Sung poetry is a broad and imprecise
music genreA music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other types of music....
used mostly in
Eastern EuropeEastern Europe is a region lying in the Eastern part of Europe. The term is highly context-dependent and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
an Post-Soviet countries, such as
PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and the Baltic States, to describe songs consisting of a poem (most often a
balladA ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative and set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later North America, Australia and North Africa. Many...
) and music written specially for that text. The compositions usually feature a delicate melody and scarce musical background, often comprising a
Russian guitarThe Russian guitar is a seven-string acoustic guitar that arrived in Russia toward the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, most probably as an evolution of the cittern, kobza, and torban. It is known in Russian as the semistrunnaya gitara , or affectionately as the...
or
pianoThe piano is a musical instrument which is played by means of a keyboard. Widely used in Western music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music, and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
. Some sung poetry performers are
singer-songwriterA singer–songwriter is a musician who writes, composes and sings their own material including lyrics and melodies. They often provide the sole accompaniment to an entire composition or song, typically using a guitar or piano...
s, others use known, published poems, or collaborate with contemporary writers.
Sung poetry is a broad and imprecise
music genreA music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other types of music....
used mostly in
Eastern EuropeEastern Europe is a region lying in the Eastern part of Europe. The term is highly context-dependent and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
an Post-Soviet countries, such as
PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and the Baltic States, to describe songs consisting of a poem (most often a
balladA ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative and set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later North America, Australia and North Africa. Many...
) and music written specially for that text. The compositions usually feature a delicate melody and scarce musical background, often comprising a
Russian guitarThe Russian guitar is a seven-string acoustic guitar that arrived in Russia toward the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, most probably as an evolution of the cittern, kobza, and torban. It is known in Russian as the semistrunnaya gitara , or affectionately as the...
or
pianoThe piano is a musical instrument which is played by means of a keyboard. Widely used in Western music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music, and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
. Some sung poetry performers are
singer-songwriterA singer–songwriter is a musician who writes, composes and sings their own material including lyrics and melodies. They often provide the sole accompaniment to an entire composition or song, typically using a guitar or piano...
s, others use known, published poems, or collaborate with contemporary writers. Artists of sung poetry include people of various occupations usually with little or no particular
music educationMusic education is a field of study associated with the teaching and learning of music. More than merely teaching notes and rhythms, music education seeks to develop the whole person. It touches on the development of the affective domain, including music appreciation and sensitivity. It helps to...
, as well as stage actors.
Singing poetry is gaining particular popularity among certain groups of the society in
LithuaniaLithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the southernmost of the three Baltic states. Situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, it shares borders with Latvia to the north, Belarus to the southeast, Poland, and the Russian exclave of...
. The common forms of expression are individual and collective public performances, festivals of sung poetry, publication of records online and release of music albums.
Sung poetry shares much in common with the author's song in
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
yet differs from it in a significant way: sung poetry performers often do not compose lyrics themselves. Similar artists in other countries are usually classified as
bardThe term bard came to be used in the Soviet Union in the early 1960s, and continues to be used in Russia today, to refer to singer-songwriters who wrote songs outside the Soviet establishment. Because in bard music songwriters perform their own songs, the genre is also commonly referred to as...
s,
folk musicThe term folk music originated in the 19th century as a term for musical folklore. It has been defined in several ways; as music transmitted by word of mouth, music of the lower classes, music with no known composer...
or
folk rockFolk rock is a musical genre, combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
(such as
Jacques BrelJacques Romain Georges Brel was a Belgian singer-songwriter. Brel composed and recorded his songs almost exclusively in French. The quality and style of his lyrics are highly regarded by many leading critics of popular music...
,
Lluís LlachLluís Llach i Grande is a Catalan composer and songwriter.He is one of the main representatives of "Nova cançó" , a movement of musicians and singers who defied Francisco Franco's dictatorship by singing political songs in Catalan during a time where the language, and all other cultural...
,
Ovidi MontllorOvidi Montllor was a Valencian Spanish singer-songwriter and actor.Known for his deep voice and his histrionic on-stage manners, Montllor was one of the most talented members of the Nova Cançó movement, albeit one of the least popular...
,
Georges BrassensGeorges Brassens was a French singer-songwriter.Georges Brassens was born in Sète, a town in southern France near Montpellier. Now an iconic figure in France, he achieved fame through his simple, elegant songs and articulate, diverse lyrics; indeed, he is considered one of France's most...
,
Léo FerréLéo Ferré was a Franco-Monegasque poet, composer, singer and musician.Born in Monaco, Ferré mixed love and melancholy with moral anarchy, lyricism with slang, rhyming verse with prose monologues...
,
Bob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet and painter who has been a major figure in popular music for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was, at first, an informal chronicler and then an apparently reluctant figurehead of social unrest...
,
Simon and GarfunkelSimon & Garfunkel is an American singer-songwriter duo consisting of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel. They formed the group "Tom and Jerry" in 1957, and had their first taste of success with the minor hit "Hey, Schoolgirl". As Simon and Garfunkel, the duo rose to fame in 1965, backed by the hit single...
