An art song is a Western vocal music composition, usually written for one voice with

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

accompaniment, and usually in the classical art music tradition. By extension, the term "art song" is used to refer to the collective genre of such songs (e.g., the "art song repertoire").Meister, ''An Introduction to the Art Song'', pp. 11–17. An art song is most often a musical setting of an independent poem or text, "intended for the concert repertory" "as part of a recital or other relatively formal social occasion". While many pieces of vocal music are easily recognized as art songs, others are more difficult to categorize. For example, a wordless vocalise written by a classical composer is sometimes considered an art song and sometimes not. Other factors help define art songs: *Songs that are part of a staged work (such as an

aria In music, an aria ( Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompa ...

from an

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

or a song from a

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwo ...

) are not usually considered art songs.Kimball, p. xiv However, some Baroque arias that "appear with great frequency in recital performance" are now included in the art song repertoire. *Songs with instruments besides piano (e.g., cello and piano) and/or other singers are referred to as " vocal chamber music", and are usually not considered art songs. *Songs originally written for voice and orchestra are called "orchestral songs" and are not usually considered art songs, unless their original version was for solo voice and piano. * Folk songs and traditional songs are generally not considered art songs, unless they are art music-style concert arrangements with

accompaniment written by a specific composer Several examples of these songs include Aaron Copland's two volumes of '' Old American Songs'', the Folksong arrangements by

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

, and the ''Siete canciones populares españolas'' (''Seven Spanish Folksongs'') by Manuel de Falla. *There is no agreement regarding

sacred songs ''Sacred Songs'' is American singer/songwriter Daryl Hall's first solo album. It was produced by guitarist Robert Fripp, who also played on the album. The album was recorded in 1977 but Hall's label, RCA Records, did not release it for three y ...

. Many song settings of

biblical The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of ...

or sacred texts were composed for the concert stage and not for religious services; these are widely known as art songs (for example, the '' Vier ernste Gesänge'' by

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...

). Other sacred songs may or may not be considered art songs.Neither Meister nor Kimball mention sacred songs generally, but both discuss the Brahms songs and selected other works in their books on art song. *A group of art songs composed to be performed in a group to form a narrative or dramatic whole is called a

song cycle A song cycle (german: Liederkreis or Liederzyklus) is a group, or cycle, of individually complete songs designed to be performed in a sequence as a unit.Susan Youens, ''Grove online'' The songs are either for solo voice or an ensemble, or rare ...

Languages and nationalities

Art songs have been composed in many languages, and are known by several names. The German tradition of art song composition is perhaps the most prominent one; it is known as '' Lieder''. In France, the term '' mélodie'' distinguishes art songs from other French vocal pieces referred to as chansons. The Spanish

canción ''Canción'' ("song") is a popular genre of Latin American music, particularly in Cuba, where many of the compositions originate.Orovio, Helio 2004. ''Cuban music from A to Z''. p42 Its roots lie in Spanish popular song forms, including tiranas, ...

and the Italian canzone refer to songs generally and not specifically to art songs.

Form

The composer's musical language and interpretation of the text often dictate the formal design of an art song. If all of the poem's verses are sung to the same music, the song is strophic. Arrangements of folk songs are often strophic, and "there are exceptional cases in which the musical repetition provides dramatic irony for the changing text, or where an almost hypnotic monotony is desired." Several of the songs in Schubert's ''

Die schöne Müllerin ' (,"The Fair Maid of the Mill", Op. 25, D. 795), is a song cycle by Franz Schubert from 1823 based on 20 poems by Wilhelm Müller. It is the first of Schubert's two seminal cycles (preceding '' Winterreise'')'','' and a pinnacle of '' Lied'' ...

'' are good examples of this. If the vocal melody remains the same but the accompaniment changes under it for each verse, the piece is called a "modified strophic" song. In contrast, songs in which "each section of the text receives fresh music" are called through-composed. Most through-composed works have some repetition of musical material in them. Many art songs use some version of the ABA form (also known as "song form" or "ternary form"), with a beginning musical section, a contrasting middle section, and a return to the first section's music. In some cases, in the return to the first section's music, the composer may make minor changes.

