Sung poetry is a broad and imprecise

music genre A music genre is a conventional category that identifies some pieces of music as belonging to a shared tradition or set of conventions. It is to be distinguished from ''musical form'' and musical style, although in practice these terms are some ...

widespread in European countries, such as

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

and the

Baltic States The Baltic states, et, Balti riigid or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, ...

, to describe songs consisting of a poem (most often a

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

) and music written specially for that text. The compositions usually feature a delicate melody and scarce musical background, often comprising a guitar or piano. Some sung poetry performers are singer-songwriters; others use known, published poems, or collaborate with contemporary writers. Artists of sung poetry include people of various occupations usually with little or no particular

music education Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do origina ...

, as well as stage actors. Notable Lithuanian and Polish artists include

Kostas Smoriginas Kostas Smoriginas (born April 22, 1953) is a Lithuanian theatre and cinema actor and musician.
"Kostas Smoriginas" at cine ...

Ieva Narkutė Ieva Narkutė–Šeduikienė ''alias'' Jieva (Kaunas, 1987) is a Lithuanian singer-songwriter. She grew up in Šiauliai and her parents are musicians. She studied psychology and her song "Raudoni vakarai" was an important hit. Prizes * 2007 – ...

Vytautas Kernagis Vytautas Kernagis (May 19, 1951 – March 15, 2008) was a Lithuanian singer-songwriter, bard, actor, director, and television announcer. He is considered a pioneer of Lithuanian sung poetry. Career Vytautas Kernagis was born to the family o ...

, Alina Orlova,

Ewa Demarczyk Ewa Maria Demarczyk (16 January 1941 – 14 August 2020) was a Polish singer, generally associated with the sung poetry genre and the Piwnica pod Baranami cabaret. Demarczyk was recognized as one of the most talented and charismatic singers in ...

Edyta Geppert Edyta Geppert (born 27 November 1953 in Nowa Ruda, Poland) is a popular Polish singer. Geppert was born to a Polish father and Hungarian mother. She is married to Piotr Loretz. They have one son Mieczysław (born in 1988). Awards *1984 – Gra ...

Marek Grechuta Marek Michał Grechuta (10 December 1945 – 9 October 2006) was a Polish singer, songwriter, composer, and lyricist. Early life Grechuta was born on 10 December 1945 in Zamość, Poland. He studied architecture at Tadeusz Kościuszko University ...

Czesław Niemen Czesław Niemen (; February 16, 1939 – January 17, 2004), born Czesław Juliusz Wydrzycki, and often credited as just Niemen, was one of the most important and original Polish singer-songwriters and rock balladeers of the 20th century, singing ...

Jacek Kaczmarski Jacek Marcin Kaczmarski (22 March 1957 – 10 April 2004) was a Polish singer, songwriter, poet and author. Life He was the son of painter Anna Trojanowska-Kaczmarska, a Pole of Jewish background, and the artist Janusz Kaczmarski. Kaczmarski ...

Magda Umer Magda Umer (; born Małgorzata Magda Umer, October 9, 1949) is a Polish singer and performer of sung poetry, journalist, author, film director, screenwriter, actress, and author of recitals. Biography She was born to Edward Umer, the head of t ...

or from younger generation

Ralph Kaminski Rafał Stanisław Kamiński (born November 8, 1990), known professionally as Ralph Kaminski, is a Polish singer-songwriter experimenting with musical styles, including alternative pop and chamber music. He is the recipient of the Grzegorz Ci ...

External links

Website dedicated to Lithuanian sung poetryWebsite of Lithuanian bardsPolish sung poetry – text, mp3, video clip
European music {{music-genre-stub

See also

External links