Singstimme

As Printed on a Score

Labels the vocal staff in German song editions, written in full above the piano (Singstimme over Pianoforte or Klavier); Gesang is the common alternative. Later systems are usually left unlabelled, since a song score has only two parts to tell apart.

Also spelled: Gesangstimme, Gesang

How Composers Use It

The word says nothing about voice type: a Lied labelled Singstimme can be sung by any voice in a suitable key, and German publishers routinely issued the same song for high, medium and low voice. If the voice type matters, name it (Sopran, Bariton) in the heading. Modern editions write the part in treble clef even for men, who sing it an octave lower.

Example

Schubert, Winterreise, D. 911, “Der Lindenbaum”: the vocal staff is labelled “Singstimme” above the “Pianoforte” — the standard pairing in nineteenth-century German song editions.

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