Song cycle

A song cycle (German: Liederkreis or Liederzyklus) is a group, or cycle, of individually complete songs designed to be performed in a sequence as a unit.

The songs are either for solo voice or an ensemble, or rarely a combination of solo songs mingled with choral pieces. The number of songs in a song cycle may be as brief as two songs or as long as 30 or more songs. The term "song cycle" did not enter lexicography until 1865, in Arrey von Dommer's edition of Koch’s Musikalisches Lexikon, but works definable in retrospect as song cycles existed long before then. One of the earliest examples may be the set of seven Cantigas de amigo by the 13th-century Galician jongleur Martin Codax.

A song cycle is similar to a song collection, and the two can be difficult to distinguish. Some type of coherence, however, is regarded as a necessary attribute of song cycles. It may derive from the text (a single poet; a story line; a central theme or topic such as love or nature; a unifying mood; poetic form or genre, as in a sonnet or ballad cycle) or from musical procedures (tonal schemes; recurring motifs, passages or entire songs; formal structures). These unifying features may appear singly or in combination. Because of these many variations, the song cycle "resists definition". The nature and quality of the coherence within a song cycle must therefore be examined "in individual cases".

Kailash Kher

Kailash Kher is an Indian pop-rock singer with a music style influenced by Indian folk music. He has sung in 20 languages for Indian films, and in over 5000 songs for Bollywood. He was inspired by the classical musician Pandit Kumar Gandharva, Pandit Hridaynath Mangeshkar, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, and the Qawwali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. They remain his inspirations. He has won Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer for the Bollywood movie Fanaa (2007), and has also won Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer - Telugu for the film Mirchi.

Early life

Khan learned music from his childhood. Kailash Kher was brought up in a musical atmosphere, and from his school days, he was fascinated by music and used to listen to his father's Indian folks songs all day. Even as a four-year-old, Kher revealed a natural musical talent and he would often impress friends and family by belting out songs with his prematurely powerful voice.

At the age of 14, Kher left home in search of a guru or an institution to further his musical training, and he embarked on years of classical and folk music study. According to him, "It was because I wanted to pursue my passion for music. It required me to stay in isolation". He also attended music classes and would teach the same to students for just Rs. 150 per session to maintain himself, taking care of all his personal expenses from lodging to food, plus his education and music expenses.

Anushka Shetty

Anushka Shetty (born 7 November 1981) is an Indian film actress, who works mainly in the Telugu and Tamil film industries. Born in Mangalore, Anushka started her career as a yoga instructor. It was while teaching yoga, she got an offer to act in films.

She made her acting debut through the 2005 Telugu film Super. She went on to star in a number of Telugu films such as Vikramarkudu (2006), Arundhati (2009) and Vedam (2010). After starring in a series of high-budget productions, she established herself as one of the leading actresses in Telugu cinema. She received critical acclaim for her portrayal of the titular character in Arundhati (2009), and as Saroja in Vedam (2010), which fetched her two Filmfare, one Nandi and two CineMAA Awards. In the 2010s, Anushka also achieved success in Tamil cinema with the action films Singam (2010), and its sequel Singam II (2013). Both were big commercial successes, while her performances in Vaanam (2011) and Deiva Thirumagal (2011) won her critical praise.

Imogen Heap

Imogen Jennifer Heap (/ˈɪmədʒᵻn ˈhiːp/; born 9 December 1977) is an English singer-songwriter and composer. She is known for her work as part of the musical duo Frou Frou and her solo albums, which she writes, produces, and mixes. She has produced four solo albums. Her 2009 album, Ellipse, was a North American chart success that earned Heap two Grammy nominations, winning Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical in recognition of her technical and engineering work on the record. In 2010 she received the British Academy's Ivor Novello Award for International Achievement.

Biography

Early life

Heap was born in the London Borough of Havering. She played music from an early age, becoming classically trained in several instruments including piano, cello and clarinet. She attended Friends School, a private, Quaker-run boarding school in Saffron Walden. Heap's mother (an art therapist) and her father (a construction rock retailer) separated when she was twelve. By the age of thirteen, she had begun writing songs.