song cycle

noun

: a group of related songs designed to form a musical entity

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web It’s constructed like a song cycle in the same vein as Kississippi’s Mood Ring, which takes a similar approach to its narrative sonics. Vulture, 12 Apr. 2022 Perfectly Broken and coming-of-age song cycle Redheaded Friend. Robert Burke Warren, Longreads, 21 Apr. 2020 After that initial Luck visit, the first episode focuses on 1975’s audacious song cycle Red Headed Stranger, perhaps country music’s first concept album, and certainly the first to earn a gold record for selling 1 million copies. David Bloom, Forbes, 24 Jan. 2023 Written by composer Maury Yeston, the album is the first orchestral version of his song cycle, originally commissioned in 1991 by Carnegie Hall for their centennial. Jeryl Brunner, Forbes, 23 Jan. 2023 Presented by the Dallas Opera, German baritone Benjamin Appl — who studied with the legendary lieder singer Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau — will perform Schubert’s song cycle, Die Winterreise, with pianist James Baillieu accompanying. Dallas News, 4 Jan. 2022 The thrill of hearing such attention lavished on orchestral filigrees and curlicues is an essentially old-fashioned pleasure, and Pigments sounds more like a chamber-pop song cycle than one of Richard’s steely solo records. Spin Staff, SPIN, 26 Dec. 2022 Spano, an accomplished pianist and composer, will perform on all three programs, one including his song cycle Sonnets to Orpheus, with mezzo-soprano Kelley O’Connor. Dallas News, 12 Jan. 2022 Golijov turned the story into a piercing song cycle premiered and released on album by Yo Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble, which could assimilate its multicultural influences, from Delta Blues to Middle Eastern sounds. Brett Campbell | For The Oregonian/oregonlive, oregonlive, 1 Sep. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'song cycle.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Word History

First Known Use

1870, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of song cycle was in 1870

Dictionary Entries Near song cycle

Cite this Entry

“Song cycle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/song%20cycle. Accessed 21 Mar. 2023.

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