Strophic
A form of vocal music in which each stanza of a poetic text is set to the same segment, or strophe, of music.

[Example 1: Try a Screw to Get Through]

The term "strophic" refers to a form of vocal music in which each stanza of a poetic text is set to the same segment, or strophe, of music. The strophic principle is widespread in Western music. It is encountered from the Middle Ages to the present, across folk, popular, and high-art traditions, and in many different languages. There seems to be a very basic, cross-cultural appeal in strophic forms. As a strophic form unfolds, something remains the same (the musical unit) while something else changes (the poetic text). Thus there is unity in variety, or variety in unity, and the results are aesthetically satisfying.

The strophic impulse can also be said to reflect in the music a structural principle already at work in the poetry: that of recurrence vs change. Within a poem that has a regular scheme of rhyme and metrical feet (such as iambic pentameter), the basic framework of each stanza will remain the same throughout, while the words, images, or narrative will change or evolve. This principle is similar to having the musical setting of each strophe remain constant while the text changes.

We find strophic forms in one of the earliest notated popular-music traditions of the West, that of the troubadours. A charming sirventes (usually a political or satirical song) by the celebrated troubadour Bertran de Born, Bel m'es quan vei chamjar, written in the twelfth century, explains the proper qualities of youthful behavior within the courtly world:

[Example 2: Bertran de Born:Bel m'es]

Written in the langue d'oc, or Provençal, the poem has three stanzas, each of which is sung to the same melody. The first stanza praises the succession of generations from parents to children. The second characterizes what constitutes admirable behavior in a young woman; the third does the same for men.

The melodies of the troubadour repertory have come down to us with no rhythmic notation and no accompaniment, although many modern recordings add both rhythm and instruments. This recording uses only a solo voice, which performs in a free, unfixed rhythm. The effect is hauntingly beautiful, expressing the very combination of confidence and vulnerability that is the essence of youth.

1.	Bel m'es, quan vei chamjar lo senhoratge, que·lh vielh laissan a·ls joves lor maisos, e chascus pot laissar en son linhatge tans filhs quo l'us puoscha esser pros:		I am pleased to see authority change hands and old men leave their houses to the young, for each one can leave in his lineage sons enough for one of them to be brave.
	adoncs m'es vis que·l segles renovel mielhs que per flor ni per chantar d'auzel; e qui senhor ni donna pot chamjar,   vielh per jove, be·s deu renovelar.		So it seems to me that the world is renewed better than by flowers and birdsong. And if someone can change an old master or mistress for a young, well then he must get a new lease on life.
2.	Joves es domna que sap honrar paratge   et es joves pe r bos fachs, quan los fa, joves si te, quan a adrech coratge   et ves bo pretz avol mestier non a:		Young is the lady knows how to honor people of high birth and she is young by the good actions she does. She acts like a young woman when she shows just judgement and acts not in a manner unworthy of a good reputation
	joves si te, quan guarda son cors bel,   et es joves domna, quan be·s chapdel; joves si te, quan no·i chal divinar,   qu'ab bel joven si guart de mal estar.		She acts like a young woman when she keeps her body beautiful and stays a young lady when she behaves well She acts like a young woman when not attempting to know everything and refrains from behaving badly in the company of elegant young men.
3.	Joves es hom quo lo sieu ben engatge, et es joves, quan es be sofrachos; (remainder of stz.3)		Young is the man who uses his money and young he is when he is totally without means.

[Example 3: Bertran de Born: Bel m'es]

[Listening Room 1: Bertran de Born: Sirventes: Bel m'es quan vei chamjar. Entire song]

Many religious songs, including hymns and carols, are in strophic form. One of the loveliest and most famous is the Christmas carol Lo, How a Rose e'er Blooming. The melody and words are originally German, probably dating from the fifteenth century. They were harmonized by the renowned late Renaissance composer Michael Praetorius. The blooming rose of the text refers to the Virgin Mary. This recording has two stanzas, each set to the same melody.

