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On this new page we offer new ideas for teaching art song, and companies that provide often rare books about classical song and art song sheet music. Please submit your ideas and resources to us at: info@lottelehmann.org
New Ideas for Teaching Art Song
New Triad for Collaborative Arts (project initiated by Arlene Shrut)
Articles on this project have appeared in the Classical Singer magazine (July 2004) and Opera News OnLine (June 2004)
Project Description: Mission: dedicated to enhancing performing art forms by promoting a completelly collaborative approach through education and performance. NEW TRIAD programs will reconnect performing artists, audiences and writers/composers to revitalize the way performing arts are presented and experienced.
Three pronged initiative program : 1.Institute for Collaborative Studies (pilot core curriculum in progress currently. Core curriculum adopted in collaborationm with 92nd Street y School of Music for 2 seminars in 2004. Flagship seminars in art song featuring pianist/singer partnerships.
2. Audience development initiative in form of salon recitals of three types featuring Institute grads types and "Audience Engagement Seminars" and
3. Arts initiative to support composers in supervising all aspects of recording their songs from choosing and coaching performers from the Institute to being involved with actual recording process.
Joy in Singing's "Song as a Second Language" (information provided by Eunice Poulos)
The photos below from the classes described in the article. First tenor, Allie Laurie demonstrating Rossini's "La Danza." He taught the children to rspond with "Mamma mia, Mamma mia, frinche,
frinche, frinche, frinche.." and is holding his cheeks to represent the emotion involved. Second through fourth photos show Bonnie Hoke, soprano in the Mastermann School demonstrating "Die Forelle." She bought a bolt of blue fabric and stretched it across the class room to represent the stream. She made some kind of 'rute' and gave rubber fish to the children playing the various parts. It looks like they really got into it. On the strength of her work at Mastermann, she was invited to do a mini-residency in art song at the Greenfield Elementary School and to perform ten classes. It's got to be the first art song residency in an elementary school.
 
 
MISSION STATEMENT
The most fundamental goal of this project is to encourage children to become aurally literate. While this wide phrase includes all manner of classical music, the specific goal of SONG AS A SECOND LANGUAGE is to introduce the international art song to the school aged child from seven to twelve. From the outset, every effort will be made to nationalize this project as we are hoping for satellites to develop in every part of the country. The value we place on this effort is based on our belief that art is an inestimable tool for self discovery and growth and that art song, in particular, is a passion that brings joy, beauty and insight to the human soul. We at JOY In SINGING want to create the art song lovers we have all become.
METHOD
We seek to locate professional singers who can create programs that will be strong enough to engage the deep attention of children as they hear songs sung mostly in a foreign language. If possible, we will augment the singer's presentations with the use of dancers, actors, puppeteers and mimes. We can use dramatic vignettes or lectures communicated by film, video or live performance. To inform, entertain and, we hope, to bond with young children, will take creativity, craft, skill, research, and deep dedication.
WHERE ARE WE NOW?
Begun in 2002, the project began with a fund raiser entitled, THE JOY OF TANGO, which raised sufficient funds to begin. Our first class was at P.S.21 in the Bronx, for thirtyfive 10 year olds. The school was destitute of music programming with one music teacher for 1500 students. Three Italian songs were sung and 'demonstrated' by Allie Laurie, tenor, who had taught children to write their own operas at the Cleveland Institute of Music. The history of art song was discussed briefly, but the main thrust of the demonstration (this was not a recital), was to have the children speaking Italian as soon as possible, and then singing easily learned catch-phrases from the songs performed by Mr. Laurie. Near the end, a song involving Italian folk dance was introduced and seven children volunteered to learn and do the simple dance while the class sang. At first, the children seemed a little embarrassed, but soon were whole-heartedly involved. At the end, we served an Italian dessert called "nedo di ucelli" or bird's nest, further emerging them in Italian culture. At the end of the class, 14 children asked if they could be taught to sing an art song. Several asked for songs in Japanese and Chinese!!
FIRST SATELLITE
On February 25, 2004, Ms. Bonnie Hoke prepared a French Art song demonstration for 100 students at the Julia Mastermann School in Philadelphia. It was called the MANDOLIN SHOW DOWN and included the music of Debussy, Fauré and Hahn. As an ending piece, Ms. Hoke performed Francis Poulenc's NOUS VOULONS UNE PETITE SOEUR (We Want Another Little Sister) to the great enjoyment of the children who were encouraged to respond to the answer portion of the song. It was a glorious success and two more commitments have come to us from Philadelphia.
