The term romance ( es, romance/romanza, it, romanza, german: Romanze, french: romance, russian: романс, pt, romance, ro, romanţă) has a centuries-long history. Applied to narrative ballads in Spain, it came to be used by the 18th century for simple lyrical pieces not only for voice, but also for instruments alone. The ''Oxford Dictionary of Music'' states that "generally it implies a specially personal or tender quality".

Instrumental music bearing the title "Romance"

Typically, a Classical piece or movement called a "Romance" is in three, meaning three beats in the bar *

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

: two violin romances (''Romanzen'') for violin and orchestra, No. 1 G major, Op. 40; No. 2 in F major, Op. 50 take the form of a loose theme and variations *

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...

: ''Romanze'' in F major for piano, Op. 118, No. 5 (1893) * Max Bruch: "Romance for Viola and Orchestra in F" *

Arthur Butterworth Arthur Eckersley Butterworth, (4 August 1923 – 20 November 2014) was an English composer, conductor, trumpeter and teacher. Biography Early life and education Butterworth was born in New Moston, near Manchester. His father was secretary of ...

: Romanza for horn and string quartet with double bass ad libitum (or piano), Op. 12 (1951) *

Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8 September 1841 – 1 May 1904) was a Czech composer. Dvořák frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia, following the Romantic-era nationalist example ...

: ''Romance in F minor'' for violin and orchestra, Op. 11 (1873/1877) *

Edward Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

: ** ''Romance'' for bassoon and orchestra, Op. 62 (1910) ** Enigma Variation XIII (Romanza: Moderato) *

Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the foremost Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use of ...

: String Quartet No. 1 in G minor, Op. 27 (1878), second movement * Erich Wolfgang Korngold: ''Romance'' from Concerto for violin and orchestra, second movement * Miguel Llobet: ''Romanza'' *

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

: ''Romanze'' from Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, the second movement; Piano Concerto No. 20, second movement *

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have le ...

: "Romance: Allegretto" from Symphony No. 85 in B, "La Reine," the second movement * ''Romanza'' (Paganini-Ponce) *

Camille Saint-Saëns Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (; 9 October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano C ...

: ** ''Romance'' in D-flat major for flute and piano (or orchestra), Op. 37 (1871) ** ''Romance'' in D major for cello and orchestra, Op. 51 (1877) *

Clara Schumann Clara Josephine Schumann (; née Wieck; 13 September 1819 – 20 May 1896) was a German pianist, composer, and piano teacher. Regarded as one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic era, she exerted her influence over the course of a ...

: '' Drei Romanzen'' for violin and piano, Op. 22 (1853) *

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

: ''Drei Romanzen'' (for piano), Op. 28 (1839) * Robert Schumann: ''Drei Romanzen'' (for oboe or violin and piano), Op. 94 (1849) *

Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throughout his life as a major compo ...

: ''Romance'' from The Gadfly Suite *

Jean Sibelius Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often ...

: ''Romances'' for piano Op 24, Nos. 2, 5, and 9; Op. 78, No. 2 * Johan Svendsen: ''Romance for violin and orchestra'', Op. 26 (1881) *

Ralph Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams, (; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...

: ''Romanza'', in his Tuba Concerto (1954), and Romance for viola and piano (unknown) * Anonymous: "Romance/Romanza" for the classical guitar, known variously as ''Spanish Romance'', ''Romance D'Amour'', etc.

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

subtitled the second movement of his piano concerto no. 20 in D minor (K.466) "Romanze" and his Horn Concerto has a ''Romance and Rondo''.

Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

wrote a Romance in E minor in 1842 in Moscow.

was particularly fond of the title for lyrical piano pieces.

Georges Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', whi ...

's "Je crois entendre encore" from '' The Pearl Fishers'' (1863) is labelled a romance in the score.

Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

's "

Celeste Aida "Celeste Aida" ("Heavenly Aida") is a romanza from the first act of the opera ''Aida'' by Giuseppe Verdi. It is preceded by the recitative "Se quel guerrier io fossi!". The aria is sung by Radamès, a young Egyptian warrior who wishes to be chose ...

" from ''

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 Decemb ...

'' (1871) is labelled ''romanza''.

Franz Lehar Franz may refer to: People * Franz (given name) * Franz (surname) Places * Franz (crater), a lunar crater * Franz, Ontario, a railway junction and unorganized town in Canada * Franz Lake, in the state of Washington, United States – see Fran ...

's "Wie einen Rosenknospe" from "

The Merry Widow ''The Merry Widow'' (german: Die lustige Witwe, links=no ) is an operetta by the Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt ...

" is labelled "Romance".

Works with voice parts

Lied In Western classical music tradition, (, plural ; , plural , ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music to create a piece of polyphonic music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German, but among English and French s ...

er by

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wo ...

