An art song is a Western vocal music composition, usually written for one voice with piano accompaniment, and usually in the classical art music tradition. By ...
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extension, the term "art song" is used to refer to the collective genre of such songs (e.g., the "art song repertoire"). An art song is most often a musical setting of an independent poem or text, "intended for the concert repertory" "as part of a recital or other relatively formal social occasion". While many vocal music pieces are easily recognized as art songs, others are more difficult to categorize. For example, a wordless vocalise written by a classical composer is sometimes considered an art song and sometimes not.