Performance and performers

Performance of art songs in

recital A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide var ...

requires special skills for both the singer and pianist. The degree of intimacy "seldom equaled in other kinds of music" requires that the two performers "communicate to the audience the most subtle and evanescent emotions as expressed in the poem and music". The two performers must agree on all aspects of the performance to create a unified partnership, making art song performance one of the "most sensitive type(s) of collaboration". As well, the pianist must be able to closely match the mood and character expressed by the singer. Even though classical vocalists generally embark on successful performing careers as soloists by seeking out

engagements, a number of today's most prominent singers have built their careers primarily by singing art songs, including Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Thomas Quasthoff, Ian Bostridge, Matthias Goerne,

Wolfgang Holzmair Wolfgang Holzmair (born 1952 in Vöcklabruck) is an Austrian baritone. Holzmair studied at the Vienna Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. He won 2nd prize in the baritone class of the 's-Hertogenbosch International Vocal Competition in 1981, and ...

, Susan Graham and Elly Ameling. Pianists, too, have specialized in playing art songs with great singers. Gerald Moore, Geoffrey Parsons, Graham Johnson, Dalton Baldwin,

Hartmut Höll Hartmut Höll (born November 24, 1952) is a German pianist and music professor.J. B. Steane, "Hartmut Höll", Grove Music Online Biography Höll was born in Heilbronn. He trained in Stuttgart, Milan and Munich Munich ( ; german: Münche ...

and Martin Katz are six such pianists who have specialized in accompanying art song performances. The piano parts in art songs can be so complex that the piano part is not really a subordinate accompaniment part; the pianist in challenging art songs is more of an equal partner with the solo singer. As such, some pianists who specialize in performing art song recitals with singers refer to themselves as "collaborative pianists", rather than as accompanists.

Composers

English

* John Dowland *

Thomas Campion Thomas Campion (sometimes spelled Campian; 12 February 1567 – 1 March 1620) was an English composer, poet, and physician. He was born in London, educated at Cambridge, studied law in Gray's inn. He wrote over a hundred lute songs, masques ...

* William Byrd * Thomas Morley * Henry Purcell * Hubert Parry * Frederick Delius *

Ralph Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams, (; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...

* Roger Quilter * John Ireland * Ivor Gurney * Peter Warlock * Michael Head *

Madeleine Dring Madeleine Winefride Isabelle Dring (7 September 1923 – 26 March 1977) was an English composer, pianist, singer and actress. Life Madeleine Dring spent the first four years of her life at Raleigh Road, Harringay, before the family moved to Stre ...

* Gerald Finzi * Jonathan Dove *

* Michael Tippett *

Ian Venables Ian Venables (born 1955) is a British composer of art songs and chamber music. Biography Ian Venables was born in Liverpool in 1955 and was educated at Liverpool Collegiate School, Liverpool Collegiate Grammar School. He studied music with Ri ...

* Judith Weir *

George Butterworth George Sainton Kaye Butterworth, MC (12 July 18855 August 1916) was an English composer who was best known for the orchestral idyll '' The Banks of Green Willow'' and his song settings of A. E. Housman's poems from ''A Shropshire Lad''. Early y ...

* Francis George Scott * Rebecca Clarke

American

* Amy Beach * Theodore Chanler * Arthur Farwell *

Charles Ives Charles Edward Ives (; October 20, 1874May 19, 1954) was an American modernist composer, one of the first American composers of international renown. His music was largely ignored during his early career, and many of his works went unperformed ...

Charles Griffes Charles Tomlinson Griffes ( ; September 17, 1884 – April 8, 1920) was an American composer for piano, chamber ensembles and voice. His initial works are influenced by German Romanticism, but after he relinquished the German style, his late ...

* Ernst Bacon *

John Jacob Niles John Jacob Niles (April 28, 1892 – March 1, 1980) was an American composer, singer and collector of traditional ballads. Called the "Dean of American Balladeers," Niles was an important influence on the American folk music revival of the 195 ...

* John Woods Duke * Ned Rorem * Richard Faith *

Samuel Barber Samuel Osmond Barber II (March 9, 1910 – January 23, 1981) was an American composer, pianist, conductor, baritone, and music educator, and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century. The music critic Donal Henahan said, "Probab ...

