- For the Van Dyke Parks album, see Song Cycle (album). The combination of resistance from the group and their record company and Wilson's growing mental health problems and spiraling drug use led Parks to quit the project in early 1967 Song Cycle is a 1968 album by Van Dyke Parks, known for its high ambition gigantic budget for the era (it is still one of the most expensive albums ever made
A song cycle is a group of songs designed to be performed in sequence as a single entity. An art song is a Vocal music composition, usually written for one Singer with Piano or Orchestral accompaniment As a rule all of the songs are by the same composer and often use words from the same poet. A poet is a person who writes Poetry. Etymology From the Ancient greek: ποιέω, poieō: "I make or compose" Unification can be achieved by a narrative or a persona common to the songs, or even, as in Schumann's second Liederkreis, by the atmopheric setting of the forest. Liederkreis op 39 is a Song cycle of poems by Joseph von Eichendorff composed by Robert Schumann. The unity of the cycle is often underlined by musical means, famously in the return in the last song of the opening music in An die ferne Geliebte. An die ferne Geliebte, opus 98 Ludwig van Beethoven 's only Song cycle, is generally thought of as being the first true song cycle
The term originated to describe cycles of art songs (often known by the German term "lieder") in classical music, and has been extended to apply to popular music. An art song is a Vocal music composition, usually written for one Singer with Piano or Orchestral accompaniment de Lied (plural de Lieder) (liːt plural) is a German word meaning literally " Song " among English speakers however the word Classical music is a broad term that usually refers to mainstream music produced in or rooted in the traditions of Western liturgical and Secular music Popular music is Music belonging to any of a number of musical styles that are accessible to the general public and are disseminated by one or more
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Song cycles in classical music
The first generally accepted example of a song cycle is Ludwig van Beethoven's An die ferne Geliebte (1816). Ludwig van Beethoven ( English ˈlʊdvɪg væn ˈbeɪtoʊvən, 16 December 1770 &ndash 26 March 1827 was a German Composer and Pianist. An die ferne Geliebte, opus 98 Ludwig van Beethoven 's only Song cycle, is generally thought of as being the first true song cycle The genre was firmly established by the cycles of Franz Schubert: his Die schöne Müllerin (1823) and Winterreise (1827), based on poems by Wilhelm Müller, are among his most greatly admired works. Die schöne Müllerin (op 25 D 795 is a Song cycle by Franz Schubert on poems by Wilhelm Müller. Winterreise ( Winter Journey) is a cycle of 24 Poems by Wilhelm Müller, best known as the Song cycle set for male voice and piano by Wilhelm Müller ( October 7, 1794 - September 30, 1827) German lyric Poet, was born at Dessau, the son Schubert's Schwanengesang (1828), though collected posthumously, is also frequently performed as a cycle. Schwanengesang (" Swan song " is the title of a posthumous collection of songs by Franz Schubert. Robert Schumann's best known cycles are Dichterliebe (1840) and Frauenliebe und -leben (1840), and he also composed two collections entitled Liederkreis (both 1840; op. 24 & 39 on texts by Heine and Eichendorf respectively), a German word meaning a song cycle. Robert Schumann, sometimes given as Robert Alexander Schumann (June 8 1810 &ndash July 29 1856 was a German Composer, Aesthete and influential Music critic Dichterliebe, 'The Poet's Love' (composed 1840 is the best-known Song cycle of Robert Schumann (Op Frauenliebe und -leben ( A Woman's Love and Life) is a cycle of poems by Adelbert von Chamisso, written in 1830 Liederkreis Op 24 is a Song cycle for voice and Piano composed by Robert Schumann on nine poems by Heinrich Heine. Liederkreis op 39 is a Song cycle of poems by Joseph von Eichendorff composed by Robert