THE MODERN INVENTION OF THE ‘TENORLIED’: A HISTORIOGRAPHY OF THE EARLY GERMAN LIED SETTING

Abstract

The early German lied setting is the musical genre that is considered to be the first polyphonic art form in German music. The genre was revived in the nineteenth century in the context of early nationalism, linked with the idea of ‘Volkslied’. This article traces the evolution of the ‘Tenorlied theory’ in early musicology, featuring prominent figures such as Arnold Schering, Hans Joachim Moser and Heinrich Besseler, and connects it with a specific performance practice that developed simultaneously with the emergence of various amateur musical circles: the Jugendmusikbewegung, the male choir movement, the Hausmusik movement and the Collegium musicum. A fatal period in the history of the early German lied setting led to the politicisation of its repertory in the Third Reich. Ludwig Senfl, a German hero of early times, provides a case study in point. The years after the Second World War were characterised by efforts to standardise the performance practice of the lied as well as the usage of the term ‘Tenorlied’, while still insisting on the German identity of the genre.