th to late 15th centuries). These musicians and poets from all classes of society composed and performed for the nobility until well into the 13th century, after which patronage gradually shifted to the bourgeoisie and prosperous clergy. Their texts most frequently treat the ideals of chivalry and courtly love, using polished and often obscure language; at times similar poems offer praise to the Blessed Virgin. Service songs, called sirventes in southern France (Spruch in German), deal with didactic, political, or personal matters, perhaps in a satirical fashion. Other texts record events of the court, such as marriages, deaths, or participation in crusades. Among the more traditional songs from northern France are the chansons de geste, extended narratives glorifying earlier heroes or saints.

      The poetic (poetry) texts inherited strophic (stanzaic) design, rhyming, and metrical schemes from earlier medieval Latin. To these devices the trouvères added the idea of a refrain, varying in length from a single word to several poetic lines and placed at any position within the stanza. Eventually certain arrangements became fixed forms: the ballade or German Bar (Bar form) form (a a B), the rondeau (A B a A a b A B), and the virelai (A b b a A). In the diagrams, identical letters indicate same rhymes, and capitals show the refrain; as a rule, two sections of music are repeated according to the design of the poem. Shown here in their simplest structures, the forms were regularly expanded or varied in detail. Less standard designs were the lai in northern France (Leich in German), with irregular groupings of couplets, and the lengthy chansons de geste, probably repeating a simple melodic formula for each text line.

      Many monophonic songs resemble Gregorian chant, although without lengthy melismas. Others present a more modern sound through the use of the major scale and organization in short symmetrical phrases. Most of the earlier songs (before 1200) have no written indications of metre. Recent scholarship suggests a free rendition for songs with irregular phrasing and embellishments but more regulated rhythms for the simple dancelike tunes. Improvised accompaniments are often appropriate, although not indicated in the original manuscripts.

      Vernacular songs spread to the courts of England, Spain, and Italy, although the surviving examples from these regions are primarily religious. The monophonic (monophony) art eventually declined during the 14th century for three principal reasons: the rise of interest in polyphonic composition, the loss of aristocratic patronage, and the substitution of theoretical rules for creative instinct. The last phenomenon is best illustrated in the works of the German middle class meistersingers from the 15th and 16th centuries.

      The most characteristic and persistent type of early polyphonic song is the French chanson, in the form of a rondeau, ballade, or virelai. Chanson composers included the most outstanding musicians of the 14th and 15th centuries, among them Guillaume de Machaut, Guillaume Dufay, Gilles Binchois, Antoine Busnois, and Jean d'Okeghem. Their activities centred in the courts of France and Burgundy, although many travelled to other areas, particularly Italy and northern Spain. Indigenous forms developed in the 14th century in Italy (madrigal, ballata, and caccia), and in the 15th century in Spain (villancico and romance), England (carol), and German (Bar); but these types shared many features of the Franco-Burgundian compositions. The chanson consists of two principal sections of music, with no text repetition except as required by the poetic structure. Three contrasting voices are standard: cantus (cantus firmus), tenor, and contratenor. The cantus typically moves in a high tenor or alto range, in counterpoint with the lower tenor. To this two-part framework is added the contratenor (countertenor), at times following the style and range of the cantus but at other times that of the tenor. Although most performances undoubtedly combined the voice(s) with instruments, it is by no means certain how the parts were distributed. Evidence suggests that performances were quite flexible, depending upon the singers or instruments available and upon the style of the individual song.

      During the later 15th century new ideals for vocal composition arose that were incompatible with the earlier fixed-form songs. The different voice parts, now at least four in number, tended toward more equalization in style. All voices were underlain with a text, or were potentially singable; they either imitated the same melody or had similar rhythmic and melodic characteristics. Poetic structure was now obscured by a continuous overlapping of sections, and the words of the text were often blurred by the activity of the various voices. Native Italian part-songs (frottole, carnival songs, and villanelle) generally presented texts with clearer declamation, but, as the century advanced, even these simpler types gave way to the more complex Renaissance madrigal, with frequent use of melodic imitation. Musicians regularly arranged these polyphonic works for solo performance with instrumental accompaniment. But no significant part of this artistic repertory, with the possible exception of Spanish vihuela songs, was designed exclusively for the solo singer.