Schumann. Heine is a German Family name. The name comes from " Heinrich " (English Henry or the Hebrew " Chayyim " ( life) Eichendorf is a municipality in the district of Dingolfing-Landau in Bavaria in Germany. Johannes Brahms contributed settings (op. 33) of verses from Tieck's novel "Magelone", and modern performances usually include some sort of connecting narration. Johann Ludwig Tieck ( May 31, 1773 &ndash April 28, 1853) was a German Poet, Translator, editor Gustav Mahler's Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, Kindertotenlieder, and Das Lied von der Erde expand the accompaniment from piano to orchestra. Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen ('Songs of a Travelling Comrade Companion or Journeyman' usually translated as 'Songs of a Wayfarer' is Gustav Mahler 's first Kindertotenlieder ( Songs on the Death of Children) is a Song cycle for voice and Orchestra by Gustav Mahler. Das Lied von der Erde (" The Song of the Earth " is a large-scale work for two vocal soloists and orchestra by the Austrian Composer Hugo Wolf made the composition of song collections by a single poet something of a speciality although only the shorter Italian and Spanish Songbooks are performed at a single sitting, and Hans Eisler's "Hollywood Liederbuch" also falls into the category of anthology. Hugo Wolf (March 13 1860 – February 22 1903 was an Austrian Composer of Slovene origin particularly noted for his art songs or Lieder. Hanns Eisler ( July 6, 1898 &ndash September 6, 1962) was a German and Austrian Composer. Das Buch der hängende Garten by Arnold Schoenberg and Ernst Krenek's Reisebuch aus den österreichischen Alpen are important 20c examples, and the tradition is carried on by Wolfgang Rihm, with so far a dozen works. Das Buch der Hängenden Gärten ( The Book of the Hanging Gardens) is a fifteen-part Song cycle composed by Arnold Schoenberg between Arnold Schoenberg ( pronounced ˈʃøːnbɛrk (13 September 1874 &ndash 13 July 1951 was an Austrian and later American Composer, associated with Ernst Krenek ( August 23 1900 &ndash December 22 1991) was an Austrian born (and from 1945 an American) Composer
Hector Berlioz's Les nuits d'été (1841) pioneered the use of the orchestra, and the French cycle reached a pinacle in Gabriel Fauré's La bonne chanson, La Chanson d'Ève and L'horizon chimérique and later in the works of Poulenc. Les nuits d'été op 7 (Summer Nights is a Song cycle by the French composer Hector Berlioz. Gabriel Urbain Fauré ( 12 May 1845 &ndash 4 November 1924) was a French Composer, Organist, Pianist La Bonne Chanson is a collection of poems written by Paul Verlaine from the winter of 1869 to the spring of 1870. See also, Rhône-Poulenc Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (fʀɑ̃sis ʒɑ̃ maʀsɛl pulɛ̃k January 7, 1899 – January 30, Recent masterpieces such as Poèmes pour Mi, ''Chants de terre et de ciel and Harawi by Olivier Messiaen, and Paroles tissées and Chantefleurs et Chantefables by Witold Lutosławski should also be mentioned. Harawi is a Song cycle by Oliver Messiaen for Soprano and Piano. Olivier Messiaen ( December 10 1908 &ndash April 27 1992 was a French Composer, organist and ornithologist. Witold Lutosławski ( January 25 1913 &ndash February 7 1994 was one of the major European Composers
Perhaps the first English song cycle was Arthur Sullivan's The Window; or, The Song of the Wrens (1871), to a text of eleven poems by Tennyson. Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan MVO (13 May 1842 &ndash 22 November 1900 was an English composer of Irish and Italian descent best known for his operatic The Window or The Songs of the Wrens is a Song cycle by Arthur Sullivan with words by Alfred Lord Tennyson. Alfred Tennyson 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892 was Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom and remains one of the most popular English poets The composer and renowned Lieder accompanist Benjamin Britten also wrote cycles that are among the glories of the literature, including The Holy Sonnets