* Aaron Copland *

George Walker (composer) George Theophilus Walker (June 27, 1922 – August 23, 2018) was an American composer, pianist, and organist, and the first African American to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music, which he received for his work '' Lilacs'' in 1996.De Lerma, Domin ...

* Lee Hoiby * William Bolcom *

George Crumb George Henry Crumb Jr. (24 October 1929 – 6 February 2022) was an American composer of avant-garde contemporary classical music. Early in his life he rejected the widespread modernist usage of serialism, developing a highly personal musical ...

Dominick Argento Dominick Argento (October 27, 1927 – February 20, 2019) was an American composer known for his lyric operatic and choral music. Among his best known pieces are the operas ''Postcard from Morocco'', '' Miss Havisham's Fire'', ''The Masque of An ...

* John Harbison *

Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimalism, being built up from repetitive ...

* Libby Larsen *

Juliana Hall Juliana Hall (born 1958) is an American composer of art songs, monodramas, and vocal chamber music. She has been described by the NATS Journal of Singing as "one of our country’s most able and prolific art song composers for almost three decades ...

Tom Cipullo Tom Cipullo (born November 22, 1956) is an American composer. Known mostly for vocal music, he has also composed orchestral, chamber, and solo instrumental works. His opera, ''Glory Denied'', has been performed to critical acclaim in New York, W ...

Lori Laitman Lori Laitman is an American composer who has composed multiple operas, choral works, and over 300 songs. Life Laitman was born in Long Beach, New York, in 1955.

* Daron Hagen * Richard Hundley *

Emma Lou Diemer Emma Lou Diemer (born November 24, 1927 in Kansas City, Missouri) is an American composer. Diemer has written many works for orchestra, chamber ensemble, keyboard, voice, chorus, and electronic media. Diemer is a keyboard performer and over th ...

* Ben Moore (composer) * Ricky Ian Gordon *

Jake Heggie Jake Heggie (born March 31, 1961) is an American composer of opera, vocal, orchestral, and chamber music. He is best known for his operas and art songs as well as for his collaborations with internationally renowned performers and writers. ...

* John Musto * Sarah Hutchings *

Laura Schwendinger Laura Elise Schwendinger (born January 26, 1962) was the first composer to win the American Academy in Berlin's Berlin Prize. Biography Schwendinger was the first composer to win the American Academy in Berlin Prize, and her opera Artemisia, is ...

Austrian and German

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (8 March 1714 – 14 December 1788), also formerly spelled Karl Philipp Emmanuel Bach, and commonly abbreviated C. P. E. Bach, was a German Classical period musician and composer, the fifth child and sec ...

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have le ...

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wo ...

Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sym ...

* Fanny Mendelssohn *

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

* Clara Schumann * Carl Loewe *

* Hugo Wolf *

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...

* Alexander von Zemlinsky *

Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...

* Anton Webern *

Alban Berg Alban Maria Johannes Berg ( , ; 9 February 1885 – 24 December 1935) was an Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School. His compositional style combined Romantic lyricism with the twelve-tone technique. Although he left a relatively sm ...

* Erich Wolfgang Korngold * Viktor Ullmann * Hanns Eisler *

Kurt Weill Kurt Julian Weill (March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fru ...

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith (; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advocate of the ' ...

* Wilhelm Killmayer * Josephine Lang *

Emilie Mayer Emilie Luise Friderica Mayer (14 May 1812,Sources variously give Mayer's date of birth as 1812 (as in the references and external links below) or 1821 (e.g. Grove). It is possible that a transcription error was made by an early writer or typeset ...

French

* Hector Berlioz * Charles Gounod * Pauline Viardot * César Franck * Camille Saint-Saëns *

Georges Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', whi ...

Emmanuel Chabrier Alexis-Emmanuel Chabrier (; 18 January 184113 September 1894) was a French Romantic composer and pianist. His bourgeois family did not approve of a musical career for him, and he studied law in Paris and then worked as a civil servant until the ...

* Henri Duparc *

Jules Massenet Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are '' Manon'' (1884) and '' Werther ...

* Gabriel Fauré *

Claude Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most infl ...

Erik Satie Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (, ; ; 17 May 18661 July 1925), who signed his name Erik Satie after 1884, was a French composer and pianist. He was the son of a French father and a British mother. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, but was an und ...

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...

* Lili Boulanger *

Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher and conductor. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organist. From a ...

