Lyrical character

What it means

In poetry, Lyrik designates the genre of the poem; in music, a character: the song-like, vocal, heartfelt quality. If a movement is described as lyrical, music is meant that lives from melody rather than from conflict or development — calm in tempo, closed in form, song-like in the leading of the line. The word goes back to the lyre, to which verses were sung in antiquity, and thereby recalls the original unity of poetry and music.

Musical use

In instrumental music the lyrical character is at home above all in slow movements and in short character pieces; collections with titles such as Lyric Pieces refer to this explicitly. Within sonata-movement form, the second theme area often carries this trait, in contrast to the more energetic first. In vocal music, lyrical at the same time designates a voice category: the lyric soprano or tenor has a lighter, more flexible voice than the dramatic fach and sings the corresponding repertoire. The designation thus describes character and tonal conception, not a form.

Performance practice

Think in arcs and determine the goal note for every phrase; lyrical music loses its effect if it falls apart into details. Keep the tempo flexible but fundamentally stable, and use rubato sparingly. Watch for even accompanying figures without accents. Use vibrato and tone colour as means of expression rather than volume. Practise the melody first sung, even on instruments — what is not singable rarely sounds lyrical.

Bear in mind that lyrical movements are easily taken a little too slow: what seems expressive in practice can come to a standstill in concert. Check the tempo in the context of the whole work. Read poems aloud before singing, to grasp metre and the stress of meaning. Practise the melody sung, even on instruments, because breathing places and phrasing result from this that cannot be gathered from the notation alone.

Check, with the designation of lyrical voices, whether it fits the part, because the word also designates a voice type.