of John Donne, 7 Sonnets of Michelangelo, Sechs Hölderlin-Fragmente, and Winter Words, all with piano accompaniment, and the orchestral Les Illuminations, Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings, and Nocturne. de Lied (plural de Lieder) (liːt plural) is a German word meaning literally " Song " among English speakers however the word Edward Benjamin Britten Baron Britten, OM CH (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976 was an English Composer, conductor, The Serenade for Tenor Horn and Strings is a Song cycle written in 1943 by the English Composer Benjamin Britten, scored for Other examples include Vaughan Williams' Songs of Travel, Samuel Barber's Hermit Songs (1953) and Despite and Still, and Songfest by Leonard Bernstein, Honey and Rue by André Previn (composed for the American soprano Kathleen Battle) and Raising Sparks by James MacMillan (1997). Songs of Travel is a Song cycle of nine songs originally written for Baritone voice composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams, with poems selected from the Samuel Osborne Barber II ( March 9, 1910 – January 23, 1981) was an American Composer of Orchestral, Opera, Hermit Songs is a cycle of ten songs for voice and piano by Samuel Barber. Songfest A Cycle of American Poems for Six Singers and Orchestra is a 1977 song cycle by Leonard Bernstein. WikipediaWikiProject Composers#Lead section --> WikipediaWikiProject Classical music#Biographical_infoboxes WikipediaWikiProject Classical music#Biographical_infoboxes --> André Previn ( Andreas Ludwig Priwin) KBE (b WikipediaWikiProject Opera#Infoboxes --> Kathleen Battle (born August 13 1948, Portsmouth Ohio, USA
Modest Mussorgsky wrote Sunless (1874), The Nursery and Songs and Dances of Death, and Dmitry Shostakovich wrote cycles on English and Yiddish poets, as well as Michelangelo and Pushkin. Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (Моде́ст Петро́вич Му́соргский Modest Petrovič Musorgskij) ( March 21 March 9 1839 &ndash March Sunless ( Без солнца, Bez Solntsa, literally Without Sun) is a Song cycle by Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky, written in 1874 The Nursery ( Детская, Detskaya, literally Children's '' is a Song cycle by Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky, composed between 1868 and Songs and Dances of Death ( Песни и пляски смерти, Pesni i plyaski smerti) is a Song cycle for voice (usually bass or Bass-baritone Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich ( Russian: ru Дмитрий Дмитриевич Шостакович ( &ndash 9 August 1975 was a Russian Composer
Cycles in other languages have been written by Granados, Manuel de Falla, Grieg, Dvorak and Janacek, Bartók and Kodaly, Sibelius and Rautavaara, Frederic Mompou and Xavier Montsalvatge, Nevit Kodali and A. Pantaléon Enrique Costanzo Granados y Campiña (27 July 1867 &ndash 24 March 1916 was a Spanish pianist and Composer of classical music. Manuel de Falla y Matheu ( November 23, 1876 &ndash November 14, 1946) was a Spanish Composer of classical music Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( (often pronounced in English as; DVOR-zhahk; September 8 1841 – May 1 1904 was a Czech composer of Romantic music, who employed Leoš Janáček ( (July 3 1854 &ndash August 12 1928 was a Czech Composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist and teacher Béla Viktor János Bartók (March 25 1881&ndashSeptember 26 1945 was a Hungarian Composer and Pianist, considered to be one of the greatest Zoltán Kodály ( Hungarian: Kodály Zoltán, ˈkodaːj ˈzoltaːn December 16 1882 &ndash March 6 1967 was a Hungarian Composer, Ethnomusicologist This article is about the municipality For the composer see Einojuhani Rautavaara. Federico (Frederic Mompou ( April 16, 1893 &ndash June 30, 1987) was a Spanish Catalan composer Xavier Montsalvatge ( March 11, 1912, Girona – May 7, 2002, Barcelona) was a Spanish Composer and Saygun, etc. Ahmed Adnan Saygun (born in İzmir on September 7, 1907 - died in İstanbul on January 6, 1991) was a Turkish . .
