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

See Examples For:

song cycle

The song cycle ends with “Rowing the Boat,” an encouraging, folky, kids’ singalong.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

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

A mutual friend connected him to Grant Gershon, artistic director of the Master Chorale, and Aitken proposed creating a song cycle.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 13, 2024

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2024

Foremost among these at present is Liza Lehmann, who147 has recently become famous through her song cycle, "In a Persian Garden."

From Woman's Work in Music by Arthur Elson