song cycle

American  

noun

1. a group of art songs that are usually all by the same poet and composer and have a unifying subject or idea.

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song cycle British  

noun

1. any of several groups of songs written by composers during and after the Romantic period, each series employing texts, usually by one poet, relating a story or grouped around a central motif

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Etymology

Origin of song cycle

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

It’s an exhortation and an anthem — “Be the rain you remember falling” — the emotional peak of a song cycle about a girl named Sun Green who’s trying to save the Earth.

From Salon • Aug. 19, 2025

He proposed basing it on this quotidian word song cycle in conjunction with the existing instrumental pieces, and weaving the result into an interactive film piece.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 13, 2024

As a song cycle, it’s a revelatory marvel.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 22, 2024

Her jazz-meets-chamber-music song cycle premiered in 2018, and for anyone who missed it, sweet relief comes with this revival on the closing night of Salvant’s Perspectives series.

From New York Times • Feb. 7, 2024

“It is Omar Khayyam set to music, you know”—she turned to Grace—“from the song cycle, ‘In a Persian Garden.’”

From Grace Harlowe's Problem by Flower, Jessie Graham [pseud.]