Sprechmelodie

Sprechmelodie, or "speech melody," is a vocal approach in which spoken text is delivered with melodic inflection and rhythmic variation that blends elements of speech and singing. The goal is to preserve the intelligibility and immediacy of spoken language while shaping the line with pitch, contour, dynamics, and phrasing, creating a musically expressive speech.

Historically associated with early 20th-century German and Austrian modernism, Sprechmelodie appears in opera, song cycles, and theatre works that seek to go beyond conventional singing to convey textual nuance, irony, or psychological depth. It is closely related to the broader concepts of Sprechgesang and Sprechstimme, which document specific practices for integrating speech-like delivery with pitch, though Sprechmelodie is often used to describe the broader phenomenon rather than a single notational method.

Sprechgesang and Sprechstimme denote particular approaches to notating and performing speech-inflected vocal lines. Sprechstimme, in Schoenberg’s usage, directs the performer to approximate pitch while rapidly departing from precise pitch. Sprechmelodie, by contrast, is a wider term that encompasses the practice of shaping spoken language into a melodic line, and it may be realized with varying degrees of pitch exactness depending on the composer and work.

In modern usage, the technique continues to influence vocal music and theatrical practice, where performers blend spoken delivery with musical accompaniment to achieve immediacy, expressiveness, and textual clarity. See also recitative, Sprechgesang, Sprechstimme.