      The advent of the modern art song depended upon a rejection of two prevailing attitudes found in mid-16th-century polyphony: the principle that a piece of vocal music was performable in any conceivable medium (for solo, for ensemble of voices, or even for instruments alone) and the idea that the text needed only be the servant of the music. An increasing concern for textual interpretation and declamation began to appear in late 16th-century polyphonic compositions. Texts were often delivered in a speechlike recitation (recitative); emotionally charged words were emphasized through special rhythms, unexpected harmonic progressions, chromaticism (use of notes foreign to the song's mode), and coloratura (florid ornamentation); and simultaneous rhythms in the different voices made possible a clearer projection of the words. Of more temporary influence were the French experiments with quantitative metre in poetry and music ( musique mesurée). But the final step in the transfer of these various techniques from part music to genuine solo music came at the end of the century, notably in Italian monody (expressive melody with chordal accompaniment) and English lute songs.

The 17th–20th centuries

      The art song of the 17th through 20th centuries always reflects the mutual influences of music and literature, and most enduring masterpieces show an extraordinary sensitivity of the composer to the individual words, to the prosody, or simply to the overall character of his text. The poet Goethe (Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von) felt that the simpler the musical setting, the more likely it was to reflect the original nature of the poem; any extensive musical elaborations often reinterpreted the message or character of the poem and were therefore undesirable. But the more imaginative composers, particularly those of the 19th and 20th centuries, used the full resources of their art to embellish the text or even to realize potentials that were not explicit in the original.

      Ages producing great poetry have often prompted a flourishing of important song writing, as Elizabethan England, 19th-century Germany and Austria, and late 19th- through early 20th-century France. Since the early 19th century, composers have frequently selected a group of poems by a particular author or on a single topic by different authors to produce a collection of related songs. Some of these cycles are undoubtedly designed to be performed as integrated compositions. As examples, Beethoven's An die ferne Geliebte (To the Distant Beloved) musically relates the opening with the closing of the cycle and joins each song to the next without interruption; individual songs in Schumann's (Schumann, Robert) Frauenliebe und Leben (Woman's Love and Life) and Brahms's Magelone present lyrical moments within a continuous narrative.

      Three methods are possible for setting strophic poetry. Simple-strophic setting consists of a single piece of music to be repeated for all stanzas. Modified-strophic setting retains the same musical framework for each stanza but with changing details in the voice and accompaniment to suit the progressing text. Through-composed setting proceeds to a different musical plan for each new stanza. The simple-strophic approach is effective if the entire poem suggests a central mood that can be captured in the music or if the composer creates a neutral setting that avoids detailed text illustration. Prosody and syntax must follow a regular pattern in each stanza if the result is to be satisfactory. Thus in Franz Schubert's “Das Wandern” (“Wandering) from the cycle Die schöne Müllerin (The Miller's Beautiful Daughter), the accompaniment suggests the continual flow of the millstream, while the energetic vocal melody reflects the enthusiasm of the young traveller. The singer's rhythm is easily adaptable to each stanza of text.

      Either the modified-strophic or the through-composed method is more likely to be successful for poems that contain widely differing moods in each stanza, progress to a dramatic climax, or follow irregular prosodic patterns. In the modified-strophic setting of “Der Lindenbaum” (“The Linden Tree”), from the cycle Winterreise (Winter Journey), Schubert changes from major to minor for the stanza suggesting bitter recollections, gives a more dramatic interpretation to both the voice and piano for references to the chilling winter wind, and, finally, repeats the music for the opening stanza but with modifications in the piano when the thoughts return to pleasant memories. The through-composed approach does not necessarily require new musical ideas for all parts of the song; the crucial distinction is the lack of any structural correspondence between the stanzas of text and the sections of music. Although the vocal lines in each stanza of Claude Debussy's “C'est l'extase langoureuse” (“This Is Langorous Ecstasy”) are entirely different, the piano unifies the setting by frequently returning to its opening motive. The art song since the late 19th century and simple strophic works from earlier periods normally provide a straightforward setting that avoids any word repetitions. The frequent text repetitions in many art songs from the 17th through mid-19th centuries generally indicate a predominance of musical over textual considerations, a feature also important in the operatic or concert aria.