Song cycles in popular music
Song cycles have also been written by rock musicians. Many pop albums have included a short series of songs that tell a story, thus resembling a rock opera. Rock operas, Concept albums Song cycles and Oratorios all differ from a conventional rock album which usually includes songs that are unrelated to each Two early examples are The Who's "A Quick One While He's Away" (from A Quick One, which may have influenced Pete Townshend's rock opera Tommy), and James Pankow's "Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon" (from Chicago's album Chicago II). The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964. The primary lineup consisted of guitarist Pete Townshend A Quick One is the second album by English rock band The Who, released in 1966 Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (born 19 May 1945 in Chiswick, London) is an English rock Guitarist, Singer, Rock operas, Concept albums Song cycles and Oratorios all differ from a conventional rock album which usually includes songs that are unrelated to each James Carter Pankow (born August 20, 1947) is an American Trombone player Songwriter and Brass instrument Arranger " Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon " (aka "The Ballet" and "Make Me Smile Medley" a nearly thirteen-minute Song cycle /suite from Chicago Chicago is a Rock band formed in 1967 in Chicago Illinois. The band began as a politically charged sometimes experimental rock band and later moved to a predominately Chicago is the second album by Chicago -based rock band Chicago. Other examples from this era include the Beach Boys/Brian Wilson album SMiLE (begun as an unfinished Beach Boys project in 1967, released as a Wilson solo album in 2004), and Smile lyricist Van Dyke Parks' debut album Song Cycle (1968). The Beach Boys is an American rock band Formed in 1961 the group gained popularity for its close vocal harmonies and lyrics reflecting a California Youth culture Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942 in Hawthorne, California) is an American Musician best known as the lead Smile (sometimes typeset with the idiosyncratic partial capitalization SMiLE) is an unreleased album by the The Beach Boys, and perhaps the most Smile, sometimes typeset with the idiosyncratic partial capitalization SMiLE, is a solo album by Brian Wilson, with lyrics by Van Dyke Parks The combination of resistance from the group and their record company and Wilson's growing mental health problems and spiraling drug use led Parks to quit the project in early 1967 Song Cycle is a 1968 album by Van Dyke Parks, known for its high ambition gigantic budget for the era (it is still one of the most expensive albums ever made
Popular music song cycles that focus on a particular theme rather than a narrative theme have been produced by many artists, usually as concept albums. In Popular music, a concept album is an Album which is "unified by a theme which can be instrumental compositional narrative or lyrical" A well-known example is Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon (1973), which deals with insanity and life's hardships. Pink Floyd are The Dark Side of the Moon (titled Dark Side of the Moon in the 1993 CD edition is a Concept album by the British Progressive Their follow-up albums Wish You Were Here, Animals, The Wall (though more narrative and closer to rock opera) and The Final Cut, can also all be considered as song cycles, as can solo albums by Pink Floyd member, Roger Waters. Wish You Were Here is a Concept album by Pink Floyd. Recorded at Abbey Road Studios between January and July 1975 and released on 15 September Animals is the debut album by Oxford band This Town Needs Guns. The Wall is a Rock opera presented as a Double album by the English Progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released in late The Final Cut is a rock Album by Pink Floyd recorded at various studios in the UK from July to December 1982 George Roger Waters (born 6 September 1943 in Great Bookham, Surrey) is an English rock musician The Beatles Abbey Road album contained on the second side a medley of songs composed by the group. The Beatles were a pop and rock band from Liverpool, England formed in 1960 Abbey Road is the eleventh official album released by The Beatles. The idea was gestated in Paul McCartney, who composed five of the eight songs in the suite. Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE (born 18 June 1942 is an English rock Singer, Bass guitarist songwriter Composer, In addition, John Lennon wrote the remaining three songs, as well as parts of McCartney's songs to fill in the empty bars. John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE (born Song cycles by other artists not necessarily belonging to the rock genre include Marvin Gaye's 1971 What's Going On, and Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989), both of which address contemporary social and political issues. Marvin Pentz Gay Jr, known as Marvin Gaye ( April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American Singer-songwriter What's Going On is a Studio album by soul musician Marvin Gaye, released May 21, 1971 on the Motown-subsidiary label Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 (commonly referred to as Rhythm Nation 1814) is the fourth Studio album by American Singer-songwriter More recently, R. Kelly's Trapped in the Closet has added another song cycle to the repertoire, though it is also listed as a mini-opera. Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967) better known by his Stage name R "Trapped in the Closet" is an urban opera or "hip-hopera" released by R&B singer R Outside of the United States and Europe, the song cycle form was used to great success in the seminal "Os Afro-Sambas", composed by Brazilian musicians Vinicius de Moraes and Baden Powell de Aquino. Vinicius de Moraes, nicknamed O Poetinha (the little poet ( October 19, 1913 - July 9, 1980) born Marcus Vinicius da Cruz Baden Powell de Aquino ( August 6, 1937 - September 26, 2000) widely known simply as Baden Powell, was a Brazilian Guitarist This series of songs was dedicated to various deities in the Afro-Brazilian candomblé religion, and has inspired generations of musicians since its debut in the 1960s. Candomblé (pronounced /kɐ̃dõˈblɛ/is an African-originated or Afro-Brazilian religion practiced chiefly in Brazil.
