through-composed
A song form where new music is written for each stanza, with no repeating sections.
In Depth
Through-composed music uses new material for each section of text, with no repeated sections. Each verse or stanza gets its own unique musical setting, allowing the composer to respond closely to the changing emotions and imagery of the words.
Through-composed settings are the opposite of strophic form, where the same music repeats for every verse. Schubert's Erlkönig is the most famous through-composed song, with its galloping piano accompaniment and four distinct vocal characters. Through-composed form sacrifices the memorability of a repeating melody for greater dramatic and expressive flexibility.
Schubert's Erlkönig requires the singer to portray four different characters — narrator, father, son, and the Erlking — each with a distinct vocal colour, all within a single through-composed song.