      In setting a text to a vocal melody, the composer may choose to present his interpretation of the natural speech patterns in the poem; in his solution, the rhythmic complexity, the melodic range of tones, and variations in volume will depend ultimately upon his own musical language. Also open to the composer's interpretation is the versification of the poem. The music may reflect whatever prosodic principles are present in the language: poetic feet, qualitative or quantitative accent, or mere count of syllables. Although some vocal settings show a complete preoccupation with speech inflections (strict recitatives of the 17th century) or with prosody (musique mesurée experiments in the late 16th and early 17th centuries), most successful songs incorporate either or both of these considerations into a melodic line that is satisfying because of musical qualities as well. Hugo Wolf's (Wolf, Hugo) “Kennst du das Land” (“Do You Know the Land”) faithfully reflects the iambic feet (˘′) of Goethe's poem, but this prosodic awareness is combined with a sensitivity to the important words in the text. Furthermore, the melody progresses to a musical climax, as Wolf prepares for his setting of the high point of the poem. Even in works in which the text is obviously the servant of the music, a neutral treatment of rhythm and pitch usually avoids glaring distortions of the words. In the final portion of Arnold Schoenberg's (Schoenberg, Arnold) “Sommermüd (“Weary of Summer”) Opus 48, the pitches in the vocal melody are entirely determined by the 12-tone row (composer's ordering of the 12 notes of the chromatic scale) chosen for the whole song; yet the rhythm generally follows that of the poem.

      The nature and role of the accompaniment has undergone many changes since the earliest art songs. In the repertory of the 17th and 18th centuries, the singer is the prime interpreter of the text. As a rule, the accompanying part of these songs consists only of a figured bass (the basso continuo), in which the notation for the bass melody also indicates the harmonies to be improvised on the harpsichord, lute, or some other chord instrument. Except for an occasional imitation or anticipation of the voice or for interludes between the stanzas, the continuo accompaniment provides little commentary on the poem. Even when these early songs call for additional instruments, such as a flute or violin, or when the harmony is fully written out, as in 17th-century lute songs, the accompaniment only supports or imitates the voice. Complete piano parts regularly appear first in the late 18th century, replacing the abbreviated continuo. Although some piano accompaniments continue a subservient relationship to the voice, the trend in the 19th and 20th centuries has been toward greater participation in the interpretation. The piano may reinforce the emotional states of the poem; e.g., underlying anxiety in Wolf's “In der Frühe” (“In the Early Morning”); represent external details in the setting, as the spinning wheel in Schubert's “Gretchen am Spinnrade” (“Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel”); or assist in building dramatic climaxes, as in Wolf's “Kennst du das Land.” It may provide extensive preludes, as in Richard Strauss's “Morgen” (“Morning”), interludes or postludes, as in Schumann's “Alten, bösen Lieder” (“Old, Evil Songs”) from Dichterliebe (Poet's Love), or complete the phrasing in the voice; e.g., Schumann's “Nussbaum” (“Nut Tree”). In the present century, the piano frequently follows its independent ideas, freeing the voice for more expressive declamation, as in Maurice Ravel's Histoires naturelles, in which the instrument effectively portrays the various animals in the texts. Many songs from the 19th and 20th centuries, particularly the period c. 1880–1920, have either alternative or original accompaniments for orchestra (e.g., by Gustav Mahler, Strauss, Schoenberg, Alban Berg, Anton Webern, Ravel, and many others). Such settings enrich the texture and make possible a much greater range of colouristic effects. Other 20th-century songs require small chamber ensembles. The instruments may provide interpretative details, as in Ravel's Chansons madécasses (Madagascan Songs) or simply complement the musical ideas of the voice, as in Webern's chamber songs for various combinations.

