lied
n. C / Un. a type of German song written for a singer and a piano. These songs are usually based on poems and are very common in classical music.
n. a type of German art song from the Romantic period, typically composed for solo voice with piano accompaniment. Often based on literary poetry, the form emphasizes the expressive relationship between the text and the music.
The singer performed a beautiful lied by Schubert.
During the recital, the soprano chose a lied that perfectly captured the melancholy of the original German poem.
The development of the nineteenth-century lied transformed the piano from a mere harmonic support into an equal partner in the musical storytelling, as seen in the works of Schumann and Brahms.
Borrowed from German Lied (“song”). Doublet of leed, which was inherited by Old English lēoþ (“poem”).
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
The plural form is 'lieder'. When used in a general sense, it is often uncountable, but it is countable when referring to specific compositions.
She sang three liedsShe sang three liederThe word uses the German plural 'lieder' rather than the standard English 's' suffix.