If you listen carefully, you will hear that there is musical repetition within each of the two strophes of Lo, How a Rose. The first two pairs of lines are musically identical ("Lo, how a rose. . ."; "Of Jesse's lineage. . ."); the music of line 5 is different ("It came, a flow'ret bright. . ."), then the last pair of lines has music that is virtually the same as that of the first pairs. Thus, each strophe has the musical form AAbA. But the strophic form of the carol consists in the larger repetition of the entire AAbA musical unit for both stanzas of the poetic text A [AAbA] A [AAbA].

1.	Lo, how a rose e'er blooming From tender stem has sprung! Of Jesse's lineage coming as men of old have sung. It came a flow'ret bright, Amid the cold of winter, When half spent was night.
2.	Isaiah 'twas foretold it, The rose I had I mind; With Mary we behold it, The Virgin mother kind. To show God's love aright She bore to men a Savior, When half spent was the night.

[Example 4: Lo, How a Rose, harm. Praetorius]

Strophic forms are frequently found in operas, especially in arias (solo numbers) in which the characters are expressing relatively uncomplicated, and usually happy, thoughts. There is often a folk-like quality to such arias. One example of a strophic aria is Orpheus's "Do you remember, O shady groves?" from Act II of Monteverdi's Orfeo (1607). Here Orpheus and his companions are joyfully celebrating his marriage to Eurydice; only moments later the mood changes dramatically, as her death is announced. The music for this aria is dance-like and tuneful. There are four stanzas, each set to the same music and separated by instrumental ritornellos.

	RITORNELLO
1.	Vi ricorda, o boschi ombrosi, (x2) de' miei lunghi aspri tormenti, quando I sassi ai miei lamenti rispondean fatti pietosi? Vi ricorda, o boschi ombrosi, (x2)		Do you remember, O shady groves, (x2) my long and bitter torments, when the rocks, themselves made pitiful, responded to my complaints? Do you remember, O shade groves, (x2)
	RITORNELLO
2.	Ditte, allor non vi sembrai (x2) piu d'ogn'altro sconsolato? Or fortuna ha stil cangiato ed ha volto in festa I guai. Ditte, allor non vi sembrai (x2)		Tell me, did I not seem to you (x2) to be more disconsolate than any other? Now Fortune has changed her tune and has turned my woes into revels. Tell me, did I not seem to you (x2)
	RITORNELLO
	(2 more stanzas, with ritornellos following)

[Example 5: Monteverdi: Orfeo (1607): aria "Vi, ricorda" (take from Bent VT, tape B3)]

[Listening Room 2: Monteverdi: Aria: Vi ricordi, o boschi ombrosi. Entire aria]

Much folk and country music of the United States is built upon strophic forms. We include here a song called Kenny Wagner, sung by Bob Carpenter, a cautionary tale in four stanzas about a young man from Mississippi who led a life of "sin and woe" and ended his time in prison after being arrested by a "woman sheriff" in Texarkana. This song falls into the type known as a ballad -- a song that tells a story. Ballads in many different national traditions have been set strophically, such that the story unfolds or evolves while the music remains the same. There is probably a natural reason for this kind of ballad structure: when the music remains constant from stanza to stanza, listeners become familiar with it and can focus their attention on the evolving plot. The song Kenny Wagner probably dates from the 1920s; Bob Carpenter was recorded singing it by the ethnographer Alan Lomax in 1959, and we will hear it in its entirety:

1.	Way down in Mississippi, not many years ago A young man started out in life, a life of sin and woe. Oh, Kenny Wagner was his name, a bandit bold and free, He shot down Sheriff Macintosh, then he went to Tennessee.
2.	Twas there they captured Kenny, and they put him into jail, There was no one to help him out, no one to go his bail. But Kenny broke the jail one night, and he made his getaway. He thought that he could go through life and never have to pay.
3.	But down in Texarkana, where Kenny met his fate, A woman sheriff captured him, but he pulled his gun too late. They took him back to stand his trial right where the deed was done. The judge then said to Kenny, "Boy, no more you'll pull your gun."
4.	Well, Kenny Wagner broke the law and he threw his life away, And now he's 'hind the prison walls; he'll live till Judgement Day. All you young men take warning, and heed my last advice: Don't ever start the road of life wrong, or you'll surely pay the price.