      The concert aria, primarily an 18th-century composition with orchestral accompaniment, was originally intended either as an independent showpiece, as a substitute aria for an operatic production, or as a special number, called licenza, to follow a performance. Usually composed for a specific singer, the aria was generally more concerned with displaying vocal qualities than with interpreting the literary details of the text. Consequently, the poems are concise, with each verse typically repeated many times throughout a setting. The structure follows the same designs of the operatic aria. Most characteristic is the da capo plan, consisting of two contrasting sections of music: after the second section, the performers repeat the first, this time with more elaborate embellishments improvised by the singer. Another plan, popular in the later 18th century, is the composite design, consisting of several different sections with contrasting moods, usually with a brilliant conclusion. In both the da capo and composite forms, the composer represents a minimum of stereotyped emotional states, generally one for each section of music. A single tempo and metre are maintained for each section. If the aria is preceded by a recitative, the entire composition becomes a dramatic scene (scena).

      The concert aria was so influential a form that many continuo songs followed its structure and style. Henry Purcell's (Purcell, Henry) “Ye Gentle Spirits of the Air, Appear” (published posthumously in 1702) is in da capo structure, with textual repetitions and difficult coloratura, but it is also an objective musical portrayal of the words “repeat” and “trembling.” Such text painting, characteristic of the earlier madrigal genre and sometimes found in arias, is exceptional in the general literature of the art song.

      The solo voice has at times been used within works that are primarily instrumental, as an imposing climax to a symphonic (symphony) composition (the finales of Beethoven, Symphony No. 9; Mahler, Symphonies Nos. 2 and 3; and Franz Liszt, Faust Symphony—each example using a chorus as well); as an incidental commentary to introduce completely instrumental movements (Hector Berlioz, Roméo et Juliette); as the primary participant in a song movement with a symphonic or chamber work (Mahler, Symphonies Nos. 2–4; Schoenberg, Quartet No. 2 and Serenade, Opus 24); and as an inconspicuous member of an otherwise instrumental ensemble, as in the finale of Pierre Boulez's Marteau sans maître (The Hammer Without a Master), where the voice generally has a humming part. Two other of Mahler's symphonic compositions have more extensive vocal participation: Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth), labelled “A Symphony for Tenor, Contralto (or Baritone), and Orchestra,” where one or the other soloist is heard in each movement, and Symphony No. 8, employing voices (solo or choral) throughout; the finale of the latter work has the spirit of an oratorio.

      Vocal compositions with no articulated text are called vocalises (vocalizzi in Italian). Although such works have been traditionally used as exercises, many 20th-century composers have written concert vocalises as well, among them Ravel, Sergey Rachmaninoff, and Igor Stravinsky. Vocalises are particularly suitable for chamber compositions, since the voice without text is easily adapted to the level of the other instruments.

The repertory since 1600

Art songs in German, French, and English

      The most important German (Germany) songs (Lieder) of the 17th century were continuo Lieder used for informal entertainment, notable composers being Heinrich Albert (Albert, Heinrich) and Adam Krieger. With the rising prestige of opera in the later 17th century, these simple Lieder declined in favour of extended virtuoso songs and concert arias, such as Handel's nine Deutsche Arien (German Arias) of c. 1729. The concert aria eventually reached a peak in the late 18th-century works of Mozart and Haydn. At the same time, three counterdevelopments pointed toward the future for the German Lied: a reaction against the superficialities of the operatic aria, the availability of a new repertory of lyric poetry, and an increasing use of the keyboard (eventually the piano) as an expressive accompaniment. First to reflect these directions were north German composers (Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach, Johann Friedrich Reichardt, Karl Friedrich Zelter, and Johann Rudolf Zumsteeg), particularly in their settings of devotional poetry by Christian Gellert, Julius Sturm, and Friedrich Klopstock. The keyboard part was often fully written out, yet generally subordinate to the voice. Beethoven eventually expanded the role of the accompaniment in his finest songs, including settings of Goethe and Gellert, and the cycle An die ferne Geliebte.

