# 20th Century Lieder



## MoonlightSonata (Mar 29, 2014)

Any recommendations? I've been listening to some of Schubert's songs recently, and wanted to see what the twentieth century had to offer in that department.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Mahler - Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellens, Kindertotenlieder, Rueckert Lieder
Strauss - Vier letzte Lieder
Barber - Knoxville summer of 1915
Warlock - Curlew
Berio - Folk songs
Silvestrov - Silent songs

for starters.....


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Also.... do explore the French (Ravel (Sheherazade!), Debussy, Hahn, Faure).


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## MoonlightSonata (Mar 29, 2014)

Art Rock said:


> Also.... do explore the French (Ravel (Sheherazade!), Debussy, Hahn, Faure).


Oh, I never knew Ravel and Debussy wrote songs! This will be interesting to hear.


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## Blancrocher (Jul 6, 2013)

I'll add a couple English-language favorites.

Britten, of course, is famous for his writing for the voice--it's all worth hearing. But I'll recommend my favorite of his song cycles, Winter Words, based on poems by Thomas Hardy.






Though there has been a lot of praise on the forum for Elliott Carter, I don't think I've seen much mention of his songs. They're not pretty in the same way that many of the above pieces are, but they've sunk into my mind the way few others have. As with his instrumental works, Carter often plays with the idea of having singers work in seeming disregard of each other or of an instrumental accompaniment. The effect can be interestingly interpretive, as he explores multiple registers of meaning in the lines of Frost, Ashberry, or whoever. Lots of subtleties to discover.


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## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

T Here is a lot of Germanic art songs from the 20the century, Hanns Eisler, Berhold Goldschmidt, Wilhelm Grosz, Alexander von Zemlinsky, Franz Schreker, Kurt Weil just to name a few of the top of my head

Eisler's "Hollywood LIederbuch" is a classic! If You want to sample something more entertainment like, I thoroughly recommend that You sample the eminent Max Raabe and das Palast Orchester, they do a phenomenal pastiche of the 20's-30's Berlin Cabaret scene! (Not strictly classical, just kick @ss!)











/ptr


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

I'm going to squeeze in Pintscher's Hérodiade Fragmente for soprano and orchestra (1999). 

But in a more traditional vein, seriously check out the vocal music of Webern and Berg! Webern's song especially are absolute gems. I love the stuff he wrote for voice, clarinet and guitar 

Henze actually wrote three songs for tenor and guitar that I know of and enjoy....I just can't remember what they are called right now! I shall get back to this later....


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## Ilarion (May 22, 2015)

Sviridov: "Petersburg" - Song Cycle for Baritone(voice)and piano:






Then there is the song cycle "Otchalivshaya Rus" on this video:






On track 10 begins the Sviridov song cycle...

Almost forgot:


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Shostakovich - Six Poems by Marina Tsvetaeva. Dark, as is most of his late output, but the words of the ill-fated Tsvetaeva are thought-provoking and are perfectly complimented by Shostakovich's instrumentation. Orchestral arrangement also available.

de Falla - Siete canciones populares españolas. So pungent you can almost smell the orange rind.

Janáček - The Diary of One Who Disappeared. A 22-part cycle concerning a carefree lad who falls for a gypsy temptress. Despite the 'quick roll in the hay'-sounding story the work covers a wide spectrum of emotions. Orchestral arrangement also available.

Rorem - anything, especially the Santa Fe songs for mezzo and string quartet and WH Auden's poems set for tenor and string trio.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Also: 
Canteloube - Chants d'Auvergne. 
Vaughan Williams - On wenlock edge.
Sallinen - Songs of life and death.

I also second the other comments, but if you want to google for Rorum, beware of the typo there. The composer is Ned Rorem.


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## Guest (Jun 5, 2015)

I don't think earlier composers like Schoenberg, Webern, Berg, Strauss, Ravel, Debussy, Vaughan Williams, etc are going to need any more mentions from me.

For contemporary lieder, *Aribert Reimann* is a must. He also wrote several dramatic operas, so between the two, I often feel like he may be the contemporary continuation of Alban Berg.

