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October 20

Unaccompanied solo voice in Western classical music 1600-1900?

Has anyone heard of a work (a real work, not a vocalise for singers) for unaccompanied solo voice in Western classical music from between about 1600 to about 1900? 178.51.16.158 (talk) 19:05, 20 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Googling "unaccompanied solo voice" produced a stack of results, including these likely candidates for further research: [1], [2], [3], [4]. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 20:59, 20 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I'm pretty sure that except for songs outside the common practice period (plain chant, Hildegard von Bingen, Adam de la Halle, trouvères, troubadours, etc.) or folk melodies (not classical art music) those Google results are not real. Not your fault of course and I appreciate your trying to help. I did not check every single one but the first one in the first link is already spurious: Ghizzolo "Bella Ninfa fugitiva" is for at least 2 voices. On IMSLP when I searched for works for "1 voice" I got a bunch of results. Most seem to be some kind of folklore or other but I noticed a Debussy work whose score has only a single vocal part: Berceuse pour "La Tragédie de la mort"[5]. "La Tragédie de la mort" is incidental music for a play of that name and apparently that berceuse is indeed for an unaccompanied solo voice. It's probably sung by an actor, not a singer. It's from 1899. The extreme limit, almost. Something meant to sound like a folk melody. Would this be considered "Western classical music" though? 178.51.16.158 (talk) 01:22, 21 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Everything Debussy wrote is in that category. The concept of crossover music did not emerge till the 20th century; until then, if a composer was working in the Western classical music tradition (WCMT), then everything they wrote would also belong there. Now, Debussy was influenced by the gamelan music of Indonesia, and wrote at least one piece ("Pagodes") that emulated the sound and structure of the gamelan, but that piece is still considered part of the WCMT. These other people were similarly influenced. Mozart ("Rondo alla turca") and even earlier composers were influenced by Orientalism, but they weren't departing from the WCMT by doing so.

On the other hand, George Gershwin made his name by writing popular songs and musicals, then he dipped his toe into the waters of WCMT by writing a rhapsody for piano and orchestra (Rhapsody in Blue), a set of variations for piano and orchestra (albeit based on a popular song, "I've Got Rhythm"), an overture (Cuban Overture), a piano concerto, and a symphonic poem (An American in Paris). Despite their obvious thematic and rhythmic borrowings from the popular and jazz worlds, their form belonged to the WCMT.

For a long time, people like Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Max Steiner, Bernard Herrmann, and even John Williams were looked down upon by the cognoscenti because they wrote vulgar, worthless film music, not fit to be considered worthy of the WCMT. Well, they've latterly come in to their own and achieved the recognition and respect they're due, and their scores are regularly played and recorded by symphony orchestras around the world. They're popular, in the sense that they're liked by people who wouldn't normally attend classical concerts or listen to classical music radio, but they also belong to the WCMT. That's also true of Strauss waltzes. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 21:35, 21 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Don't forget opera as wading into the waters of WCMT. --Lambiam 18:36, 27 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

It ain't necessarily so. I'm not sure where rock opera would fit. I'm sure many critics would say they're operas in name only. But P&B is definitely part of the canon. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 21:03, 29 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]