      At the head of distinguished 19th-century Lied composers stands Schubert (Schubert, Franz), whose masterpieces combine a natural feeling for musical design with an extraordinary sensitivity to the essentials of the text. More than 600 in number, his Lieder encompass a wide range of poets, forms, and moods. Schumann's approximately 250 songs draw from outstanding German lyricists: Heinrich Heine, Goethe, Friedrich Rückert, Joseph Eichendorff, Justinus Kerner, and Adelbert von Chamisso. His accompaniments are closely linked with the voice through doubling, imitation, or completion of musical ideas. Brahms (Brahms, Johannes), more like Schubert than Schumann, assigned prime importance to the voice but at times sacrificed text declamation for balance in musical phrasing. Among his approximately 300 solo works are numerous harmonizations of folk tunes (many altered according to his musical taste), a cycle of 15 romances from Ludwig Tieck's Magelone, and the extensive Vier ernste Gesänge (Four Serious Songs) of his last years. Wolf, in sharp contrast to Brahms, gave scrupulous attention to literary details, frequently requiring changes of pace and vocal styles within a single song. The best songs of Richard Strauss (Strauss, Richard), like Wolf's, combine an expressive vocal line with a rich accompaniment, often in alternative versions for piano or orchestra.

      Early 20th-century Lieder either develop further the possibilities of the orchestral song (Mahler, Schoenberg, Berg (Berg, Alban), Webern (Webern, Anton)), explore revolutionary techniques in works using chamber ensemble or piano (Schoenberg, Webern), or merely continue late 19th-century traditions (Max Reger, Joseph Marx). Mahler's songs—e.g., Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (Songs of a Wayfarer), settings from Des Knaben Wunderhorn (The Youth's Magic Horn), Kindertotenlieder (Songs on the Death of Children), Das Lied von der Erde—deal with the sorrows and aspirations of man, the consoling powers of nature, and childlike visions of heaven; the vocal lines range from folklike simplicity to soaring lyricism. Of central importance in their composers' careers are Schoenberg's Buch der hängenden Gärten (Book of the Hanging Gardens) and his 12-tone Drei Lieder, Opus 48; Webern's aphoristic yet highly contrapuntal chamber songs (Opuses 13–19) and later settings of Hildegard Jone; and Berg's more lyrical Altenberg Lieder and concert aria Der Wein (Wine). Continuing later into the century, Paul Hindemith's skillful songs in German, French, and English incorporate various accompaniments and styles.

      French publishers issued numerous books of airs de cour (air de cour), or “courtly airs,” during the early 17th century. Some airs treat serious secular topics. Others, called voix de ville, have jovial texts, which are often set to dance rhythms. Récits concentrate on textual declamation, since they usually originated as commentaries within the ballets de cour, or “courtly ballets”; but they have little of the passion found in Italian recitatives of the same time. Still other airs are settings from the Huguenot psalter. France was nevertheless slow in developing compositions designed only for the solo singer. Aside from the récits and psalm settings, the airs were either arrangements of polyphonic chansons or were easily singable as part-songs. In the late 17th and 18th centuries, most vocal writing was for the large forms of opera, cantata, and motet. But a demand for songs returned with the “back to nature” movement in the mid-18th century and with the French Revolution, giving rise to romances, or simple, rustic tunes with folkish texts, and to patriotic songs, including “La Marseillaise.”

      Many 19th-century composers continued writing romances, some of more extended scope. But the most important type of song was the new mélodie, which concentrated on subtle nuances of the text and provided a substantial accompaniment, as in Hector Berlioz' cycle Les Nuits d'été (Summer Nights; to poems by Théophile Gautier), with accompaniment for orchestra or piano. The mélodie flourished with the rich developments in French poetry during the later 19th century. Gabriel Fauré (Fauré, Gabriel), in his cycle La Bonne Chanson (The Good Song), set nine love poems of Paul Verlaine; the lyrical voice soars above continuous figurations in the piano. Henri Duparc's mélodies, only 14 in number, have long been considered masterful settings of Charles Baudelaire, Charles Leconte de Lisle, Armand Silvestre, and others. Debussy's (Debussy, Claude) 57 published songs use poems of his contemporaries (especially Verlaine) but also three by the 15th-century François Villon. His vocal lines freely mix a declamatory style with more lyricism at points of climax. The piano emphasizes contours of the poem and imparts unity through recurring motives. Among the most colourful song composers of the early 20th century is Ravel (Ravel, Maurice). His Shéhérazade has orchestral accompaniment, while Trois Poèmes de Stéphane Mallarmé and the Chansons Madécasses use chamber ensembles. Originally for voice and piano (although some are also orchestrated) are his folk-tune harmonizations; Don Quichotte à Dulcinée, dance-inspired songs intended as movie music; and the Histories naturelles.

