# Is this a folk song or an art song?



## NavierStokes (Mar 11, 2019)

Googled and found that, as long as there is a certain known composer the song is an art song, regardless of how simple the melody is, or how popular it is in its local area. Is this a strict definition?


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

If it isn't sung by the folk, it's not a folk song. This sounds too complex to be a folk song.


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## Bkeske (Feb 27, 2019)

But then, so was Bartok's 'take' on folk music, dances, etc. He (Bartok) was fascinated by the folk music from his home land, and it was a big influence on his compositions, obviously from the names of some of his works.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Using folk songs and writing them are two different things.


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## Larkenfield (Jun 5, 2017)

My own interpretation is that a folk song is one that's already been written by persons unknown and specific to a certain culture. If the song has a sense of poetry, well-expressed sentiment or high literary value, is restructured or formalized in some way, is performed in a formal recital with piano accompaniment, it would be considered an art song. The posted example sounds like it has elements of both.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Larkenfield said:


> My own interpretation is that a folk song is one that's already been written by persons unknown and specific to a certain culture. If the song has a sense of poetry, well-expressed sentiment or high literary value, is restructured or formalized in some way, is performed in a formal recital with piano accompaniment, it would be considered an art song. The posted example sounds like it has elements of both.


It can be more complicated than that. Presumably, the composers of most songs are known to the people among whom they live. Do songs become folk songs only when the composers are forgotten? Or, if the composers are known, must they be known mainly as blacksmiths or shepherds rather than as composers?

"Londonderry Air," or "Oh Danny Boy," is a traditional song of unknown authorship from Northern Ireland. It fulfills your description of an art song: it's beautifully poetic, exhibits well-expressed sentiment and genuine literary value, it has been arranged in numerous ways and by distinguished composers (notably Percy Grainger), and it's been performed at formal vocal recitals and orchestral concerts all over the world. Is it still a folk song?

"What is a folk song?" and "When does a song song become, or cease to be, a folk song?" are not simple questions to answer. It would seem that folk songs can be art songs too. Luckily, nothing important hangs on the question.


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