Six Poetic Songs-Donald Swann is best known as one half of the comic duo Flanders and Swann who dominated the West End and Broadway stages in the late 1950s and 1960s. Though less recognised he was also a leading exponent of the lyric song having reinterpreted the English art-song tradition exemplified by Parry Quilter Warlock and others in his own distinctive and exotic way. This second volume of his songs for Medium Voice and Piano features a range of styles and moods that fit with the diversity of the poems he has set and demonstrate his sensitivity to the setting of texts to music. These Practical Versions of Swann’s ever evolving songs are a wonderful insight into thecomposer’s ability and justify his place in the canon of English song.

The Boosey Voice Coach is an entirely new concept in vocal training. Not a self-teaching manual, and not filled with off-putting diagrams, this series is a wholly practical guide to singing - learning about technique and interpretation through the repertoire itself. Each volume is devoted to singing in one particular language or to singing in a specific context, such as musical theatre or oratorio. In each volume of the series, works from the vocal canon have been selected specifically by Mary King for their technical and musical challenges. Each piece is discussed at length, starting with the words ('Text' - including a literal translation as appropriate), moving to general advice about how the song might be approached ('Notes'), and then addressing the technical difficulties the music presents ('Skills'). Expressed in clear language, Mary King's approach is direct, practical and not limited to one particular teaching method. Any student will find that these books enrich and complement their vocal studies.German can seem like an awkward language to sing in - there are just too many consonants! How do you get your tongue around them? And there are lots of regional differences in accent: is there a 'correct' pronunciation? What exactly is an Umlaut? These issues and more are covered in this book, which contains settings from some of the masters of song-writing in the German language. / Voix Moyenne Et Piano