Lied facts for kids

Lied (pronounced "leed") is a German word that means "song." The plural form is Lieder (pronounced "leader").

In music, "Lied" refers to special songs created by German-speaking composers of classical music. These songs are often called "art songs." Lieder are usually sung by a singer and played with a piano accompaniment. Most of them were written in the 19th century, during a time called the Romantic period. Some of the most famous composers of Lieder include Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms, Hugo Wolf, and Richard Strauss.

What are Lieder?

Lieder are classical songs, usually for one singer and a piano. They are different from pop songs because they are often based on famous poems. The composer tries to make the music fit the feelings and story of the poem.

How Lieder Began

The idea of Lieder as art songs started a long time ago in German culture, even back in the Middle Ages.

• One early example was Walther von der Vogelweide. He was a "minnesinger" in the 12th and 13th centuries.
• Minnesingers were like poet-singers who performed for kings and queens. Walther wrote both the words and music for his songs.

In the Romantic period (19th century), Lieder were usually a team effort. A poet would write the words, and then a composer would create the music for those words. Composers carefully chose poems by famous writers like Goethe and Schiller.

Even before the Romantic period, in the Classical music period, composers started writing songs. Mozart wrote a song called Das Veilchen (The Violet). Beethoven also wrote several songs.

Franz Schubert: The King of Lieder

Franz Schubert is known as one of the greatest Lieder composers. He wrote more than 600 songs!

Schubert's Song Styles

Schubert used different ways to compose his songs:

• Strophic form: Sometimes, he used a form where the first two verses had the same music, and the third verse had different music (A-A-B). This was similar to what Walther von der Vogelweide did.
• Through-composed: Other songs were "durchkomponiert" (pronounced "doork-kom-po-neert"), meaning "through-composed." In these songs, each verse has new music. This allowed Schubert to express the changing feelings of the words with different sounds.

What makes Schubert's songs amazing is how the piano helps tell the story. The piano was a fairly new instrument then, and it could do things a harpsichord couldn't.

Famous Schubert Lieder

• Erlkönig (Erlking): This is one of his earliest and most famous songs. The piano part is very difficult. It has fast, repeated octaves that sound like a horse galloping wildly through a stormy night. This music helps you imagine the scary story.
• Gretchen am Spinnrade (Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel): This song uses a poem from Goethe's Faust. It's about a young girl thinking of her lover while spinning thread. The piano plays a gentle, rippling tune that sounds like the spinning wheel. When the girl imagines her lover's kiss, the piano stops, then slowly starts again as she returns to reality.

Song Cycles

Composers often wrote groups of songs that belonged together. These are called "song cycles" or "Liederkreis" in German. Schubert wrote two long and famous ones:

• Die Winterreise (The Winter Journey)
• Die schöne Müllerin (The Miller’s Beautiful Daughter)

Both of these cycles tell sad stories about love.

Other Great Lieder Composers

Many other composers wrote beautiful Lieder, each with their own style.

Robert Schumann: Piano Master

Robert Schumann wrote many wonderful songs. He was a pianist before he became a composer. So, it's no surprise that the piano parts in his songs are just as important as the singer's part. His song cycle Dichterliebe (Poet’s Love) has some of his best songs. They often have a dreamy feeling. He especially liked using poems by Joseph von Eichendorff and Heinrich Heine.

Johannes Brahms: Powerful and Humorous

Johannes Brahms usually made the singer's part the most important. He learned a lot by studying Schubert's songs. He wrote some very famous Lieder:

• His humorous song Vergebliches Ständchen (Serenade in Vain) is well-known.
• His Four Serious Songs are very strong and emotional.
• His famous Wiegenlied (Lullaby) is a tune almost everyone knows.

Hugo Wolf: Dramatic and Unique

Hugo Wolf is known almost only for his songs. They are very dramatic. He used unusual harmonies that he learned from listening to Wagner’s music. Some of Wolf’s songs are very short, but they say a lot in a small amount of time. His Italian Song Book and Spanish Song Book have some of his best songs.

Lieder with Orchestra

While most Lieder are for voice and piano, some composers wrote them with a full orchestra.

• Richard Wagner and Gustav Mahler both wrote amazing Lieder with orchestral accompaniment.
• Mahler's songs were inspired by folksongs. He even used folk tunes in his symphonies.
• Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth) by Mahler is a song cycle for two singers (mezzo soprano and tenor) and orchestra.

Richard Strauss is considered one of the last great Lieder composers. His Four Last Songs (with orchestra) feel like a beautiful goodbye to a wonderful time in music history.

See also

In Spanish: Lied para niños