[Example 6: Kenny Wagner]

An example of a strophic form from a different national tradition of the twentieth century is the Calypso song Try a Screw to Get Through, recorded by a singer known as The Tiger in 1936 in New York. The Tiger sings of the troubles of unemployment in his native Trinidad during the Great Depression and the things men must do to survive in such difficult times. The song has five eight-line stanzas (and thus five musical strophes), of which all but the second end with same "refrain" lines, "After all, there is no work to do, / We boun' to try a screw to get through." As with several other examples of strophic form we have examined, the strophes are separated by instrumental interludes. The Tiger is accompanied by Gerald Clark and his Caribbean Serenaders.

1.	The government should really deal more leniently With the unemployed of this colony. The government should really deal more leniently With the unemployed of this colony. Work's nowhere, I mean, you have a rent to pay, The money circulation is decreasing every day. After all, there is no work to do, We boun' to try a screw to get through.
2.	You may look for work, it's natural, of course. But if your money finish, you have no resource. Richard Dix said man must live, it's widely known How mus' we live on a bed of stone. You'll have to play wappy, dice or rummy Or take some han' in negromancy. Open your brain, if you can' make money Or join the chain of burg-u-lary..
3.	They'd only need a little of starvation To notice the chance in this Iere lan'. Mango crop we can' hardly see, Breadfruit gone out entirely Cosada we just eat now and again, Well, everything is thrown up on the poor sugar cane. After all, there is no work to do, We boun' to try a screw to get through.
	(2 further stanzas)

[Example 7: Try a Screw to Get Through]

[Listening Room 3: Calypso: Try a Screw to Get Through (The Tiger). Entire calypso]

Strophic forms are also frequently found in German art songs, or Lieder, of the 19th century. One famous example is Schubert's "Little Rose on the Heath" (Heidenröslein), a setting of a poem by Goethe (1815) -- a lyric about a boy who tries to pluck a rose, which resists and pricks him with its thorns. The rose acts in vain, for the boy succeeds in his quest. Although the erotic symbolism is clear, the poem is presented in folklike simplicity, which Schubert captures in his setting.

1.	Sah ein Knab ein Röslein stehn, Röslein auf der Heiden, war so jung und morgenschön, lief er schnell, es nah zu sehn, sah's mit vielen Freuden. Röslein, Röslein, Röslein rot, Röslein auf der Heiden.		A young lad saw a rosebud, rosebud on the heath; it was so young and lovely as the dawn, that he ran quickly to see it closely, he saw it with great joy. Rosebud, rosebud, rosebud red, rosebud on the heath.
2.	Knabe sprach: ich breche dich, Röslein auf der Heiden! Röslein sprach: ich steche dich, dass du ewig denkst an mich, und ich will's nicht leiden. Röslein, Röslein, Röslein rot, Röslein auf der Heiden.		Said the youth, "I'll pick you, rosebud on the heath." Rosebud said, "I'll prick you, so you'll always think of me, and I'll not suffer this." Rosebud, rosebud, rosebud red, rosebud on the heath.
3.	Und der wilde Knabe brach's Röslein auf der Heiden; Röslein wehrte sich und stach, half ihm kein Weh und Ach, musste es eben leiden. Röslein, Röslein, Röslein rot, Röslein auf der Heiden.		And the wild lad plucked the rosebud on the heath. The rosebud defended itself, pricked him, but no moans or sighs helped it, it simply had to suffer. Rosebud, rosebud, rosebud red, rosebud on the heath.

[Example 8: Schubert: Little Rose on the Heath]

Some vocal works have what is called a modified strophic form. This means that there will be some difference in at least one of the musical units (strophes), although the overall form will still be recognizable as strophic.

One striking example of a modified strophic form is "Good Night," the first song of Schubert's great cycle Winter's Journey (1827), set to poetry by Wihelm Müller. In this song the stranger, or wanderer, departs in dejection from the town where his beloved lives. Schubert sets all but the last pair of stanzas in the minor mode and with identical in music. (In this song, Schubert sets two of the poetic stanzas as a single musical strophe; thus there are eight stanzas, but four musical strophes.) Here is the first strophe (scroll down to the text, below.)

