Lied

Lied, Lieder (Ger.). Song, songs. Lieder have existed since before 1400, but they are principally associated in the public mind with a distinctive type of Ger. solo vocal comp. which came into being as an outcome of the Romantic movt. of the late 18th and early 19th cents. In this type the quality of the verse selected is very important. The treatment of the poem may be either ‘verse-repeating’ (strophic) or ‘through-composed’ (durchkomponiert) (i.e. either the same for every stanza or different for each), according to the lyrical or dramatic demands of the poem. The pf. part (simple or highly elaborate) is more than a mere acc. and, as much as the vocal part, demands artistic interpretation. Some great names in the history of Lieder are Schubert, J. Loewe, Schumann, Franz, Brahms, Wolf, Mahler, and Strauss. Certain poets recur frequently in these composers' Lieder, e.g. Goethe, Dehmel, Eichendorff, Heine, Hesse, Liliencron, Mayrhofer, Mörike, Rilke, Rückert, Schack, Schiller, Trakl, Tieck. A Lieder recital should correctly contain only Ger. songs. A succinct appreciation of singing Lieder has been made by Peter Stadlen: ‘The elusive art of suggesting the dramatic content of a text by other than operatic means.’