Song cycle
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A song cycle is a group of individually complete songs designed to be performed as a larger unified work. The songs may be connected by a narrative, a recurring character, a poetic source, a common theme, or an emotional progression.
The form became especially important in nineteenth-century art song. Composers often set a sequence of poems for one singer and piano, although song cycles can use several voices, instrumental ensembles, or orchestras.
Unity may be created through recurring musical motives, related keys, shared imagery, transitions, or the deliberate ordering of contrasting songs. Some cycles tell a clear story, while others form a looser thematic collection.
Well-known examples include Schubert's Die schöne Müllerin and Winterreise, Schumann's Dichterliebe, and later cycles by many composers. The term is also applied more broadly to connected groups of popular, theatrical, or contemporary songs.
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- Source / publisher: Wikipedia
- URL type: WWW
- Credits: Wikipedia
- URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Song_cycle