Laura Mason examines the shifting fortunes of singing as a political gesture to highlight the importance of popular culture to revolutionary politics. Arguing that scholars have overstated the uniformity of revolutionary political culture, Mason uses songwriting and singing practices to reveal its diverse nature. Song performances in the streets, theaters, and clubs of Paris showed how popular culture was invested with new political meaning after 1789, becoming one of the most important means for engaging in revolutionary debate.Throughout the 1790s, French citizens came to recognize the importance of anthems for promoting their interpretations of revolutionary events, and for championing their aspirations for the Revolution. By opening new arenas of cultural activity and demolishing Old Regime aesthetic hierarchies, revolutionaries permitted a larger and infinitely more diverse population to participate in cultural production and exchange, Mason contends. The resulting activism helps explain the urgency with which successive governments sought to impose an official political culture on a heterogeneous and mobilized population. After 1793, song culture was gradually depoliticized as popular classes retreated from public arenas, middle brow culture turned to the strictly entertaining, and official culture became increasingly rigid. At the same time, however, singing practices were invented which formed the foundation for new, activist singing practices in the next century. The legacy of the Revolution, according to Mason, was to bestow new respectability on popular singing, reshaping it from an essentially conservative means of complaint to an instrument of social and political resistance.

Foreign language study

Aimed at English speaking singers, SINGING IN FRENCH is a complete introduction to the French language and stylistic guide to French classical art song, known as Mélodie. The volume is an anthology of songs, carefully annotated making extensive use of the International Phonetic Alphabet to guide pronunciation. All the songs are chosen to be appealing and accessible to young or inexperienced singers They cover a variety of composers and periods and each still deserves its place on the modern professional concert platform. The songs included are: Jeunes fillettes - arr. Weckerlin, Tyndaris - Hahn, Guitare - Lalo, Ici-bas! - Faure, Viens! les gazons sont verts! - Gounod, Chanson de Fortunio - Offenbach, En prière - Faure, A Lucette - Pierné, Lydia - Faure, Chanson d'amour - Fauré, Le secret - Faure, Bonjour, Suzon! - Delibes, Ma poupée chérie - de Séverac, Le charme - Chausson, Psyché - Paladilhe, Oiseaux, si tous les ans - Mozart, Ouvre tes yeux bleus - Massenet, Chanson d'avril - Bizet.

Aimed at English speaking singers, SINGING IN FRENCH is a complete introduction to the French language and stylistic guide to French classical art song, known as Mélodie. The volume is an anthology of songs, carefully annotated making extensive use of the International Phonetic Alphabet to guide pronunciation. All the songs are chosen to be appealing and accessible to young or inexperienced singers They cover a variety of composers and periods and each still deserves its place on the modern professional concert platform. The songs included are: Jeunes fillettes - arr. Weckerlin, Tyndaris - Hahn, Guitare - Lalo, Ici-bas! - Faure, Viens! les gazons sont verts! - Gounod, Chanson de Fortunio - Offenbach, En prière - Faure, A Lucette - Pierné, Lydia - Faure, Chanson d'amour - Fauré, Le secret - Faure, Bonjour, Suzon! - Delibes, Ma poupée chérie - de Séverac, Le charme - Chausson, Psyché - Paladilhe, Oiseaux, si tous les ans - Mozart, Ouvre tes yeux bleus - Massenet, Chanson d'avril - Bizet.

A comprehensive update of a 1977 study of historical and current techniques practiced in four major Western European schools of vocalism, investigating which techniques within the national schools are common to them all and which idiosyncratic regional tendencies remain. Contains chapters on breath management techniques, techniques of vowel formation, vibrato and national tendencies, vocal registration and national attitudes, the different types of voices, and international tonal ideals. Also discusses the North American singer and the national schools. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Aimed at English speaking singers, the beautifully presented SINGING IN FRENCH anthologies are a complete introduction to the French language and stylistic guide to French classical art song, known as Mélodie. Each anthology of songs is carefully annotated making extensive use of the International Phonetic Alphabet to guide pronunciation. The songs in this second volume are chosen as the basis of a developing repertoire. They cover a variety of composers and periods and each is still popular on the modern professional concert platform. The songs included are: Mozart - Dans un bois solitaire et sombre, Berlioz - Villanelle, Gounod - Le soir, Sérénade, Franck - Nocturne, Saint-Saëns - Chanson triste, Fauré - Après un rêve, Au bord de l'eau, Les berceaux, Clair de lune, Nell, Sylvie, Prison, Les roses d'Ispahan, Duparc - Extase, Chausson - Le colibri, Sérénade italienne, Debussy - Beau soir, Mandoline, Romance, Satie - Je te veux, Ravel - Sainte

Diction in Context is a unique and highly practical textbook for singers learning to sing in English, Italian, German, and French. Each chapter is designed for use in diction courses in academic music and voice programs, helping students learn through pronunciation, articulation, enunciation, punctuation, and cultural context in each language. Students and teachers of singing will benefit from the text’s pertinent biographical, historical and literary sources along with diction rules and textual examples of English, Italian, German and French song. For each language, there is a section on sentence structure and syntax intended to assist readers with poetic analysis and word-by-word translations. Representative song texts are provided for the purpose of comparative listening and phonetic transcription. Comparative listening reveals subtle differences in expression and diction. In addition, the texts are presented in a workbook format, allowing space for IPA dictation practice. Diction in Context provides singers with the tools needed to delve deeply into the poetry and music they sing, to pronounce text accurately and to feel confident in expressing it. By combining English, Italian, German, and French into one easy-to-use textbook, students will benefit from a comparative perspective of singing in each language. Key Features: *Repertoire lists are provided for each language and are designed to be used for class presentations and assessments *Discussion questions to challenge reader comprehension of key concepts and songs *Word-by-word translations to accompany foreign language texts *An end-of-book glossary featuring definitions of terms in the text as well as terminology encountered in related literature *Three practical appendices, including: o Practice drills, quizzes, and assessment forms o A list of additional resources for diction learning o An Index of Works Cited featuring all poems and songs referenced in the book in one easily accessible list Disclaimer: Please note that ancillary content (such as documents, audio, and video, etc.) may not be included as published in the original print version of this book.

Provides general instructions for the performance and interpretation of French melodies and analyzes vocal works by eighteen composers including Berlioz, Duparc, Debussy, and Ravel

Aimed at English speaking singers, the beautifully presented SINGING IN FRENCH anthologies are a complete introduction to the French language and stylistic guide to French classical art song, known as Mélodie. Each anthology of songs is carefully annotated making extensive use of the International Phonetic Alphabet to guide pronunciation. The songs in this second volume are chosen as the basis of a developing repertoire. They cover a variety of composers and periods and each is still popular on the modern professional concert platform. The songs included are: Mozart - Dans un bois solitaire et sombre, Berlioz - Villanelle, Gounod - Le soir, Sérénade, Franck - Nocturne, Saint-Saëns - Chanson triste, Fauré - Après un rêve, Au bord de l'eau, Les berceaux, Clair de lune, Nell, Sylvie, Prison, Les roses d'Ispahan, Duparc - Extase, Chausson - Le colibri, Sérénade italienne, Debussy - Beau soir, Mandoline, Romance, Satie - Je te veux, Ravel - Sainte