In 1823, Fanny Mendelssohn (she would not become Fanny Hensel until several years later) composed eight Lieder inspired by poems by Wilhelm Müller, all of them taken from the first part of his collection Sieben und siebzig Gedichte aus den hinterlassenen Papieren eines reisenden Waldhornisten [Seventy-seven poems from the posthumous papers of a travelling horn-player] [...]

The first Christmas song of this year is an unusual one. It does not speak of peace, love, light or hope. It is a song filled with anger an0d despair, calling for vengeance, agitated, and understandable only within the wartime context in which it was conceived.

Do you remember that some time ago I told you about the Chansons de Bilitis, a selection of poems found in the tomb of a Greek poetess from the 6th century BC, translated into French by Pierre Louÿs? And that I also explained how, a few years later, Louÿs revealed that it had all been his invention? There never was a Bilitis, and even less her tomb.

Roger Quilter was born in 1877, the third son of Lord and Lady Quilter. His father was not only the holder of a considerable estate, but also possessed a personal fortune of equal size, so young Roger grew up in a privileged environment. He studied at Eton, where he must have been something of a rara avis: unfortunately, his health never accompanied him, even as a child [..]

Which poets were most set to music by Franz Schubert? That Johann Wolfgang Goethe occupies the first place in this ranking will surprise few Lied lovers; many of the most famous songs are set to his poems. That Friedrich Schiller, another great figure of German literature, occupies the third place is also understandable, although if we were asked to name well-known [...]