Melodies? It should be obvious enough, but don't forget *Messiaen*! Also, *Pascal Dusapin* wrote a fine song cycle fairly recently entitled _O Mensch!_

For other art songs, *Gyorgy Kurtag* cannot be recommended enough. Try his _Kafka Fragments_ and then go from there. *Kaija Saariaho* is certainly a favorite of mine in this field as well. She has a full disc of art songs in chamber settings on Ondine, but also other miscellaneous songs across other discs, like the _Leino Songs_ on the disc with her clarinet concerto. *Einojuhani Rautavaara* also has a fine disc of orchestral songs (a few of them drawn from his lush operas) among his extensive Ondine catalogue.

Lastly, of course, I think *Peter Lieberson's *songs sorta go without saying around here...


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

One of the minority of mature XXth century composers who didn't forget what singing was:






He wrote couple of song cycles with piano, the op. 58 here is one of the best.


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## Guest (Jun 5, 2015)

Aramis said:


> One of the minority of mature XXth century composers who didn't forget what singing was:


Not sure what this is referring to, but oh well.


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

nathanb said:


> Not sure what this is referring to, but oh well.


I could tell you what it's referring to, but eh, alright.


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## Mahlerian (Nov 27, 2012)

Mahler's Ruckert-Lieder are among my favorites of his works:





One of the most masterly song cycles of the 20th century is Schoenberg's Book of the Hanging Gardens:


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## Eramirez156 (Mar 25, 2015)

I second, you need to check out the songs of *Peter Lieberson* esp. the Rilke and Neruda songs, I don't think anybody has mentioned *Charles Ives, Aaron Copland, Libby Larson, Jake Heggie* are some of the composer who come mind.


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## MoonlightSonata (Mar 29, 2014)

Thank you, everyone, for all your suggestions!


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

Oh I can't believe I forgot....

A mirror on which to dwell, by Elliott Carter.


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## TurnaboutVox (Sep 22, 2013)

I second many of the composers mentioned above - I have a particular fondness for the songs of Berg, Webern, Warlock and Ives and I have recently been listening with pleasure to Vaughan Williams and Britten.

I'm not sure if anyone has yet mentioned *Delius (e.g. Songs of Sunset, 1906)*, *Sibelius (6 songs, Op. 88)* or *Schoenberg (4 German folk songs, 1929)*, all of whom wrote excellent and characteristic songs in the 19th as well as the 20th centuries.


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## Steve Kirby (Apr 7, 2015)

There are some lovely "20th century Lieder" by Ned Rorem (born 1923) including settings of poems by Robert Frost, William Carlos Williams, Sylvia Plath etc.
Rorem's opera "Our Town" was premiered in the USA in 2006 & was performed by the students of Guildhall School of Music and Drama (London) in 2012. It is based on Thornton Wilder's play with the same name.


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## WellStrung (Oct 18, 2015)

Can we squeeze the Elgar Sea Pictures in here?
They were premiered in the second half of 1899; surely the rules of rounding-up apply...


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## David Power (Aug 20, 2017)

If you are prepared to take your search into the 21st century, you might want to check out the CD 'Songs Now. British Songs of the 21st Century on the Meridian label sung by Paul Carey Jones. Some lovely songs here.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

David Power said:


> If you are prepared to take your search into the 21st century, you might want to check out the CD 'Songs Now. British Songs of the 21st Century on the Meridian label sung by Paul Carey Jones. Some lovely songs here.


Thank you very much for that tip, will check them out.
Welcome to Talk Classical also.


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## David Phillips (Jun 26, 2017)

George Butterworth's six songs from 'A Shropshire Lad' are very Shubertian. I prefer to hear them with their original piano accompaniment, but this Prom performance with orchestra is pretty good.


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## Joe B (Aug 10, 2017)

Ute Lemper is not only an excellent vocal artist but also adept at composition (which I never knew until purchasing these discs).


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## tortkis (Jul 13, 2013)

^^^ I love Nyman's songs sung by Lemper.