On February 27th, we presented our Italian Song Class to thirtyfive 12 year olds of the Museum Middle School in Yonkers, New York. The demonstration was presented to an Italian class as there are no music classes in this school. It too was well received but it is clear we will have to go back with French, German, and Spanish as they were just beginning to get a full grasp of the medium when the bell rang.
TWO SATELLITES
We have two singers operating on behalf of the project in other cities. The first is Alaina Warren Zachery in Hudson, New York and the environs of the Berkshires and the second is Simon Chaussé in Chatham, NY. Fortunately, we received a $l0,000 gift which has helped enormously in expanding our project. Our first Newsletter will be ready shortly.
FUTURE GOALS
We will set up a program to teach young children how to sing art songs. When they are ready, we will arrange a program at Lincoln Center for a performance. We will organize groups of young children to attend professional song recitals.
CAN YOU HELP US?
If you know of any needy school where the arts and particularly music have been diminished or even eliminated, please contact us. We would be most grateful for your assistance. If you wish to make a tax deductible donation, please make your check out to JOY IN SINGING and send it to E. Poulos, 55 Caryl Avenue, Yonkers, N.Y. 10705.
Where to Buy Art Song Books, Sheet Music or CDs
The Lehmann Foundation makes no claims for the following commercial companies. They are listed only for your convenience.
"A Singer's Guide to the American Art Song" is still available. The list price is $55.
Customer Service: custserv@rowman.com
Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group
15200 NBN Way, PO Box 191, Blue Ridge Summit, PA 17214
PHN: (800) 462-6420 or FAX: (800) 338-4550
For classical vocal reprints, especially of solo song, Glendower Jones' Classical Vocal Repertoire has a huge selection.
Or go straight to the composer Daron Hagen's website to find a list of his solo vocal compositions and their publishers. Mr. Hagen is a member of the Lehmann Foundation Board of Directors.
Lori Laitman is another art song composer with a website where CDs may be purchased.
Boosey & Hawkes carries the songs of Ned Rorem. Over 64 titles are listed, many of these are sets of songs. Ned Rorem is a Lehmann Foundation Advisor.
Do you know about the series of art song translations by, among others, Beaumont Glass? They're available from Leyerle Publications. The complete Lieder of Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, and Wolf are available. Other authors present the translations of the complete songs of Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky, and Rachmaninov. Annette Johansson provides the actual sheet music, as well as translations and pronunciation guides to thirty songs of Wilhelm Stenhammar.
Informational books on other song composers that are offered by Leyerle include Ravel, Grieg, and Dvorak. There's a book of translations of Italian songs as well.
Another publisher with a good list of art song sheet music is Hal Leonard. Off beat, living composers and some collections that you might enjoy. The catalogue is filled with such names as Carlos Chavez, Ricky Ian Gordon, Alec Wilder, John Harbison, as well as Ravel and Tosti, and collections of songs.
Pendragon Press offers musicological and in-depth books on a wide variety of classical music, including art song.
You'll find a title such as "Concert Song As Seen-Kinesthetic Aspects of Musical Interpretation"
The substantive value of a performer's presence in co-creating a musical art work is examined in Schneider's insightful new book. Recital singing is placed within the history of solo performance since the baroque period (especially with reference to rhetorical style and eighteenth-century acting technique). A first-hand look at modern conservatory training highlights the pedagogical styles (and their effects on learning) of Antonia Lavane (Mannes College of Music), Cynthia Hoffman (Manhattan School of Music), and Paul Sperry (Juilliard School). The solutions that singers have found, or in the case of performers deconstructing the song tradition, have "created" to address the problem of a musically determined gesture, will surely benefit the professional singer, the teacher, and the student of voice.
Or: "The Art Song in Latin America, Selected Works by 20th Century Composers" by Kathleen Wilson
Wilson's "The Art Song in Latin America, Selected Works by 20th Century Composers" includes art songs by 20th century Latin Americans, including important composers such as Carlos Guastavino (Argentina), Carlos Chávez (Mexico) and Juan Orrego-Salas (Chile). The first anthology of its kind published in the United States, it includes translations, textual transcriptions of the Spanish using International Phonetic Alphabet, and historical and biographical entries for each song.