1.	Fremd bin ich eingezogen Fremd zieh'ich wieder aus. Der Mai war mir gewogen Mit manchem Blumenstrauss.		I arrived a stranger, A stranger I depart. May blessed me With many a bouquet of flowers.
	Das Mädchen sprach von Liebe, Die Mutter gar von Eh' - (x2) Nun ist die Welt so trübe, Der Weg gehüllt in Schnee. (x2)		The girl spoke of love, Her mother even of marriage; (x2) Now the world is so desolate, The path covered in snow. (x2)
	(3 further stanzas)

[Example 9: Schubert: "Good Night": CD 3573]

For the last and fourth pair of stanzas ("I will not disturb you"), Schubert keeps the melody and the basic harmonic structure the same, but switches to the major mode. At the repetition of the last line, "That I thought of you," Schubert turns once again to the minor, where the song ends. The surprising change to the major reflects the dream world of his beloved; the return to reality, to every day, brings the return to the bleak minor mode.

4.	Will dich im Traum nicht stören (major) Wär Schad' um deine Ruh', Sollst meinen Tritt nicht hören- Sacht, sacht die Türe zu!		I will not disturb you as you dream, It would a shame to spoil your rest. You shall not hear my footsteps; Softly, softly the door is closed.
	Schreib'im Vorübergehen An's Tor dir gute Nacht, Damit du mögest sehen, An dich hab'ich gedacht. (stanza rep'd) An dich hab'ich gedacht. (minor)		As I pass I write 'Good night' on your gate, So that you might see That I thought of you. (stanza rep'd) That I thought of you. (minor)

[Example 10: Schubert: "Good Night": CD 3573]

[Listening Room 4: Schubert: Lied: "Gute Nacht" (from song cycle Winter's Journey). Entire song]

Another beautiful example of modified strophic form from the Lied tradition is Johannes Brahms's Like Melodies it Passes (1886), op. 105, no. 1, set to a text by Klaus Groth. The poem describes the experience of having thoughts or visions float in the mind like melodies, but then vanish when captured in words. In Brahms's setting, each of the three stanzas begins in exactly the same way, but then deviates harmonically and melodically in the third and fourth lines. The most remote harmonic area is reached at the end of the third stanza at the first occurrence of the words "Is softly called forth by a damp eye"; the repetition of these words leads back to the home key or tonic. Brahms's subtly modified strophic setting captures perfectly-magically, one might say-the evanescence, the impermanence evoked by Groth's poetry: like the poet's floating thoughts, the strophic form cannot be easily grasped or fixed.

1.	Wie Melodien zieht es Mir leise durch den Sinn, Wie Frühlingsblumen blüht es Und schwebt wie Duft dahin.		Like melodies it Passes gently through my mind, Like spring flowers it blossoms And floats there like a scent.
2.	Doch kommt das Wort und faßt es Und führt es vor das Aug, Wie Nebelgrau erblaßt es Und schwindet wie ein Hauch.		Yet when I try to grasp it in words And bring it before my eyes, It fades away like mist And disappears like a breath.
3.	Und dennoch ruht im Reime Verborgen wohl ein Duft, Den mild aus stillem Keime Ein feuchtes Auge ruft.		And yet hidden in rhyme There remains a scent, Which out of the dormant seed Is softly called forth by a damp eye.

[Example 11: Brahms: Like Melodies it Passes]

Summary:

• Strophic forms use one unit or strophe of music for all stanzas of text.
• Strophic forms are found in many cultures and in both art and popular musics.
• In modified strophic forms, small changes are made in the musical unit, but the overall similarity retains the strophic structure.

Copyright © Columbia University, 22 March 2001 Visual & Sound Materials from the Gabe M. Wiener Music & Arts Library of Columbia University
Strophic written by: Walter Frisch Recording & Mixing: Christopher Bailey	Narration: Annalisa Poirel Technology & Design: Maurice Matiz