Michael Nyman: 6 Celan Songs, No. 4 "Corona" - Ute Lemper


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

"Le temps horloge" (Dutilleux)


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## LittleSoul (Nov 16, 2018)

Ilarion said:


> Sviridov: "Petersburg" - Song Cycle for Baritone(voice)and piano:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## LittleSoul (Nov 16, 2018)

Ilarion said:


> Sviridov: "Petersburg" - Song Cycle for Baritone(voice)and piano:


A great choice! I'd choose 'In October' from this song cycle. 
The album "My Father is a Farmer", song cycle after Yessenin for tenor and baritone with piano accompagniment (1957) is also good!


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## Josquin13 (Nov 7, 2017)

Not mentioned on the thread so far are the following songs & song cycles,

1. Arnold Schoenberg--"Das Buch der Hängenden Gärten", Op. 15 (translated, "The Book of the Hanging Gardens"), a 15 part song cycle composed to poems by Stefan George (Edit: Oops, I now see that Mahlerian mentioned this cycle on the thread before me):









https://www.amazon.com/Hangenden-Ga...kmr0&keywords=julia+kaufmann+schoenberg+orfeo

Soprano Arleen Auger also sang Schoenberg lieder beautifully (many years ago, I heard Auger sing Schoenberg lieder at Alice Tully Hall in NYC, and it was an unforgettable concert): https://www.allmusic.com/album/arle...nn-schubert-schoenberg-r-strauss-mw0001868140

3. Maurice Delage, "Quatre Poémes Hindous" (translated, "Four Hindu Poems"), which Delage composed in 1912: both Dame Janet Baker and Anne Sofie von Otter have sung this music remarkably well:










4. Maurice Ravel--3 Poémes de Stéphane Mallarmé, composed in 1913:






The following CD is a desert island disc in my collection: https://www.amazon.com/Anne-Sofie-v...9&sr=1-1&keywords=anne+sofie+von+otter+delage

(I also like Arleen Auger's early first recording of Ravel's 1904 "Shéhérazade" song cycle too, with conductor Ernest Bour:





https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8441004--ravel-orchestral-works)

5. The Mélodies of Charles Koechlin--especially his Poemes d'automne, Op. 13, from 1908 (& many more): 




6. Oliver Messiaen: A. "Poémes pour Mi" (for either piano or orchestral accompaniment): among 20th century composers, Messiaen excelled at composing for the female voice:










and, B. "Chants de Terre et de Ciel", C. "Trois Melodies", and D. "La Mort Du Nombre"--all sung by soprano Suzie Leblanc on the following Atma CD: 




and, E. "Harawi, Chants d'amour et de Mort" (with piano accompaniment):










7. More recently, Poul Ruders has composed this remarkable work--"Dreamland" for soprano, clarinet and string quartet:






8. Finally, here are most of the mélodies that Claude Debussy composed in the 20th century, yet another composer that wrote very beautifully for the female voice:

Fetes galantes, Set 2 (1904):










Le promenoir des deux amants (1904-1910):














3 Ballades de François Villon (1910):



















3 Poémes de Stéphane Mallarmé (1913):














Noél de enfants qui n'ont plus de maison: Nous n'avons plus de maison (1915):






To conclude, here are some other 20th century composers whose songs are worth exploring: Shostakovich, Roussel, Martin, Satie, Britten, Poulenc, Honegger, Hahn, Vaughan Williams, & Holmboe. I'm not sure if these two Reynaldo Hahn songs were composed in the 20th century or not, but they're a great favorites of mine (& derive from arguably the best album Susan Graham has made to date, "La Belle Epoque": https://www.amazon.com/Belle-Epoque...542491411&sr=1-1&keywords=susan+graham+hahn):


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## wahidovic (Jan 10, 2019)

nathanb said:


> I don't think earlier composers like Schoenberg, Webern, Berg, Strauss, Ravel, Debussy, Vaughan Williams, etc are going to need any more mentions from me.
> 
> For contemporary lieder, *Aribert Reimann* is a must. He also wrote several dramatic operas, so between the two, I often feel like he may be the contemporary continuation of Alban Berg.
> 
> ...


Lastly, of course, I think *Peter Lieberson's *songs sorta go without saying around here
cordially


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