Musical setting

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A musical setting is a musical composition that is written on the basis of a literary work. The literary work is said to be set, or adapted, to music. Musical settings include choral music and other vocal music. [1] A musical setting is made to particular words, such as poems. [2] By contrast, a musical arrangement is a musical reconceptualization of a previously composed work, rather than a brand new piece of music. An arrangement often refers to a change in medium or style and can be instrumental, not necessarily vocal music. [3]

Contents

Texts commonly used in choral settings include the mass and the requiem in Western Christianity, and the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom and the All-night vigil in Eastern Christianity. Examples include Mozart's Great Mass, and Leontovych's Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom.

A poem that has been set to music is known as an art song [4] or Lied (German variant). Composers known for their art songs include Franz Schubert and Robert Schumann.

Some notable settings

See also

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The Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom is the musical setting of the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom by Mykola Leontovych. Consistent with Orthodox tradition, in which service is sung exclusively a cappella, the piece is set for unaccompanied choir and soloist. It was first performed in the Mykolaiv Cathedral at the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra on May 22, 1919, with Leontovych himself conducting.

The Music for the Requiem Mass is any music that accompanies the Requiem, a Mass in the Catholic Church for the deceased. It has inspired a large number of compositions, including settings by Mozart, Berlioz, Donizetti, Verdi, Bruckner, Dvořák, Fauré and Duruflé. Originally, such compositions were meant to be performed in liturgical service, with monophonic chant. Eventually the dramatic character of the text began to appeal to composers to an extent that they made the requiem a genre of its own, and the compositions of composers such as Verdi are essentially concert pieces rather than liturgical works.

References

  1. Definition Cambridge dictionary
  2. Definition Oxford dictionary
  3. Arrangement, Encyclopædia Britannica online
  4. Randel, Don Michael (2003), The Harvard Dictionary of Music, Harvard University Press, p. 61, ISBN   0-674-01163-5 , retrieved 2012-10-22