Timothy Cheek’s revised edition of Singing in Czech: A Guide to Czech Lyric Diction and Vocal Repertoire, with its accompanying audio accessible online, builds on the original pioneering work of 2001 that set “a new and very welcome high standard for teaching lyric diction,” according to Notes: The Journal of the Music Library Association. It offers users updated information, important clarifications, and expanded repertoire in a more accessible, easier to use format. Singing in Czech is divided into two parts. Using IPA, the first part takes the reader systematically through each sound of the Czech language, enhanced by recordings of native Czech opera singers. Chapters cover the Czech vowels, consonants, rules of assimilation, approaches to singing double consonants, stress and length, Moravian dialect, and an introduction to singing in Slovak. Fine points of formal pronunciation have been clarified in this revised edition. In the second part, Cheek offers a thorough overview of Czech art song, expanded from the first edition. Texts to major song literature and opera excerpts by Smetana, Dvořák, Janáček, Martinů, and Haas, with timings, editions, word-for-word translations, idiomatic translations, and IPA transcriptions follow. In this revision, Cheek has included additional cycles by Dvořák and Martinů, and two new chapters on Czech female composers Vítězslava Kaprálová and Sylvie Bodorová. This revised edition of Singing in Czech is useful for all those who are interested and engaged in the performance of the rich Czech vocal repertoire.

Singing in Polish: A Guide to Polish Lyric Diction and Vocal Repertoire stands as the first book-length resource for non-Polish–speaking singers, voice teachers, and vocal coaches that offers the essential tools for learning how to sing in Polish. Scholar and singer Benjamin Schultz offers a rich repertory of works virtually unknown outside of Poland, providing a unique catalyst for the introduction of Polish vocal music into the English-speaking world of performance. Never before has Polish vocal music been made so accessible to the musical world. With a foreword by Timothy Cheek, the author of Singing in Czech, as well as an overview of the development of Polish music by renowned violinist, Polish music specialist, and scholar Tyrone Greive, Singing in Polish concisely outlines the science and art of Polish lyric diction through the use of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). The included texts of more than 60 art songs and arias from some of the most distinguished Polish composers of all time each feature IPA transcriptions and English translations. Appendixes include lists of key Polish music publishing companies, cultural centers, and Polish poets. Singing in Polish fills a void for singers, voice teachers, and vocal coaches in the Western tradition. It is a invaluable resource for anyone looking to add global variety to vocal performance in the studio, classroom, concert hall, or on the operatic stage.

This book serves as an aid to anyone seeking to perform and gain a deeper understanding of this multi-layered opera, which so trenchantly asks what it means to be human, to love, and to be loved in return.

Access audio files at: https://soundcloud.com/singing_in_brazilian_portuguese_recorded_examples_marcia_porter While popular forms of Brazilian music include bossa nova and samba, Brazil also has a rich classical music tradition dating back to the 1500s that exhibits a unique and diverse amalgamation of many styles and influences including African, Italian, French, and indigenous. Singing in Brazilian Portuguese: A Guide to Lyric Diction and Vocal Repertoire makes Brazilian modinhas and canções accessible to singers through an overview of the history of the language and music, brief biographies of major composers, and a sampling of selected texts transliterated into the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). Part I introduces the alphabet and pronunciation of sounds through IPA and is enhanced by online audio recordings of native Brazilian classical singers. Marcía D. Porter covers such topics as oral and nasal vowels, diagraphs, onset and final consonants, word stress, and syllabification. It also includes an overview of the newly implemented Acordo Ortográfico. Part II provides IPA transliterations and both word-for-word and poetic translations of representative songs, including Villa-Lobos’s Bachianas brasileiras, no. 5. The book also offers a brief overview of the history of Brazilian vocal music and biographical sketches of select major composers from various periods. Singing in Brazilian Portuguese is the first resource of its kind geared toward singers, voice teachers, vocal coaches, collaborative pianists, and others who are interested in exploring, teaching, and performing this beautiful and exciting repertoire.

Bluegrass has found an unlikely home, and avid following, in the Czech Republic. The music’s emergence in Central Europe places it within an increasingly global network of communities built around bluegrass activities. Lee Bidgood offers a fascinating study of the Czech bluegrass phenomenon that merges intimate immersion in the music with on-the-ground fieldwork informed by his life as a working musician. Drawing on his own close personal and professional interactions, Bidgood charts how Czech bluegrass put down roots and looks at its performance as a uniquely Czech musical practice. He also reflects on “Americanist” musical projects and the ways Czech musicians use them to construct personal and social identities. Bidgood sees these acts of construction as a response to the Czech Republic’s postsocialist environment but also to US cultural prominence within our global mediascape.

Access audio files at:https://soundcloud.com/k-chu-j-petrus/sets/singing-in-mandarin-recorded The success of Chinese artists internationally across many art forms has focused the world's attention on the developing cultural phenomenon in China, an emerging stage for the vocal arts. As one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, Mandarin is poised to become the next addition to lyric languages. Singing in Mandarin: A Guide to Chinese Lyric Diction and Vocal Repertoire is a comprehensive guide to unlocking the mysteries of Chinese contemporary vocal literature. In part one, Chu and Petrus focus on diction and language, providing detailed descriptions and exercises for creating the sounds of the language. They take a uniquely systematic approach, fusing together best practices from international music conservatories for diction study, with those for Chinese language learning. Part two outlines the historical context of Chinese vocal literature, chronicling the development of the language and its repertoire over the last one hundred years. Audio files narrated by native speakers demonstrating the sounds are also included. Singing in Mandarin provides guidance for both novices and those with previous experience singing or speaking Mandarin and is the first book of its kind to help bring the fascinating and previously inaccessible treasure of Chinese vocal music to Western audiences.

