vocal music

vocal
TABLE OF CONTENTS
music,
any of the Introduction
genres for Genres of vocal music
solo voice
The repertory since 1600
voice-producing apparatus and
Western and non-Western conceptions
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 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 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
in southern France (late 11th to early 13th centuries), the trouvères in northern France (mid-
12th through 13th centuries), and the German minnesingers (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 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 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. Scholarship in the late 20th century suggested a free rendition for songs with
irregular phrasing and embellishments but more regulated rhythms for the simple dancelike
tunes. Improvised accompaniments were 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 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’Ockeghem. 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, tenor, and
countertenor. 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 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; 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 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, Ludwig van 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 Robert Schumann’s 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 Fair Maid of the Mill”), 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 an interpretation of the
natural speech patterns in the poem; in choosing this method, the rhythmic complexity, the
melodic range of tones, and variations in volume will depend ultimately upon the composer’s
personal 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 “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 “Sommermüd” (“Weary of Summer”), Opus 48, the
pitches in the vocal melody are entirely determined by the 12-tone row (the 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 was 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 Robert
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 20th
century, the piano frequently followed 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 “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 composition (the finales of Beethoven, Symphony No. 9;
Mahler, Symphony No. 2 and Symphony No. 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 number 2 through 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 were traditionally used as exercises, many 20th-century composers wrote 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 songs (Lieder) of the 17th century were continuo lieder used for
informal entertainment, notable composers being Heinrich Albert 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 counter-developments 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, Carl 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, 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, 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, like those of Wolf, combine an expressive vocal line with a rich
accompaniment, often in alternative versions for piano or orchestra.

Early 20th-century lieder either developed further the possibilities of the orchestral song
(Mahler, Schoenberg, Berg, Webern), explored revolutionary techniques in works using
chamber ensemble or piano (Schoenberg, Webern), or merely continued 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
human sorrows and aspirations, 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 the poetry of Hildegard Jone;
and Berg’s more lyrical Altenberg Lieder and concert aria “Der Wein” (“Wine”). Later in the
century, Paul Hindemith’s skillful songs in German, French, and English incorporated various
accompaniments and styles.

French publishers issued numerous books of airs 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 (song settings of Psalms). 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’s 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, 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 57
published songs use poems of his contemporaries (especially Verlaine) but also three by the
15th-century François Villon. Debussy’s 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 was Ravel. 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 treated both humorous and serious poems from all periods, while Francis
Poulenc’s most characteristic texts are by the Surrealists. Among the later French composers,
Olivier Messiaen, André Jolivet, and Boulez employed advanced vocal techniques with
various instrumental combinations.

England’s first art songs are the lute ayres published in large numbers from 1597 to 1622; the
principal composers are John Dowland, Thomas Campion, Robert Jones, and Francis
Pilkington. 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 later musical idioms. Although the piano remains the
principal accompanying instrument, orchestral or chamber-ensemble accompaniments are also
prominent. Among the more significant song composers in the 20th century were 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,
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 were
Virgil Thomson, Samuel Barber, David Diamond, Aaron Copland, and Milton Babbitt.
Art songs in other Western countries
The Russian 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-Eastern songs. The chief pioneers of the 19th-century song were
Mikhail Glinka and Aleksandr Dargomyzhsky, the latter brilliant for his depiction of realistic
peasant scenes. The Russian Five (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 and Sergey Rachmaninoff 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 written during the Soviet era were objective settings
of Soviet poetry or traditional Russian literature (especially works by the poet Aleksandr
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 and Jacopo Peri. 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 Francesco Malipiero, was inspired by the ideals and
accomplishments of Italy’s past, especially the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Other
outstanding song composers are Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (settings of all Shakespeare’s
songs), Luigi Dallapiccola (using 12-tone techniques), and Goffredo Petrassi.

Spanish songs from the 17th through 19th centuries are primarily related to theatrical
productions: either the older and more enduring zarzuelas or the lighter tonadillas (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,
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
20th century. A great number of those 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 Brazilians Heitor Villa-Lobos and
Antônio Carlos Jobim and the Argentine Alberto Ginastera achieved worldwide fame.

The most outstanding Norwegian song composer was Edvard Grieg, whose song style blends
folklike simplicity with imaginative musical ideas. As is usual with Scandinavian 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 principal contributions come from Béla Bartók and Zoltán Kodály, 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 contemporary idioms.

In what was Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic and Slovakia), 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, Antonín 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, Stanisław 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 20th century
revealed certain general parallels in the vocal art of other civilizations, but only Western
cultures placed such a premium on individual compositions from the past, and consequently it
has an extensive history of vocal literature. Aside from certain types of ritualistic music, where
the slightest change in tradition is viewed as a desecration, other cultures 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.

Beginning in the 20th century, Western concepts of art song strongly influenced the vocal
music in non-Western cultures, unfortunately threatening the continued existence of many
indigenous practices. The influence at times went in the other direction: late 20th-century
examples of Western avant-gardism gave the singer many improvisatory options within
broader limits prescribed by the composer.

William V. Porter The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Citation Information
Article Title: vocal music
Website Name: Encyclopaedia Britannica
Publisher: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Date Published: 07 September 2022
URL: https://www.britannica.comhttps://www.britannica.com/art/vocal-music
Access Date: June 06, 2023