Born into a family that had lived in Florence since the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492 Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895-1968) entertained only a distant relationship with the music he heard at synagogue. It was only when he discovered Schelemo a rhapsody for cello and orchestra written in 1916 by Ernest Bloch that he began to understand what “Jewish music” could be. In the mid-1920s the young composer found a collection of prayers set to music among his maternal grandfather’s papers. Something clicked and from then on Jewish tradition would become a source of inspiration for Castelnuovo-Tedesco. In 1928 two years after publishing theDances of King David he wrote this Vocalise-Étude for medium voice and piano at the request of vocal teacher Amédée-Landély Hettich who wanted to include it in the Répertoire moderne de Vocalises-Études published by Leduc. The piece became so popular that several instrumental adaptations were soon created published under the title Chant hébraïque (for violin and piano: AL17 713; for cello and piano: AL 17196). Divided into three sections this wordless melody opens with a “sad and impassioned” chant that appears to grieve the tragic fate of the Jewish people. A folk dance follows in which a “lively and stubborn” movement has great panache. The third section returns to the initial poignant theme before briefly reiterating the dance motif allowing the piece to conclude on a hopeful note. The composer himself would adopt this proactive stance refusing to yield to resignation when fleeing Mussolini’s anti-Semitic laws he decided to emigrate in 1939 to the United States a land of refuge to which he would remain faithful until his death some thirty years later.

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