: ** 114, "Romanze" Ein Fräulein klagt’ im finstern Turm'for voice and piano (1814; 2 versions) ** D 144, "Romanze" In der Väter Hallen ruhte'for voice and piano (1816, sketch) ** D 222, "Lieb Minna" Schwüler Hauch weht mir herüber'for voice and piano (1815, also appears as "Lieb Minna. Romanze") ** D 907, "Romanze des Richard Löwenherz"

Großer Taten tat der Ritter fern im heiligen Lande viel' Grosser or Großer is the masculine nominative singular form of the German adjective "gross", meaning "big", "great", "large", "tall", and the like. It is part of many placenames, especially of mountains. It is also a surname. People with that surn ...

for voice and piano (1826?, two versions, 2nd version is Op. 86) ** "Romanze", No. 3b of Schubert's ''

Rosamunde ''Rosamunde, Fürstin von Zypern'' (''Rosamunde, Princess of Cyprus'') is a play by Helmina von Chézy, which is primarily remembered for the incidental music which Franz Schubert composed for it. Music and play premiered in Vienna's Theater an d ...

'' * Wilhelm Killmayer: '' Romanzen'' (1954)

Romances sans paroles

So many composers in the French tradition wrote ''Romances sans paroles'', "Romances without words", from the 1840s onwards

Sigismond Thalberg Sigismond Thalberg (8 January 1812 – 27 April 1871) was an Austrian composer and one of the most distinguished virtuoso pianists of the 19th century. Family He was born in Pâquis near Geneva on 8 January 1812. According to his own account, h ...

, Henri Vieuxtemps,

Gabriel Fauré Gabriel Urbain Fauré (; 12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers ...

Alexandre Guilmant Félix-Alexandre Guilmant (; 12 March 1837 – 29 March 1911) was a French organist and composer. He was the organist of La Trinité from 1871 until 1901. A noted pedagogue, performer, and improviser, Guilmant helped found the Schola Cantor ...

Alexander Dreyschock Alexander Dreyschock (15 October 1818 – 1 April 1869) was a Czech pianist and composer. Born in Žáky in Bohemia, his musical talents were first noticed at age of eight, and at age fifteen he travelled to Prague to study piano and compositio ...

Cécile Chaminade Cécile Louise Stéphanie Chaminade (8 August 1857 – 13 April 1944) was a French composer and pianist. In 1913, she was awarded the Légion d'Honneur, a first for a female composer. Ambroise Thomas said, "This is not a woman who composes, but a ...

, Zygmunt Stojowski that the radical poet

Paul Verlaine Paul-Marie Verlaine (; ; 30 March 1844 – 8 January 1896) was a French poet associated with the Symbolist movement and the Decadent movement. He is considered one of the greatest representatives of the '' fin de siècle'' in international and ...

in turn published a collection of his impressionistic poems as ''Romances sans paroles'' (1874).

Russian romance

During the 19th century

Alexander Alyabyev Alexander Aleksandrovich Alyabyev (russian: Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Аля́бьев; ), also rendered as Alabiev or Alabieff, was a Russian composer known as one of the fathers of the Russian art song. He wrote seven ...

(1787–1851), Alexander Varlamov (1801–48) and Alexander Gurilyov (1803–58) developed the French variety of the romance as a sentimental category of

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

art song 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 extension, the term "art song" is used to refer to the collective genre of such son ...

. '' Black Eyes'' is perhaps the best known example. Among other notable examples of the Russian Romance are ''

Shine, Shine, My Star "Shine, Shine, My Star" (russian: "Гори, гори, моя звезда") is an acclaimed Russian romance. The authorship of the song was uncertain for some time, being ascribed to various people, including Nikolay Gumilyov and Ivan Bunin. A ...

'' and '' Along the Long Road''. British singer

Marc Almond Peter Mark Sinclair "Marc" Almond, (born 9 July 1957) is an English singer. Almond first began performing and recording in the synthpop/ new wave duo Soft Cell where he became known for his distinctive soulful voice and androgynous image. ...

is the only Western artist to receive acclaim in Western Europe as well as in Russia for singing English versions of Russian romances and Russian chanson on his albums ''

Heart on Snow ''Heart on Snow'' is the twelfth solo studio album by the British singer/songwriter Marc Almond. It was released by Blue Star Music, in conjunction with XIII BIS Records, on 21 October 2003. Background An article by the BBC describes how Almond ...

'' and ''

Orpheus in Exile ''Orpheus in Exile'', also known as ''Orpheus in Exile: Songs of Vadim Kozin'', is the fourteenth solo studio album by the British singer/songwriter Marc Almond. The artist credit on the album cover is extended to read 'Marc Almond with Alexei ...

''.

Notes

References

* Henri Gougelot, ''La Romance française sous la Révolution et l'Empire : choix de textes musicaux'' (Melun:Legrand & Fils, 1937) nd ed., 1943* Henri Gougelot, ''Catalogue des romances françaises parues sous la Révolution et l'Empire, les recueils de romances'' (Melun:Legrand & Fils, 1937)
Russian romances on YouTube

External links

Jean-Luc_Perrot
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_plays_the_''Romance''from_''l’Art_du_facteur_d’orgues'',_Dom_Bedos_de_Celles.html" ;"title="Jean-Luc Perrot
plays the ''Romance''">Jean-Luc Perrot">Jean-Luc Perrot
plays the ''Romance''from ''l’Art du facteur d’orgues'', Dom Bedos de Celles">Jean-Luc Perrot
plays the ''Romance''">Jean-Luc Perrot">Jean-Luc Perrot
plays the ''Romance''from ''l’Art du facteur d’orgues'', Dom Bedos de Celles on the organ François-Henri Clicquot, Souvigny
Romances
at The LiederNet Archive {{Schubert lieder Classical music styles