Art song

A song of serious artistic purpose designed for the concert hall as opposed to traditional songs or folk songs. An art song is usually sung by a solo voice with accompaniment. In German it is called lieder, in French, chanson. An art song is a complete composition in itself and is not part of a larger work such as an opera or and oratorio. A serious vocal composition, generally for voice and piano. Denotes a self-contained work, as opposed to an aria.