An art song might be defined as "a poem set to music, usually for trained voice and piano accompaniment with a duration of about three minutes." The German word for such classical song is Lied (singular) and Lieder (plural), so that you will hear the terms "art song," "lied" and "lieder" used interchangeably. In France the term is Melodie, and in Italy, Romanza. But more than this simple . . .