Or: There is an anthology of Spanish songs available from Scarecrow Press: Canciones de España—Songs of Nineteenth-Century Spain, a collection of 23 songs by a variety of Spanish composers. The anthology provides word-for-word translations, IPA transcriptions, idiomatic translations, and a brief biography of each composer. This anthology is the ONLY one available of nineteenth-century Spanish songs. Composers include Álvarez, Iradier, Oudrid, Vives, Cantó, Padilla, Chapí, Hernandez, and others, the masters of Spanish song equivalent to the masters of lieder and mélodie. You may order Canciones de España—Songs of Nineteenth-Century Spain from: Scarecrow Press (www.scarecrowpress.com) at a 15% discount. Barnes and Noble (www.bn.com) and Amazon (www.amazon.com) also have the anthology available.
Or: "On the Interpretation of the Mélodies of Claude Debussy" by Jane Bathori, translated and edited by Linda Laurent
From the letter preface by Darius Milhaud: The grand and noble traditions of interpretation disappear, are quickly damaged. That is why it is so important to be able to rely upon your testimony and your experience, you who had the immense joy to premier, accompanied by their author, and to interpret so often the vocal works of our great Claude Debussy, our dear Claude de France.
Jane Bathori was a catalyst for, as well as interpreter of, the works of many French composers. In 1904, she met Claude Debussy, played some of his piano pieces for him and sang several of his songs. Their discussions were the basis for her 1953 book, "On the Interpretation of the Mélodies of Claude Debussy" which she resolved to write "after having heard Debussy's intentions betrayed so many times, and also to encourage singers . . . to study some of the songs which are not known and are never sung, the excuse being that they are so difficult to interpret."
Or: "Interpreting the Songs of Jacques Leguerney, A Guide for Study and Performance" by Mary Dibbern (a Lehmann Foundation Advisor), Carol Kimball, and Patrick Choukroun
This book is one of the few documents of its kind to have been prepared with the direct collaboration of the composer, and as such, is an important contribution to the field of contemporary French music. The book contains the composer's biography, a discussion of Leguerney's musical style, the complete texts of the songs with English translations and International Phonetic Alphabet transcriptions of the French texts. Each song's content and style is discussed, and Leguerney's own recommendations for the singer and pianist are included. This book is the definitive guide to his exquisite music.
Or: "Hugues Cuénod - With an Agile Voice, Conversations with François Hudry"
In this set of "Conversations," the French writer François Hudry leads the tenor Hugues Cuénod (a Lehmann Foundation Advisor) on a voyage through the singer's life. By his intelligent and well informed questions, Hudry gently guides Cuenod on a series of visits to the great and the near-great with whom the singer has worked during his long and productive life. He tells us of his relationships with such legends as Mary Garden, Nadia Boulanger, Igor Stravinsky, and Ernest Ansermet. Cuénod's manner is relaxed and witty, his anecdotes sometimes mischievous. On every page of this book, the insoucience and charm of this marvelous artist shines.
With an informative introduction by the international accompanist, Graham Johnson, (also a Lehmann Foundation Advisor) and a masterful translation by the American harpsichordist, Albert Fuller, Hugues Cuénod - With an Agile Voice initiates Pendragon's new series LIVES IN MUSIC in the most entertaining manner. Illustrations, bibliography, and a complete new discography round out this volume.
Or:
From: Niels Eje
Email: artists@sheetmusicnow.com
Subject: Comments on Song! the online repository for information on classical song.
Message:
Or: There's an edition of classical lieder, edited by Christen Stubbe Teglbjaerg. The collection consists of more than 450 lieder by Schubert, Mozart, Brahms and Schumann. It represents a revision of the original urtext of these famous songs, made by the acclaimed Scandinavian accompanist Christen Stubbe Teglbjaerg.
The entire Christian Stubbe Teglbjaerg collection can be viewed at www.sheetmusicnow.com/teglbjaerg.
The SheetMusicNow.com web site was created in 2000 by a group of professional musicians from Scandinavia. Its goal is to make highly original scores and editions by outstanding artists available for instant download, and to establish a new digital distribution platform for renowned music publishers from around the world.
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