Contrafactum

In vocal music, contrafactum (pl. contrafacta) refers to "the substitution of one text for another without substantial change to the music".

While translations meant for singing do not usually constitute intentional "substitution", examples of contrafacta which do constitute wholesale substitution of a different text include the following types:

• An existing tune already possessing secular or sacred words is given a new poem, as often happens in hymns (typically Protestant ones); sometimes more than one new set of words is created over time. Examples:
  • The folksong "Greensleeves" was adapted into the words of What Child Is This?.
  • The hymn tune "Dix" has been given several sets of words, among them As with Gladness Men of Old and For the Beauty of the Earth.
  • A lyricist might re-cast his/her own song (or someone else's song) with new lyrics, as in the case of Alan Jay Lerner with the number She Wasn't You / He Isn'tYou from the stage and film versions, respectively, of the musical On a Clear Day You Can See Forever.
• Intentional parodies (as opposed to mere translations) of lyrics, especially for satirical purposes, as practiced in the United States by "Weird Al" Yankovic with popular music, humorist Tom Lehrer with his song "The Elements", which uses a tune from The Pirates of Penzance, Forbidden Broadway with musicals, the Capitol Steps, and Mark Russell (the last two involving political parody).

Legal issues

While the above examples involve either music that is in the public domain or lyrics that were modified by the original lyricist, one obvious consideration in producing a contrafactum of someone else's music in modern times is the copyright of the original music or lyrics upon which the contrafactum would be based.

See also

• Translation of sung texts