,
Tom WaitsThomas Alan "Tom" Waits is an American singer-songwriter, composer and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car."...
,
Leonard CohenLeonard Norman Cohen, CC, GOQ is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often deals with the exploration of religion, isolation, sexuality and complex interpersonal relationships...
, Djordje Balasevic,
Bulat OkudzhavaBulat Shalvovich Okudzhava was one of the founders of the Russian genre called "author's song" . He was of Armenian-Georgian origin, born in Moscow and died in Paris...
,
Vladimir VysotskyVladimir Semyonovich Vysotsky was an iconic Soviet and Russian singer, songwriter, poet, and actor of mixed Jewish and Russian descent whose career had an immense and enduring effect on Russian culture...
), or chamber pop. Artists of other musical genres may or may not be included into sung poetry category, such as Czesław Niemen, whose many songs are based on works of esteemed Polish poets, is usually regarded as either a
rockRock music is a genre of popular music that entered the mainstream in the 1960s. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, rhythm and blues, country music and also drew on folk music, jazz and classical music....
or
electronicElectronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
musician.
Lithuania
- Vytautas Kernagis
Vytautas Kernagis was a Lithuanian singer-songwriter, bard, actor, director, and television announcer. He is considered a pioneer of Lithuanian sung poetry.- Career :...
- Saulius Mykolaitis
Saulius Mykolaitis was a Lithuanian director, singer-songwriter, bard, and actor.- Life :Saulius Mykolaitis was born in Ramygala, a small city of Lithuania. His parents died while he was still studying at school...
- Domantas Razauskas
- Andrius Kulikauskas
- Vytautas V. Landsbergis
- Nojus
- Aidas Giniotis
- Andrius Kaniava
- Eglė Sirvydytė
- Saulius Bareikis
- Ieva Narkutė
- Gediminas Storpirštis
- Alina Orlova
Alina Orlova is a Lithuanian sung poetry singer and musician.- Performing career :Orlova both composes her own songs and performs other musicians' cover versions...
- Kostas Smoriginas
- Olegas Ditkovskis
- Romas Lileikis
Romas Lileikis is a Lithuanian poet, musician, and film director.Lileikis is a director of five movies: Aš esu , Olandų gatvė , Anapus , K+M+B , and Saša , and author of three music albums: Kiaulės sakmė , Evangelija nuo Romo , and...
- Virgis Stakėnas
- Vidas Petkevičius
- Vytautas Babravičius
Vytautas Babravičius, stage name Simas, is a Lithuanian country and folk rock musician. He is often described as a founder of Lithuanian country music scene.-Musical career:...
- "Keistuolių Teatras"
- "Stipriai Kitaip"
Poland
- Elżbieta Adamiak
- Michał Bajor
- Stan Borys
Stan Borys 3 September 1941 in Załęże is Polish singer-songwriter, actor, director and poet.Charismatic person, versatile artist, which has a broad musical taste, acting and directing capabilities....
- Mirosław Czyżykiewicz
- Ewa Demarczyk
Ewa Demarczyk is a Polish singer and actress. Her songs convey strong emotions, partly associated with the counter-culture movement in Poland during the 1970s and 1980's, when the country was under communist rule. Because of censorship, her songs are not ostentatiously anti-communist or political...
- Edyta Geppert
Edyta Geppert is a popular Polish singer.She is married to Piotr Loretz. They have one son Mieczysław, born in 1988.-Awards:...
- Marek Grechuta
Marek Grechuta was a Polish singer, songwriter, composer, and lyricist, famous and beloved in Poland throughout his professional musical career.-Biography:...
- Katarzyna Groniec
- Jacek Kaczmarski
Jacek Kaczmarski was a Polish singer, songwriter, poet and author.Kaczmarski was considered by many to be a voice of the anti-communist Solidarity movement in the 1980s, for his commitment to a free Poland, independent of Soviet rule...
- Robert Kasprzycki
- Czesław Niemen
- Renata Przemyk
Renata Przemyk is Polish singer and song writer.- Discography :* Ya hozna * Mało zdolna szansonistka * Tylko kobieta * Andergrant * Hormon * Blizna...
- Janusz Radek
- Andrzej Sikorowski
- Edward Stachura
Edward Stachura or Sted was a Polish poet, philosopher and prose writer....
- Basia Stępniak-Wilk
- Grzegorz Turnau
Grzegorz Turnau is a Polish composer, pianist, poet and singer.He was born on July 31 1967 in Kraków , Poland. At age seventeen he won First Prize at The Student Song Festival in Kraków in 1984...
- Elżbieta Wojnowska
- Ilona Sojda
Ilona Sojda , Polish singer whose work has its origin in sung poetry, an imprecise, unspecific music genre that merges lyrical ballads with written poetry.-Awards:...
- Jacek Różański
Bulgaria
- Mihail Belchev
- Assen Maslarski
- Plamen Stavrev
- Grisha Trifonov
- Margarita Drumeva
- Krassimir Purvanov
- Ivan Nenkov
External links