      Darius Milhaud (Milhaud, Darius) treated both humorous and serious poems from all periods, while Francis Poulenc's most characteristic texts are by the Surrealists. Among the more recent French composers, Olivier Messiaen, André Jolivet, and Boulez employed advanced vocal techniques with various instrumental combinations.

      England's (England) first art songs are the lute ayres (ayre) published in large numbers from 1597 to 1622; the principal composers are John Dowland, John Daniel, and Thomas Campion. Of high literary quality, the strophic texts are generally anonymous, except those by the composers themselves. Many ayres resemble dance music, using standard rhythms and symmetrical phrasing. The finest songs place the voice and lute in full partnership. The ayres of the early 17th century gradually gave way to declamatory songs, usually through-composed, many of which were originally written for masques or the theatre. In the simplified accompaniment, the complete lute part was eventually replaced by a single basso-continuo line. Late 17th-century continuo songs reached a high point in the works of Purcell. His earliest songs emphasize textual prosody, but his more representative works become brilliant concert pieces.

      In the 18th and 19th centuries, many songs continued to reflect the influence of opera and operetta. But more characteristic of the two centuries are less pretentious strophic works, many originating in popular concerts in the London Gardens. In the late 18th century, the turn toward simplicity resulted in collections of Scottish, Irish, and Welsh folk music; the Scottish publisher George Thomson commissioned folk-song arrangements from Haydn, Beethoven, and others.

      Since the late 19th century, England has revived interest in the art song. Texts are often from the best contemporary poets, as well as from earlier classics. Musical styles have drawn on folk-music tradition as well as on advanced 20th-century musical idioms. Although the piano remains the principal accompanying instrument, orchestral or chamber-ensemble accompaniments are also prominent. Among the more significant song composers have been Sir Hubert Parry and Sir Charles Villiers Stanford; Frederick Delius, largely influenced by continental and Scandinavian music; Gustav Holst and Ralph Vaughan Williams, both with a strong interest in folk music; Peter Warlock (real name, Philip Heseltine); John Ireland; Benjamin Britten; and Sir Michael Tippett.

      In the United States, songs composed before the mid-19th century were primarily by amateur musicians, and intended for singing instruction, devotion, or entertainment. Minstrel shows of the early 19th century provided the source for the stage songs of Daniel Decatur Emmett, Stephen Foster, and others. Songs of late 19th-century composers such as George Chadwick, George Foote, Horatio Parker, and Edward MacDowell were influenced by conservative trends in European Romanticism. Early 20th-century songs show the effects of French Impressionism (John Alden Carpenter, Charles Loeffler, Charles Griffes) or follow more individual directions. Sidney Homer's songs focus on a smooth vocal melody, while those of Charles Ives often vigorously represent textual details. After a lull during the 1930s and early 1940s, composers returned to the art song, often setting contemporary American literature. Some of the better known are Theodore Ward Chanler, Virgil Thomson, Samuel Barber, David Diamond, Aaron Copland, Ben Weber, Miriam Gideon, and Milton Babbitt.

Art songs in other countries

      The Russian (Russia) art song dates primarily from the 19th and 20th centuries, although the period of Catherine the Great (reigned 1762–96) supplies a substantial background in its imitations of French romances (either in French or Russian), editions of Russian folk tunes (or pseudo-folk tunes), ballads, and pseudo-Oriental songs. The chief pioneers of the 19th-century song were Mikhail Glinka (Glinka, Mikhail) and Aleksandr Dargomyzhsky (Dargomyzhsky, Aleksandr), the latter brilliant for his depiction of realistic peasant scenes. The “Russian Five (Five, The)” (César Cui, Mily Balakirev, Aleksandr Borodin, Modest Mussorgsky, and Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov) contributed the most significant repertory in the second half of the 19th century. Their songs present a remarkable variety of moods and styles, perhaps best illustrated in the works of Borodin and Mussorgsky. In contrast to “The Five,” the conservatory musicians (chiefly Anton Rubinstein and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky) were governed more by Western influences than by native styles. Among other pre-Revolutionary song composers, Aleksandr Grechaninov, Sergey Rachmaninoff, and Nikolay Medtner provided polished masterpieces, but no significant technical advances; more forward-looking are the early songs of Stravinsky and Sergey Prokofiev. Soviet composers avoided the radical musical developments elsewhere. As a rule, songs since the Revolution are objective settings of Soviet poetry or traditional Russian literature (especially works by the poet Pushkin).