Besides the few minutes of silence after the final song, Marilyn Manson's second album, Antichrist Superstar, has been considered a song cycle. Marilyn Manson is an American Alternative metal band based in Los Angeles California. Antichrist Superstar (sometimes written as Antichrist Svperstar as an allusion to Latin) is Marilyn Manson's second full-length Additionally, when the album is put on full loop, the 99th track (known as "Empty Sounds Of Hate") blends into the first song, "Irresponsible Hate Anthem". Similarly on The Mars Volta's release Frances The Mute, there is a song cycle between the last track, "Cassandra Gemini (Pt. The Mars Volta is the name of a partnership between guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López and singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala founded in 2001 Frances the Mute is the second studio album by Progressive rock band The Mars Volta released in the US on March 1, 2005 E) - Sarcophagi", and the first track, "Cygnus. . . Vismund Cygnus (Pt. A) - Sarcophagi".
Heavy metal band Iced Earth commonly ends their albums with three-song cycles, including The Dark Saga, Something Wicked This Way Comes, and The Glorious Burden. Iced Earth is an American heavy metal band from Tampa, Florida that combines influences from Thrash metal, Power metal, The Dark Saga is the fourth Album by the American heavy metal band Iced Earth. Something Wicked This Way Comes is American heavy metal band Iced Earth 's fifth album released on July 7, 1998, by The Glorious Burden is the seventh Studio album by the American heavy metal band Iced Earth. Guitarist Jon Schaffer also did this on the debut album of his side project Demons & Wizards. Demons and Wizards is also a 1972 album by Uriah Heep. Demons & Wizards is the self-titled debut album of Power metal For the 1972 album by Uriah Heep see Demons & Wizards (Uriah Heep album. Iron Maiden used the same effect on their release Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. For other uses see Iron maiden. The seventh son of a seventh son is a concept from Folklore regarding special powers given to or held by such a son
Another group of note to utilise cycling is Terrorvision, whose albums Shaving Peaches and How To Make Friends And Influence People. This article is about the film For other uses of the word "Terrorvision" please visit Terrorvision (disambiguation TerrorVision is Shaving Peaches was the follow up to Terrorvision's 1996 album ' Regular Urban Survivors ' How to Make Friends and Influence People is the second album by the rock band Terrorvision, released in 1994 on Total Vegas Recordings The former work cycles with a refrain to the lead track, "III Wishes", being heard at the end of final track "On A Mission" (though this doesn't play out as intended on first editions of the album, which have a hidden track, or on later editions of the album, which have a bonus track in the form of the single (remixed) version of "Tequila"). In the field of recorded music, a hidden track (sometimes secret track) is a piece of music which has been placed on a Compact disc, audio cassette The latter work both begins and ends with a female vocal repeating "tic, toc". In this case it is the final track on the album, "What Makes You Tick", segueing it's vocal into the beginning of the lead track, "Alice, What's the Matter". Again, the presence of a hidden track on the album makes this less effective than it could have been in practice.
Song cycles in musical theater
Song-cycle musical theater works are becoming extremely popular among both composers and fans of the genre. Musical theatre is a form of Theatre combining Music, Songs spoken Dialogue and Dance. Examples include Cats by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Songs for a New World and The Last Five Years by Jason Robert Brown, William Finn's Elegies, and William Russell's Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens. Cats is an award-winning musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T Andrew Lloyd Webber Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948 is a British Composer of Musical theatre, the elder son of William Lloyd Webber Songs for a New World is a work of musical theater written and composed by Jason Robert Brown. The Last Five Years is a one act musical written by Jason Robert Brown. Jason Robert Brown (born 1970 in Ossining, New York) is an American Musical theater Composer and Lyricist. William Alan Finn (b February 28 1952, Boston Massachusetts) is an award-winning American Composer and Lyricist, especially Elegies is a Song cycle by William Finn about the loss of friends and family and is a response to the September 11 2001 terrorist attacks William Russell, Bill Russell, Billy Russell, or Willy Russell may refer to In politics George William Erskine Russell Elegies For Angels Punks and Raging Queens is a Song cycle with music by Janet Hood and lyrics and additional text by Bill Russell.
Bibliography
Ruth O. Bingham, "The Early Nineteenth-Century Song Cycle", in The Cambridge Companion to the Lied, ed. James Parsons (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004), pp. 101-119.
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