Albert Roussel Albert Charles Paul Marie Roussel (; 5 April 1869 – 23 August 1937) was a French composer. He spent seven years as a midshipman, turned to music as an adult, and became one of the most prominent French composers of the interwar period. His ...

Reynaldo Hahn Reynaldo Hahn (; 9 August 1874 – 28 January 1947) was a Venezuelan-born French composer, conductor, music critic, and singer. He is best known for his songs – ''mélodies'' – of which he wrote more than 100. Hahn was born in Caracas b ...

* Darius Milhaud * Francis Poulenc *

Olivier Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithology, ornithologist who was one of the major composers of the 20th-century classical music, 20th century. His m ...

* Henri Dutilleux * Cécile Chaminade

Romanian

* George Enescu * Dinu Lipatti * Pascal Bentoiu * Irina Hasnaș

Spanish

19th century: * Francisco Asenjo Barbieri * Ramón Carnicer y Batlle * Ruperto Chapí * Antonio de la Cruz * Isabella Colbran * Manuel Fernández Caballero * Manuel García * Sebastián de Iradier *José León *

Cristóbal Oudrid Cristóbal (Carlos Domingo Romualdo y Ricardo) Oudrid y Segura (, 7 February 1825 – 13 March 1877) was a Spanish pianist, conductor, and composer. He is noted for his many contributions to the formation and development of the zarzuela genr ...

* Antonio Reparaz * Emilio Serrano y Ruiz *

Fernando Sor Fernando Sor (bapt. 14 Feb. 1778, died 10 July 1839) was a Spanish classical guitarist and composer of the Early Romantic era. Best known for writing solo classical guitar music, he also composed an opera (at the age of 19), three symphonies ...

* Joaquín Valverde *

Amadeo Vives Amadeu Vives i Roig (; 18 November 1871 – 2 December 1932) was a Spanish musical composer, creator of over a hundred stage works. He is best known for '' Doña Francisquita'', which Christopher Webber has praised for its "easy lyricism, fluen ...

20th century: * Enrique Granados * Manuel de Falla * Joaquín Rodrigo * Joaquín Turina * David del Puerto

Latin American

In Spanish: * Juan Guerra González – El Salvador * Roberto Caamaño – Argentina *

Hector Campos-Parsi In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defe ...

– Puerto Rico * Pompeyo Camps – Argentina * Carlos Chávez – Mexico (also in German and English) *

Alberto Ginastera Alberto Evaristo Ginastera (; April 11, 1916June 25, 1983) was an Argentinian composer of classical music. He is considered to be one of the most important 20th-century classical composers of the Americas. Biography Ginastera was born in Buenos ...

– Argentina *

Carlos Guastavino Carlos Guastavino (5 April 1912 – 29 October 2000) was an Argentine composer, considered one of the foremost composers of his country. His production amounted to over 500 works, most of them songs for piano and voice, many still unpublished. H ...

– Argentina *

Mario Lavista Mario Lavista (April 3, 1943 – November 4, 2021) was a Mexican composer, writer and intellectual. Life and career Lavista was born in Mexico City. He enrolled the Composition Workshop (Taller de Composición) at the National Conservatory in 19 ...

– Mexico * Jaime León Ferro – Colombia * Julián Orbón – Cuba *

Juan Orrego-Salas Juan Antonio Orrego-Salas (January 18, 1919 – November 24, 2019) was a Chilean composer, musicologist, music critic, and academic. Life and career Born Juan Antonio Orrego-Salas in Santiago on January 18, 1919, Orrego-Salas studied at the C ...

– Chile *

Carlos Pedrell Carlos Pedrell (16 October 1878 – 9 March 1941) was a Uruguayan composer, guitarist and educator.Based on entries in David Mason Greene: ''Biographical Dictionary of Composers'' (Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Co., 1985) and Józef Powrozni ...

– Uruguay * Juan Bautista Plaza – Venezuela *

Manuel Ponce Manuel María Ponce Cuéllar (8 December 1882 – 24 April 1948) was a Mexican composer active in the 20th century. His work as a composer, music educator and scholar of Mexican music connected the concert scene with a mostly forgotten traditio ...

