This module offers an exploration of the song form in a western art music context. Taking Beethoven’s ‘An die Ferne Geliebte’ as a starting point, we progress to explore Schubert’s Lieder in some depth, exploring his settings of poetry, performance traditions and techniques. We then consider the role of Art-Song in the 19th and 20th centuries, using art-song as a prism for examining cultural changes in music and society, culminating in Maxwell-Davies’ "Eight Songs for a Mad King". A continued focus throughout the module will be Schumann’s song-cycle "Dichterliebe", which will a ‘set work’ that will form part of your final exam.