      The art songs of Italy begin with the numerous books of monodies (continuo songs) from the first third of the 17th century by such composers as Giulio Caccini, Jacopo Peri, and Sigismondo d'India (a more significant composer). Although originally labelled with various titles, the songs fall into two general types: madrigals and strophic arias. Some madrigals are strict recitatives, although the vocal style is more frequently a smooth-flowing arioso (i.e., freely expressive and lyrical). Arias tend toward symmetrical phrasing and standard rhythmical patterns, sometimes dancelike, but at times approach madrigalesque style. Many arias repeat the same music for each stanza, but others have a through-composed vocal line over the same bass (strophic-bass arias). As a rule, the accompaniments are entirely subordinated to the voice, which in the more expressive songs introduces ornaments for emphasizing important words or punctuating poetic lines. The early monodies eventually expanded into longer, more musically oriented compositions called cantatas.

      Opera was so dominant in the 18th and 19th centuries that song composition became a lost art. A return to song writing in the early 20th century, for composers such as Ottorino Respighi, Alfredo Casella, and Gian Francsco Malipiero, was inspired by the ideals and accomplishments of Italy's past, especially the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Other outstanding recent song composers are Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (settings of all Shakespeare's songs), Luigi Dallapiccola (using 12-tone techniques), Ildebrando Pizzetti, and Goffredo Petrassi.

      Spanish (Spain) songs from the 17th through 19th centuries are primarily related to theatrical productions: either the older and more enduring zarzuelas (zarzuela) or the lighter tonadillas (tonadilla) (c. 1750–1810). The vocal style is simple, often with rhythmic and ornamental clichés; the accompaniment frequently consists only of the composer's sketches to be filled out in performance. In the repertory of serious modern art songs the way was led by Felipe Pedrell (Pedrell, Felipe), who composed folk-inspired melodies and published works of older Spanish masters. Among his better known successors are Enrique Granados, Manuel de Falla, Joaquín Turina, and Federico Mompou.

      Latin America has produced a rich and varied repertory of art songs, but mostly during the present century. A great number of these compositions depict regional colour through their texts, melodies, and rhythms. Other works eschew native influences in favour of an international style. Among 20th-century Latin-American composers, the Brazilian Heitor Villa-Lobos and the Argentine Alberto Ginastera achieved worldwide fame.

      The most outstanding Norwegian song composer was Edvard Grieg (Grieg, Edvard), whose song style blends folklike simplicity with imaginative musical ideas. As is usual with Scandinavian (Scandinavia) composers, the texts are drawn from several languages (German, Danish, Norwegian), but his finest works are in his native Norwegian. The Finn Jean Sibelius concentrated primarily on Swedish literature, interpreting a wide range of moods in a highly distinctive musical language.

      Hungary's (Hungary) principal contributions come from Béla Bartók (Bartók, Béla) and Zoltán Kodály (Kodály, Zoltán), whose songs reflect their lifelong interest in collecting native peasant tunes. For both composers folk-song arrangement became a refined art. Many songs faithfully set a traditional tune to a simple accompaniment, while more elaborate works blend native elements with advanced contemporary idioms.