– Mexico * Silvestre Revueltas – Mexico * Miguel Sandoval – Guatemala * Domingo Santa Cruz – Chile * Andrés Sas – Peru * Guillermo Uribe-Holguín – Colombia * Aurelio de la Vega – Cuba In Portuguese (all Brazilian): *

Ernani Braga Ernani Braga (born Hernani da Costa Braga;Celina Garcia Delmonaco Tarragò Grovermann''O ''Cancioneiro Gaúcho'' de Ernani Braga: um estudo histórico analítico de uma obra composta para o Bicentenário de Porto Alegre em 1940''.(Master thesis). ...

* Camargo Guarnieri * Osvaldo Lacerda * Jaime Ovalle *

Heitor Villa-Lobos Heitor Villa-Lobos (March 5, 1887November 17, 1959) was a Brazilian composer, conductor, cellist, and classical guitarist described as "the single most significant creative figure in 20th-century Brazilian art music". Villa-Lobos has become the ...

(also songs in Italian, French, English, Spanish, Nheengatu, and Latin)

Italian

Claudio Monteverdi Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (baptized 15 May 1567 – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, choirmaster and string player. A composer of both secular and sacred music, and a pioneer in the development of opera, he is consider ...

Barbara Strozzi Barbara Strozzi (also called Barbara Valle; baptised 6 August 1619 – 11 November 1677) was an Italian composer and singer of the Baroque Period. During her lifetime, Strozzi published eight volumes of her own music, and had more secular ...

Gioachino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards ...

Gaetano Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the '' bel canto'' opera style ...

* Vincenzo Bellini *

Francesca Caccini Francesca Caccini (; 18 September 1587 – after 1641) was an Italian composer, singer, lutenist, poet, and music teacher of the early Baroque music, Baroque era. She was also known by the nickname "La Cecchina" , given to her by the Florence, Fl ...

Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

* Amilcare Ponchielli * Paolo Tosti *

Ottorino Respighi Ottorino Respighi ( , , ; 9 July 187918 April 1936) was an Italian composer, violinist, teacher, and musicologist and one of the leading Italian composers of the early 20th century. His compositions range over operas, ballets, orchestral su ...

* Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco *

Luciano Berio Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition ''Sinfonia'' and his series of virtuosic solo pieces titled ''Sequenza''), and for his pioneering work ...

Lorenzo Ferrero Lorenzo Ferrero (; born 1951) is an Italian composer, librettist, author, and book editor. He started composing at an early age and has written over a hundred compositions thus far, including twelve operas, three ballets, and numerous orchestral ...

Eastern European

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

– Hungary (nearly all his art song settings are of texts in non-Hungarian European languages, such as French and German) * Antonín Dvořák – Bohemia * Leoš Janáček – Bohemia (Czechoslovakia) *

Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist, and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as Hu ...

– Hungary * Zoltán Kodály – Hungary *

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period, who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leadin ...

– Poland *

Stanisław Moniuszko Stanisław Moniuszko (; May 5, 1819 – June 4, 1872) was a Polish composer, conductor and teacher. He wrote many popular art songs and operas, and his music is filled with patriotic folk themes of the peoples of the former Polish–Lithuania ...

– Poland *

Eugen Suchoň Eugen Suchoň (September 25, 1908 – August 5, 1993) was one of the most important Slovak composers of the 20th century. Early life Eugen Suchoň was born on September 25, 1908 in Pezinok, (Slovakia). His father, Ladislav Suchoň, was an ...

– Slovakia * Mykola Lysenko - Ukraine * Mykola Leontovych - Ukraine

Nordic

* Edvard Grieg – Norway (set German as well as Norse and Danish poetry) *

Jean Sibelius Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often ...

– Finland (set both Finnish and Swedish) * Yrjö Kilpinen – Finland *

Wilhelm Stenhammar Carl Wilhelm Eugen Stenhammar (February 7, 1871 – November 20, 1927) was a Swedish composer, conductor and pianist. Biography Stenhammar was born in Stockholm and was the brother of architect Ernst Stenhammar. He received his first musical ...

– Sweden * Hugo Alfvén – Sweden * Carl Nielsen – Denmark

Russian

Mikhail Glinka Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka ( rus, link=no, Михаил Иванович Глинка, Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka., mʲɪxɐˈil ɪˈvanəvʲɪdʑ ˈɡlʲinkə, Ru-Mikhail-Ivanovich-Glinka.ogg; ) was the first Russian composer to gain wide recogni ...

