Music For Voices
Vocal range Here are the main vocal ranges from highest to lowest
Solo song
Different types of solo song include lieder, arias, ballads and folk songs.
Different types of solo song include lieder, arias, ballads and folk songs.
Lieder
Lieder (pronounced leeder) are German art songs from the Romantic period (roughly the 19th century). Lieder are written for piano and voice for performance in homes and concert halls. The piano does more than provide an accompaniment, it is in equal partnership with the voice and has an important role in the song.
The piano part reflects the mood of the poem and the poetic imagery. Lieder have rich, colourful harmony and frequent modulations (changes of key). Common poetic themes are love, longing and the beauty of nature.
Forms of Leider
There are two main forms:
Many composers wrote lieder during the 19th century. The most famous are by Schubert who wrote over 600 songs. Schubert sometimes grouped his lieder together in song-cycles. Each cycle has a story or a theme. His song cycle Wintereisse has a theme of unrequited love.
Schumann, Brahms and Hugo Wolf also wrote many lieder.
The piano part reflects the mood of the poem and the poetic imagery. Lieder have rich, colourful harmony and frequent modulations (changes of key). Common poetic themes are love, longing and the beauty of nature.
Forms of Leider
There are two main forms:
- strophic – the same music for each verse
- through-composed – different music for each verse
Many composers wrote lieder during the 19th century. The most famous are by Schubert who wrote over 600 songs. Schubert sometimes grouped his lieder together in song-cycles. Each cycle has a story or a theme. His song cycle Wintereisse has a theme of unrequited love.
Schumann, Brahms and Hugo Wolf also wrote many lieder.
Schubert’s lied Der Erlkönig (Erlking) is set to the words of the Romantic poet Goethe. It tells the story of a father and son riding through the night and the death of the child as he is snatched away by the Erlking, a supernatural being.
Listen to the opening of the Erlking by Schubert. The piano sets the mood with its minor key, pounding triplets and rumbling bass depicting the galloping horse and the mounting anxiety. |
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Arias
Arias are solo songs found in operas and oratorio.
An opera is a drama set to music, acted and sung by solo singers and accompanied by an orchestra.
One of the most famous operatic tenor arias is Nessun Dorma (No one shall sleep) from Puccini’s opera Turandot. This impassioned lyrical aria famously ends on a high sustained B. The voice is accompanied by orchestra and choir.
An oratorio is a setting of religious words for solo singers, chorus and orchestra. Unlike an opera an oratorio is not staged. Messiah by Handel is the most popular oratorio.
An opera is a drama set to music, acted and sung by solo singers and accompanied by an orchestra.
One of the most famous operatic tenor arias is Nessun Dorma (No one shall sleep) from Puccini’s opera Turandot. This impassioned lyrical aria famously ends on a high sustained B. The voice is accompanied by orchestra and choir.
An oratorio is a setting of religious words for solo singers, chorus and orchestra. Unlike an opera an oratorio is not staged. Messiah by Handel is the most popular oratorio.
Listen to He was despised, a da capo aria from Handel’s Messiah. The voice is a contralto. Notice the harpsichord continuo and the ornamentation – both typical of the Baroque period.
Da capo arias were common in the 18th century. A da capo aria is one where the voice returns to the head of the score (da capo) and repeats the first section of the music. It was common for the soloist to add ornamentation when the first section was repeated. |
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Pop Ballads
Ballads:
- are slow, often sentimental, love songs
- sometimes tell a story
- are usually in verse and chorus form
- emphasise melody and lyrics, the accompaniment is often secondary
- are often accompanied on guitar or keyboard
- are found in many styles of pop music
Folk Songs
British and American folk songs:
- often have a simple strummed guitar accompaniment
- are sometimes unaccompanied
- are usually in verse form (strophic)
- sometimes, but don't always, have choruses
- emphasise lyrics, which often tell a story and sometimes have a political message
- place secondary importance on the accompaniment, with simple harmony and strummed chords
Vocal music for small emsembles
Types of small vocal ensemble include madrigal group and chamber choir.
Types of small vocal ensemble include madrigal group and chamber choir.
Madrigals
The madrigal was a popular vocal form during the Renaissance period.
Madrigals
Madrigals
- are usually for four to six unaccompanied solo voices
- are short, secular (not sacred) pieces
- make much use of imitation
- use word-painting where the meaning of the words is reflected in the music
- often use melisma where several notes are sung to the same syllable
Listen to Sing we at Pleasure by the English madrigalist Thomas Weelkes. Notice the independent parts for five voices and the use of imitation. |
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Choral Music
Different types of choirs include mixed choirs (usually with parts for SATB - soprano, alto, tenor and bass), male voice choirs, female choirs, and a cappella ensembles.
A cappella ensembles are unaccompanied choruses. Ladysmith Black Mambazo are an a cappella Zulu male voice choir from South Africa. African songs are usually either strophic (split up into verses) or in call-and-response form.
In call-and-response form the leader sings a line (the call) and is answered by a chorus (the response). The chorus usually stays the same while the soloist improvises. There is often overlapping between the leader and the chorus. The chorus part is usually homophonic (in block chords).
A cappella ensembles are unaccompanied choruses. Ladysmith Black Mambazo are an a cappella Zulu male voice choir from South Africa. African songs are usually either strophic (split up into verses) or in call-and-response form.
In call-and-response form the leader sings a line (the call) and is answered by a chorus (the response). The chorus usually stays the same while the soloist improvises. There is often overlapping between the leader and the chorus. The chorus part is usually homophonic (in block chords).
Listen to the call and response used in The Star and the Wiseman sung by Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Notice the homophonic response parts. |
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Listening...
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How a choir works
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How a choir works
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Carmen at the Opera
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Understanding MadrigalsConductor and Radio 3 presenter Robert Hollingworth tells the story of 'Fair Phyllis' - an English madrigal by John Farmer. He explains how devices such as polyphony and stretto are used to reinforce and support the action in the story. It is accompanied by a performance of the song from vocal ensemble 'I Fagiolini'.
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