The Lied is a German song for solo singer and piano accompaniment.
The main elements of a lied are:
- German Lyrics
- Solo Singer
- Piano Accompaniment
The interesting thing about the Lied is how many people confuse it with an Aria from a German opera.
It's easily identified by what it doesn't have:
No orchestral accompaniment - a Lied is ONLY a singer and a piano
No Recitative or Chorus - it is simply, a singer and a piano performing a song from the get-go.
Song Cycle (Advanced Higher)
A lied comes from a larger work called a "Song Cycle".
A song cycle is literally, a bunch of lieds strung together. In this case, 24 of them. All linked, all telling a wee bit of a bigger story... in German.
Here's an example of a Song Cycle: "Die Winterreise" by Franz Schubert
The songs in "Die Winterreise" are explained at this link:
Lieds and song cycles are a Romantic period concept, but actually Beethoven was partial to writing a lied, and as we know, he was a Classical guy. However "Lieds" were really popular in the Romantic era.
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