      In Czechoslovakia, strong ties with German culture long prevented the development of native art songs. Nineteenth-century nationalism inspired some composers to turn to Czech texts, although part of their output continued in German: Jaroslav Tomášek, Bedřich Smetana, Anton Dvořák, and the younger Leos Janáček. Poland shows a similar pattern: during the 19th century many composers turned to their native literature (especially the poetry of Adam Mickiewicz), the most important being Joseph Elsner, Frédéric Chopin, Stanislaw Moniuszko, and Karol Szymanowski. Belgium, the Netherlands, and Switzerland have also produced sizable repertories of art songs, particularly in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Western and Non-Western conceptions

      In the relationship between poet, composer, and performer—and especially in the importance assigned to the composer—Western vocal music has arrived at a stage during the past few centuries that is basically unlike that of any other world culture. By the 19th century composers were recording in musical notation virtually all the essentials in their interpretations of the text: pitch, rhythm, and tempo, as well as indications for dynamics and articulation. Although the performers must bring the composer's notation to life, particularly through subtle nuances and appropriate vocal sounds, this process is primarily one of reinterpreting a previously established work of art. Comparative research in the present century has revealed certain general parallels in the vocal art of other civilizations, but no culture other than Western has placed such a premium on individual compositions from the past, and consequently nowhere else is there preserved such an extensive history of vocal literature. Aside from certain types of ritualistic music, where the slightest change in tradition is viewed as a desecration, the non-Westerner has relied primarily upon the creative role of the performer. Although the singer at times begins with a preexistent “work” notated with some pitches, rhythms, or even other indications for performance, this notation merely functions as a suggested framework. The performer contributes new details for the voice and the accompaniment, so that the composition is actually re-created rather than reinterpreted. Because of this process of creative performance, most non-Western vocal art before the advent of 20th-century recordings has been irretrievably lost.

      During the present century, Western concepts of art song have strongly influenced the vocal music in non-Western cultures, unfortunately threatening the continued existence of many indigenous practices. The influence has at times gone in the other direction: recent examples of Western avant-gardism give the singer many improvisatory options within broader limits prescribed by the composer. It can be expected that future vocal music will continue to show intercultural exchanges of ideas and techniques without requiring the complete sacrifice of any heritage.

William V. Porter

Additional Reading

For a general survey of song literature, see Denis Stevens (ed.), A History of Song (1960); and “Song,” in Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed., vol. 7 (1954); for discussions of early chants and songs to 1640, with bibliographies and editions: The New Oxford History of Music, vol. 2–4 (1954–68); for problems in text setting: the introductions to An Elizabethan Song Book, ed. by Noah Greenberg, W.H. Auden, and Chester Kallman (1955); The Ring of Words: An Anthology of Song Texts, ed. by Philip L. Miller (1963); and The Penguin Book of Lieder, ed. by S.S. Prawer (1964); also Archibald T. Davison, Words and Music (1954); Vincent Duckles and Franklin B. Zimmerman, Words to Music (1967); Northrop Frye (ed.), Sound and Poetry (1957), esp. ch. 1, “Words into Music: The Composer's Approach to the Text,” by Edward T. Cone; and Jack Stein, “Was Goethe Wrong About the Nineteenth-Century Lied?” PMLA, 77:232–239 (1962). For a discussion of the concert aria, see Paul Hamburger, “The Concert Arias,” in The Mozart Companion, ed. by H.C. Robbins Landon and Donald Mitchell (1956). Manfred F. Bukofzer, Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Music (1950) and Music in the Baroque Era (1947), are both well-established classics, the first volume being of particular importance since it discusses the beginnings of choral music. Alfred Einstein, The Italian Madrigal, 3 vol. (1949, reprinted 1971), is a detailed account of the entire history of the Italian madrigal. The third volume contains hitherto unpublished compositions, Edmund H. Fellowes, English Cathedral Music from Edward VI to Edward VII, 2nd ed. rev. (1945), and The English Madrigal Composers, 2nd ed. (1948), are regarded as classics and are well suited to the general reader as well as to the professional musician. Frank L. Harrison, Music in Medieval Britain (1958), is the most thorough account of church music in Britain from the earliest times up to the middle of the 16th century. Peter Le Huray, Music and the Reformation in England, 1549–1660 (1967), provides especially good coverage for this period. Gustave Reese, Music in the Renaissance, rev. ed. (1959), is the finest single-volume study of music from the time of Dufay up to that of Byrd. Denis W. Stevens, Tudor Church Music (1961), is a study of forms and styles in 16th-century church music. See also Nicholas Temperley, The Music of the English Parish Church, 2 vol. (1979); and Stephen Daw, The Music of Johann Sebastian Bach, the Choral Works (1981).

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