(; plural ; German for "song") originally denoted in
classical music the setting of
Romantic German poems to music, especially during the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Examples include settings by
Ludwig van Beethoven and
Franz Schubert. Among English speakers, however, "Lied" is often used interchangeably with "
art song" to encompass works that the tradition has inspired in other languages. The poems that have been made into Lieder often center on pastoral themes or themes of romantic love.