The Language of Song

The Language of Song series comprises seven repertoire books providing a wealth of songs with background notes, translation guides and pronunciation guides: Elementary high and low voice (Italian, German and French songs) and Intermediate high and low voice (Italian, German, French and Spanish songs) and Advanced high, medium and low (Italian, German, French and Russian). The songs have been carefully chosen to fit in with the syllabus for all examining boards and will also be helpful at undergraduate level. Each song or aria is given a brief background, setting it in the context of its historical tradition or where appropriate, its place in the drama.

There are two translations for each song or aria. The first is a word-for-word translation directly underneath the text in the musical score. In addition the accompanying page includes an idiomatic translation which will clarify the meaning of the text in grammatical English. A key to pronunciation is also provided for each language (using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) symbols) and includes both examples from the song texts together with the closest English equivalents to the sounds explained.
The accompanying CD provides a piano accompaniment for each song played skilfully by John Lenehan (elementary and intermediate) and Iain Farrington (advanced). In addition it also provides the text for each song or aria spoken by expert language consultants Tina Ruta (Italian), Franziska Roth (German), Michel Vallat (French), Ramón Izeta (Spanish) and Ludmilla Andrew (Russion) all of whom are native speakers and work regularly with professional singers.

In 2007 The Language of Song won The Best Educational Publication at the MIA Awards.

REVIEWS

Review of The Language of Song in the AOTOS magazine

The advanced editions…of this excellent series provides a wealth of classic repertoire, selected and presented to develop the skills needed to sing in a foreign language, and will doubtless prove a prime resource for teacher and students…..The reason these books take the Book of the Month slot is that the precision in every aspect of this book – the most valuable publications for the serious singer for some time – simply ooze with care and attention. The purpose is functional – aimed squarely at the highest level of education, but the pages carry a lot of the emotion of the editors, as well as that of the composers. Put simply: quite superb editions.

Article in Faber in House Magazine

The books are such a tremendous achievement, and such a valuable addition to the singing teacher’s armoury…

Review of The Language of Song in Music Teacher

These superb editions should find their way into the library of every young song enthusiast.

Review of The Language of Song in the AOTOS magazine

Singing teachers have been waiting for a publication of this nature for a very long time…These books offer a very valuable learning experience; they are very carefully thought out, and offer the best introduction to singing in other languages that I have come across.