Song cycle
A song cycle or song circle is a cycle of songs put together by the composer himself, from which individual songs cannot be detached without loss. Not infrequently the texts originate from cycles of poems.
The inner context of the content is already established by the text, and is deepened by overt or covert musical means. A connection can be established through melodic-motif means, whereby motifs from other parts of the cycle are quoted or taken up again. There are often connections on the harmonic level as well, for example through the sequence of keys of the individual parts; the unity of the cycle is often indicated by a return to the original key at the end of the work. These features are not obligatory for a song cycle. However, the absence of one of these features can itself be significant. Thus, the fact that Schubert's Schöne Müllerin and Winterreise end far from their respective home keys can be interpreted as a sign that there is no way back for the protagonist.
Well-known examples of song cycles are:
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- To the distant beloved (Text: Aloys Isidor Jeitteles)
- FranzSchubert
- The beautiful miller's wife (Wilhelm Müller)
- Winter Journey (Wilhelm Müller)
- Robert Schumann
- Liederkreis op. 24 (Heinrich Heine)
- Liederkreis op. 39 (Joseph von Eichendorff)
- Dichterliebe (Heinrich Heine)
- Women's love and life (Adelbert von Chamisso)
- Johannes Brahms
- The Beautiful Magelone (Ludwig Tieck)
- Hugh Wolf
- Spanish Songbook (Paul Heyse and Emanuel Geibel)
- Italian Songbook (Paul Heyse)
- Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky
- The nursery (own texts)
- Without Sun (Arseni Golenishchev-Kutuzov)
- Songs and Dances of Death (Arseni Golenishchev-Kutuzov)
- Claude Debussy
- Ariettes oubliées (Paul Verlaine)
- Fêtes galantes (Paul Verlaine)
- Proses lyriques (own texts)
- Gustav Mahler
- Songs of a travelling journeyman (own texts)
- Kindertotenlieder (Friedrich Rückert)
- Das Lied von der Erde (Hans Bethge after ancient Chinese poetry)
- Arnold Schoenberg
- The Book of Hanging Gardens (Stefan George)
- Alban Berg
- Orchestral songs after picture postcards by Peter Altenberg
- Anton Webern
- Three songs after poems by Hildegard Jone
- Othmar Schoeck
- Elegy, op. 36, for baritone and chamber orchestra after poems by Nikolaus Lenau and Joseph von Eichendorff
- Gaselen, op. 38, Song sequence after poems by Gottfried Keller for baritone and orchestra
- Lebendig begraben, op. 40, 14 songs after poems by Gottfried Keller for baritone, large orchestra and choir
- Notturno, op. 47, Five movements for one voice and string quartet, after poems by Nikolaus Lenau and a fragment by Gottfried Keller
- Ernst Krenek
- Travel book from the Austrian Alps (own texts)
- Paul Hindemith
- The Life of Mary (Rainer Maria Rilke)
- Olivier Messiaen
- Poèmes pour Mi (own texts)
- Harawi - Chant d'amour et de mort (own lyrics)
- Dmitri Dmitrievich Shostakovich
- Satires (Pictures from the past) (Sascha Tschorny)
- Five romances based on words from the magazine Krokodil
- Four poems of the captain Lebyadkin (Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky)
The form of the song cycle is not limited to serious music and the art song. A well-known example of a song cycle in the field of pop music is the album The Juliet Letters (1993) by Elvis Costello. The boundaries to the concept album are fluid here. The album Mein Herz brennt (2003), in which the film composer Torsten Rasch re-scored song lyrics by Rammstein, also belongs to this category.
Questions and Answers
Q: What is a song cycle?
A: A song cycle in classical music is a group of songs that belong together, often with the same poet's words and meant to be performed as one work.
Q: When did song cycles become popular?
A: Song cycles became popular with composers in the Romantic period.
Q: Who are some German composers associated with writing song cycles?
A: Some German composers associated with writing song cycles include Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann and Gustav Mahler.
Q: Are there any French or Russian composers who wrote song cycles?
A: Yes, French composers who wrote song cycles include Jules Massenet, Gabriel Fauré and Claude Debussy. Russian composers include Modest Mussorgsky and Dmitri Shostakovich.
Q: Are there any English or American composers who wrote song cycles?
A: Yes, English and American 20th century composers who wrote song cycles include Michael Tippett, Benjamin Britten, Aaron Copland as well as South American Alberto Ginastera, Juan María Solare and Heitor Villa-Lobos.
Q: What instruments are typically used for a song cycle?
A: Song cycles are typically for solo voice and piano accompaniment but can also be without accompaniment or with several instruments or even a whole orchestra.
Q: What is an example of a long song cycle written by Franz Schubert?
A: An example of a long song cycle written by Franz Schubert is Winterreise (Winter’s Journey) and Die schöne Müllerin (The beautiful miller’s daughter).