In Singing in Greek: A Guide to Greek Lyric Diction and Vocal Repertoire, Lydía Zervanos reveals to singers the vast riches of Greek vocal music. Dating back to 1770, Greek art music—following the Western European styles, often drawing on themes from folk music and motifs—long awaits its rightful place in a truly international vocal repertoire. Modern singers in search of new musical opportunities will find in Singing in Greek the necessary tools to locate and perform art songs and arias from this extensive national vocal repertoire. Concisely written and full of practical advice, the book opens with an introduction to the Greek alphabet and pronunciation, navigating the assignment of International Phonetic Alphabet symbols. Zervanos covers such topics as Greek vowels, digraphs, consonants, binary consonants, consonant combinations, palatalization, basic Greek grammatical concepts and their role in stress and length, syllabification, and punctuation—all separated into easily referenced chapters and supported by online recordings of native Greek opera singers. In the second half of Singing in Greek, Zervanos offers a short history of Greek art music, biographies of prominent Greek composers, texts of their most representative works with IPA transcriptions, and word-for-word and poetic translations, with arias and art songs chosen for all voice types and levels. This book also includes indexes of direct vowel-to-IPA and consonant-to-IPA transcriptions, as well as useful appendixes on publications, organizations, and famous Greek poets. Singing in Greek is a must-have resource for every singer, voice teacher, vocal coach, collaborative pianist, and opera and choral conductor seeking to perform and teach in this unique language, explore the wealth of music available, and expand their knowledge of Greek repertoire.

Texas, the 1930s—the years of the Great Depression. It was the Texas of great men: Dobie, Bedichek, Webb, the young Américo Paredes. And it was the Texas of May McCord and "Cocky" Thompson, the Reverend I. B. Loud, the Cajun Marcelle Comeaux, the black man they called "Grey Ghost," and all the other extraordinary "ordinary" people whom William A. Owens met in his travels. "Up and down and sideways" across Texas, Owens traveled. His goal: to learn for himself what the diverse peoples of the state "believed in, yearned for, laughed at, fought over, as revealed in story and song." Tell me a story, sing me a song brings together both the songs he gathered—many accompanied by music—and Owens' warm reminiscences of his travels in the Texas of the Thirties and early Forties.

With its unique blend of eastern and western traditions of music and poetry, the world of Russian vocal music is rich in spirituality, intimacy, and passion for singers and their audience. Russian song traditions offer an ideal opportunity for self-expression and the forging of a deep connection with one’s listeners. It also presents formidable challenges to singers at every level, ranging from the complexities native to sung and spoken Russian to the intricacies of diction and interpretation that lie behind the nuanced relationship between Russian music and poetry. Founded on the underlying principle that sung language differs dramatically from spoken language, Singing in Russian offers a comprehensive and accessible approach to understanding, mastering, and performing Russian vocal music. After covering the basics of the Cyrillic alphabet and Russian grammar and diction, author Emily Olin encourages readers to take the innovative step of using the music itself to guide the singer’s pronunciation and interpretation. English sound comparisons, linguistic and musical examples, and multifaceted exercises complement textual explanations, reinforcing the techniques Olin has employed for over three decades. The addition of repertoire lists and practical recommendations further equip singers to confidently go from start to stage. Furthermore, the online audio examples contain exercises that demonstrate and reinforce the correct sound and interpretation of everything from the alphabet to the presentation of vowels, consonants, words, and phrases.These can be found at: https://soundcloud.com/user-869634200/sets/singing-in-russian-a-guide-to-language-and-performance Singing in Russian is an invaluable resource for students, performers, teachers, directors, conductors, and coaches seeking to increase their access to Russian opera and art song, master the challenges they present to performance, and expand their personal, professional, and institutional repertoire on stage.

The contribution to the development and culture of America by the immigrants from the territory of former Czechoslovakia, be they Czechs or Slovaks, or Bohemians, as they used to be called, has been enormous. Yet little has been written about the subject. This compendium is part of an effort to correct this glaring deficiency. In this compendium, the focus is on religion, law and jurisprudence, business and entrepreneurship and the notable people in the government, with the narration and assessment about the Czechoslovak American explorers, adventurers and pioneers who paved the way for the colonists and settlers who followed them. An important role among them played the social movement activists. some of whose ideas won the respect and ultimately acceptance by general population, to which subject an entire section has been devoted. Among other, you will find among them abolitionists, freethinkers. suffragists, civil & human rights activists, environmentalists and conservationists, climate change activists, philanthropists, inventors and even futurists or futurologists. Their innovative ideas, inevitably, led to the rise of the plethora of Czech and Slovak American leaders, encompassing, practically, every aspect of human endeavor. As stated in the Foreword, this reference will serve as a powerful research tool for many years to come for scholars and all Czechs and Slovaks on both sides of the Atlantic.