Re: very rare, at least

What do you think of Schiller's "An die Freude" set to music by Beethoven in his 9th Symphony?

I don't happen to remember that poem straight away. I should check it out.

But when I said "Sometimes the poem is written by a great poet and the music is composed by a great composer, but they are somehow incompatible and the outcome does not sound good" I had the German language are in mind. There are good songs - both the composition and the lyrics are good - but this is not always the case.

Often the good poems are meant to be seen - some poets are visual types. These poems don't necessarily sound very good if sung.

The end rhyme is another problem. I accept that the classical poets use the rhyme, but if a new poet uses it, you cannot help thinking that he/she is behind his times. Now, should song lyrics be rhymed or not rhymed? Both cases are problematic: rhymed lyrics sound old-fashioned and don't make a great poem, non-rhymed lyrics may not sound as good as the rhymed ones.

(Sorry that writing in English is hard for me, especially now that I am a little tired.)

I would prefer song lyrics that have an occasional rhyme pair only here and there, a lot of allitteration, and half-rhymes, if you have such a word in English. But then the song-writer should be very skillful.

As I said there are poems that must be read and seen, not sung - think of some poems of Lorca, for example, or Neruda. There are also fine melodies that do not like the lyrics. A very simple, but almost perfect melody "Jeux Interdits" is a good example of these melodies. I have heard it sung, but then it does not sound good - it should be played with the classical guitar, without words.

In the perfect case the composer and the poet should be one and the same person, but it is really rare that someone is a genius in two fields.

Sorry, as I said, I am a little tired, I was watching TV and staring at the wall.