Lied
A German term for setting poetry to music, often synonymous with art song.
In the Western classical music tradition, Lied (LEED, LEET, German: [liːt]; pl. Lieder) is a term for setting poetry to music. Among English speakers, lied is often used interchangeably with 'art song' to encompass works that the tradition has inspired in other languages. The poems that have been made into lieder often center on pastoral themes or themes of romantic love. The earliest Lieder proper date from the late fourteenth or early fifteenth centuries, while the earlier Minnesang tradition of the 12th and 13th centuries is a separate, earlier form that influenced but is not considered part of the later Lied genre. It later came especially to refer to settings of Romantic poetry during the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and into the early twentieth century.
- earliest_examples
- Late 14th or early 15th centuries (the earlier 12th- and 13th-century Minnesang is a separate tradition)
Lore & Background
The German word Lied first came into general use in German during the early fifteenth century, largely displacing the earlier word gesang. The poet and composer Oswald von Wolkenstein is sometimes claimed to be the creator of the lied because of his innovations in combining words and music, though the late-fourteenth-century Monk of Salzburg wrote six two-part lieder which are older. From the 15th century come three large song collections compiled in Germany: the Lochamer Liederbuch, the Schedelsches Liederbuch, and the Glogauer Liederbuch. During the Renaissance, the scholar Konrad Celtis taught his students to compose Latin poems set to simple, four-part music, a style that became imbued into German humanist dramas and contributed to Protestant hymnody. Heinrich Isaac's popular song Innsbruck, ich muss dich lassen is a famous Renaissance song, though it is not widely described as the 'gold standard' of the Lied genre.
Reader's Guide
With the late 18th century, the term 'lied' came to be used with its primary meaning: art song in the classical music tradition. The musical forces were standardized as a single singer accompanied by a piano, which had only recently achieved widespread use. The classical-era masters Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven all wrote lieder, though for each the lied was a minor genre. It was in the songs of Franz Schubert that the genre came into its own; he wrote over 600 songs, including Erlkönig, Der Tod und das Mädchen, Gretchen am Spinnrade, and Der Doppelgänger. Schubert's work inspired later composers such as Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms, and Hugo Wolf. In the 20th century, Gustav Mahler often issued his lieder in two versions, one with piano and one for full orchestra. The poetry chosen by composers came from various sources; Goethe, Schiller, and Heine all wrote poems set by classical composers. Lieder settings can be strophic (same music for each stanza) or through-composed (distinct music for each line).
Did You Know?
- The earliest Lieder proper date from the late fourteenth or early fifteenth centuries; the earlier Minnesang of the 12th and 13th centuries is a separate tradition.
- The German word Lied first came into general use in German during the early fifteenth century, largely displacing the earlier word gesang.
- Heinrich Isaac's popular song Innsbruck, ich muss dich lassen is a famous Renaissance song, though it is not widely described as the 'gold standard' of the Lied genre.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Lied in classical music?
A Lied is a German term for a vocal composition that sets a poem to music, and in everyday English usage it is essentially the same thing as an 'art song.' The plural form is Lieder, and the word is pronounced roughly 'LEED' or 'LEET.'
How is a Lied different from Minnesang?
Minnesang was a 12th- and 13th-century German tradition of singing about courtly love, whereas the Lied proper did not emerge until the late 14th or early 15th centuries. Minnesang is regarded as a separate, earlier form that influenced the Lied but is not classified as part of it.
What kinds of themes do Lieder usually explore?
The poems chosen for setting as Lieder most often deal with pastoral, nature-filled imagery or with the emotions of romantic love. This lyrical, intimate subject matter is a hallmark that distinguishes the genre from more dramatic or operatic vocal writing.
Is 'Lied' just another name for 'art song'?
Among English-speaking listeners the two labels are generally used interchangeably to describe the same tradition of pairing poetry with composed music. The German term is the more historically specific one, while 'art song' is the broader English umbrella that also covers works in other languages inspired by the tradition.
When did the Lied tradition first appear?
The earliest Lieder proper date from the late 14th or early 15th centuries, making them a distinctly later development than the 12th- and 13th-century Minnesang tradition that preceded and influenced them.
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