* Alexander Borodin *

César Cui César Antonovich Cui ( rus, Це́зарь Анто́нович Кюи́, , ˈt͡sjezərʲ ɐnˈtonəvʲɪt͡ɕ kʲʊˈi, links=no, Ru-Tsezar-Antonovich-Kyui.ogg; french: Cesarius Benjaminus Cui, links=no, italic=no; 13 March 1918) was a Ru ...

* Nikolai Medtner * Modest Mussorgsky *

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov . At the time, his name was spelled Николай Андреевичъ Римскій-Корсаковъ. la, Nicolaus Andreae filius Rimskij-Korsakov. The composer romanized his name as ''Nicolas Rimsk ...

Alexander Glazunov Alexander Konstantinovich Glazunov; ger, Glasunow (, 10 August 1865 – 21 March 1936) was a Russian composer, music teacher, and conductor of the late Russian Romantic period. He was director of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory between 190 ...

Sergei Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one o ...

Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, ...

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century clas ...

Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throughout his life as a major compo ...

Ukrainian

Vasyl Barvinsky Vasyl Oleksandrovych Barvinsky ( uk, Василь Олександрович Барвінський) (20 February 1888 – 9 June 1963) was a Ukrainian composer, pianist, conductor, teacher, musicologist, and music related social figure. Barvinsk ...

Composers – Ukrainian Art Song Project
* Stanyslav Lyudkevych * Mykola Lysenko * Nestor Nyzhankivsky * Ostap Nyzhankivsky * Denys Sichynsky * Myroslav Skoryk * Ihor Sonevytsky * Yakiv Stepovy * Kyrylo Stetsenko

Welsh

Dilys Elwyn-Edwards Dilys Elwyn-Edwards (née Roberts; 19 August 1918 – 13 January 2012) was a Welsh-language composer, lecturer and accompanist. Biography Dilys Roberts was born on 19 August 1918 in Dolgellau, Wales. She attended Dr Williams' School for Girl ...

* Morfydd Llwyn Owen *

Gareth Glyn Gareth Glyn, born Gareth Glynne Davies (born 1951), is a Welsh composer and radio broadcaster. Life and education Born in Machynlleth, Wales, Glyn is the eldest son of the late Welsh poet T. Glynne Davies. He received his secondary education ...

Mansel Thomas Mansel Treharne Thomas, (12 June 1909 – 8 January 1986) was a Welsh composer and conductor, who worked mainly in South Wales. He was one of the most influential musicians of his generation, known as a composer, conductor and adjudicator. He w ...

* Meirion Williams * Eric Jones

Asian

* Nicanor Abelardo – Philippines *

Ananda Sukarlan Ananda Sukarlan-Gomez (born in Jakarta, 10 June 1968) is an Indonesian-Spanish classical composer and pianist. Background He is the son of Sukarlan and Poppy Kumudastuti. He started his music lessons at the age of 5 from his older sister, Martani ...

– Indonesia

Afrikaans

* Jellmar Ponticha * Stephanus Le Roux Marais

Arabic

* Iyad Kanaan – Lebanon

Footnotes

References

*Draayer, Suzanne (2009), ''Art Song Composers of Spain: An Encyclopedia'', Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, *Draayer, Suzanne (2003), ''A Singer's Guide to the Songs of Joaquín Rodrigo, Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, * * * *

External links

Hampsong FoundationJoy In SingingThe LiederNet Archive
- texts to over 165,000 vocal works with over 35,000 translations
Art Song CentralThe Art Song ProjectThe African American Art Song AllianceWelsh Art Songs .comCanadian Art Song ProjectLatin American Art Song AllianceUkrainian Art Song ProjectHispasong.com
Spanish vocal music, in English.
Art Song Colorado
*Canciones de España—Songs of Nineteenth-Century Spai

lottelehmannleague.org/singing-sins-archive
(archived

Hawaii Public Radio Hawaiʻi Public Radio (HPR), is a network of commercial and listener-supported stations broadcasting two streams on fifteen frequencies across the state of Hawaii. It is the statewide member of National Public Radio (NPR). The stations originate ...

broadcasts about arts songs) Song forms Classical music styles