Valentine’s Day and the attendant glorification of coupledom can be a rough time for single people.
Fortunately for those people, composers have written a number of compelling works about solitude, independence, withdrawal, and self-possession.
For listeners spending Valentine’s Day single – by choice or by circumstance – this music offers something unusual: an exploration of how solitude can be satisfying, and how emotional self-sufficiency is a legitimate way of being in the world.
Today, we’re looking at seven pieces of classical music especially well-suited for single people.
Henry Purcell – “O Solitude” from Comes Amoris (1687)
Henry Purcell’s song “O Solitude” was first published in an anthology of songs titled Comes Amoris (Companion of Love) in 1687.
The song sets words by poet Katherine Philips, who wrote a number of poems dedicated to the love of women and platonic love.
In this poem, she praises solitude as refuge rather than deprivation:
O solitude, my sweetest choice,
Places devoted to the night,
Remote from tumult and from noise,
How ye my restless thoughts delight!
Written during the late 17th century, when social life prioritised marriage, the song’s message is striking.
Purcell’s vocal line unfolds slowly, with long phrases and minimal ornamentation, while the accompaniment is gentle and steady, creating a lovely and comforting whole.
Johannes Brahms – FAE Sonata (1853)
The F–A–E Sonata was written collaboratively by Johannes Brahms, Robert Schumann, and Albert Dietrich as a gift for their friend, virtuoso violinist Joseph Joachim.
Schumann wrote two movements, while Dietrich wrote another, and Brahms another.
The friends then challenged Joachim to guess who had written each movement. (He guessed all four correctly.)
Its “F–A–E” nickname comes from the 22-year-old Joachim’s personal motto: frei aber einsam, i.e., “free but lonely.” All of the movements included various permutations of the notes F, A, and E.
For Joachim, the motto described a life devoted to art and independence rather than domestic fulfillment.
Brahms’s contribution to the sonata reflects this ideal: it is serious and painstakingly crafted, with no trace of sentiment.
Joachim ended up marrying in 1863, but the F-A-E Sonata survives as a tribute to his early devotion to remaining single.
Franz Liszt – “Bénédiction de Dieu dans la Solitude” from Harmonies poétiques et religieuses (1847)
Liszt’s “Bénédiction de Dieu dans la Solitude” (“God’s Blessing in Solitude”) from his collection of piano works Harmonies poétiques et religieuses represents a turning point in the composer’s life.
Written after years of an extroverted life as a groundbreaking traveling virtuoso and energetic lover, the piece can be interpreted as Liszt’s interest in withdrawing from the wider world to focus on composition.
The piece unfolds at a deliberate pace, avoiding the outwardly bravura gestures that first made Liszt famous. Its expansive length and luminous harmonies suggest how he was inspired by his new pace and focus on his interior creative life.
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky – 6 Romances, Op.6, No. 6: “None but the Lonely Heart” (1869)
Set to a poem by Goethe, “None but the Lonely Heart” is often heard as a lament for lost love – but it can also be read as an expression of the loneliness sometimes felt by single people.
The lyrics include:
None but the lonely heart
Can know my sadness
Alone and parted far
From joy and gladness
Heaven’s boundless arch I see
Spread out above me
Ah, what a distance, dear
To one who loves me…
Tchaikovsky composed the song during a period of profound personal conflict, as he struggled with the impossibility of living openly as a gay man in 19th-century Russia.
The song suggests that naming and expressing the feeling of loneliness can be a form of strength: a valuable lesson for any melancholy single person on Valentine’s Day.
Georges Bizet – Habanera from Carmen (1875)
Carmen’s “Habanera” is one of the most famous declarations of romantic independence in classical music history.
Love is a bohemian child
He never, ever knew any law
If you don’t love me, I love you
And if I love you, take care of yourself
Take care…
Especially in an operatic tradition dominated by women whose stories invariably end in marriage or death, Carmen’s refusal to be possessed is radical. She does not seek security through partnership, nor does she apologise for her autonomy.
In the context of Valentine’s Day, the Habanera reframes Carmen’s agency and singleness as her superpower, rather than something to be ashamed of.
Johannes Brahms – Symphony No. 3 (1883)
Brahms’s Third Symphony is often associated with the motto frei aber froh – “free but happy” – a subtle evolution of Joachim’s earlier motto frei aber einsam.
Throughout the work, he uses F – A-flat – F, a reference to the frei aber froh idea.
Brahms wrote the symphony when he was fifty, a time in his life after he’d largely come to terms with the fact that he’d never marry.
The work’s restrained lyricism, autumnal tone, and unusual ending – quiet rather than triumphant – suggest contentment found in personal freedom and singleness.
For single listeners on Valentine’s Day, the Third Symphony offers a mature vision of independence: not defiant, not bitter, but settled, accepting, and painfully beautiful.
Frank Bridge – 3 Poems, No. 1: “Solitude” (1913–1914)
Frank Bridge’s “Solitude,” the first movement from his 3 Poems, is a lovely and impressionistic solo piano piece.
The music is introspective and spare and avoids romantic warmth. Repeated rhythms and a mid-piece crescendo give the piece a sense of motion and dynamism.
Here, Bridge’s vision of solitude – and the accompanying circular rumination – suggests a solitary person’s capacity for a rich and dramatic inner life.
Conclusion
Long before the development of modern dating culture or the popularisation of Valentine’s Day as a commercial holiday, composers were writing music about themes related to singleness and solitude.
Classical music has always embraced a wide variety of themes, including people who live outside traditional romantic pairings. These seven works remind us that being single or enjoying your solitude isn’t a failure; it’s actually a state that has inspired music across centuries.
On Valentine’s Day, this classical music doesn’t ask you to imagine a missing partner. It meets you where you are: complete and enough as an independent person.
For more of the best in classical music, sign up for our E-Newsletter
