Österreichisches VolksLiedWerk
Volksmusikland Österreich
Eighty percent of all Austrian folk songs are love songs. Records of love songs can be traced back to the 16th century. There has always been a strong exchange with artistic music. The motifs are those of singing of the pains of love on separation and departure, or vice-versa of the joy of love, or the virtues of the loved one. Erotic songs very often contain hidden innuendos to the act of love. Songs that describe the suitor's experiences when climbing up to their sweetheart's window, or visits to mountain slopes, or which in former times were sung by young men at the windows of their sweetheart's chambers, are a special form of folk music. They are often written as dialogs. Some pieces are composed to express love, or thanks to the composer's wife, children and friends.