Vocal Resources

Bernac’s book opens with a short discussion performance of vocal music, followed by an excellent section on singing in the French language. The rest of the book is made of selected translations of French song, mostly from the Romantic era, with a brief discussion of the musical qualities and interpretive ideas for each selection. It is an excellent resource from a singer who was one of the top in the repertoire. (CB) - The book covers 18 composers, including Berlioz, Gounod, Duparc, Chausson, Faure, Debussy, Ravel, Satie and Poulenc.

A fantastic resource for text and translations of French songs. LeVan lists the songs alphabetically under their respective composers’ section, and provides the word-by-word and line-by-line English translations of the French text. Unfortunately, there is no IPA or description of the music for any of the songs. (CB)

A bastion in the French diction world, Grubb’s book covers all the bases of French diction. Like every book of diction, Grubb explains the basic things each singer needs to know when approaching a French text. Where Grubb sets himself apart from the others is in the extensive chapter on Liaison, aHow to Phoneticize and Prepare the Text of a Song of Aria, The Application of Diction Techniques to Other Aspects of Singing, and A Catalogue of French Vocal Repertoire which contains recommendations broken down by voice-type. There is also a great section on Pronunciation of Proper Nouns Occurring in the Repertoire, which includes composer names. (CB)

Odom’s book is organized in a short 160 pages by the sounds of the language. The general workings of the language are covered, but no other information besides a chapter on Word Structure is included. There are appendices of English Consonants, German Consonants, English Vowels, and German Vowels that compare and contrast them, which is a great feature of the book. There is also an appendix on German Pronunciation of Latin and a listing of additional song texts for study, probably in a classroom setting. (CB) - Includes CD

Stark opens up a beautiful and largely neglected repertoire, providing the full German text for each song, along with a new English translation, notes on vocal ranges, and a wealth of engaging commentary of technical, aesthetic, and historical interest.

One of the predominant texts on Italian diction, Colorni’s book takes the reader through the mechanics of the Italian language, beginning with a wonderful introduction on how to practice and the differences between Italian and other languages. The vowels are then discussed in two parts, and the consonants and semi-consonants in the next two. The book shines in the seventh part, Words in Context, where the effects of musical and grammatical context on the vowels and consonants of the words are discussed. (CB)

As part of a series of coordinated diction manuals and anthologies, this book helps students to move beyond diction to clear understanding and authentic style. Every Italian example word or phrase is translated into English and is also spoken perfectly on the included CD by linguist and native Italian Dr. Anna Siragusa.

A treatment of methods and means of pronouncing Italian correctly in singing according to phonetic principles and with special attention to the necessary difference between spoken sounds and those that are sung.

With a foreword by Placido Domingo, Castel writes on the intricacies of spanish diction. The book covers vowels, consonants, diphthongs and triphthongs, syllabification, and Latin American variants among other things. There is even a chapter on Ladino - The Ancient Language of the Sephardic Jews of Spain. There are appendices of a Partial Listing of Spanish Vocal Repertoire and Sample Spanish Song Texts with IPA Transcription, as well as a bibliography. The book is full of musical examples and illustrations of mouth positions. (CB)

A book in three parts: Liturgical Latin Vowels, Liturgical Latin Consonants, and Liturgical Latin Text. Hines explains the mechanics of the language, with interesting chapters on Rules for Dividing Liturgical Latin Words into Syllables and Rules for Accents on Liturgical Latin Syllables. The section on Liturgical Latin Text takes up most of the book, and lists an IPA and word-by-word translations of many Latin texts. (CB)

The first part of Cheek’s book covers the mechanics of Czech diction, explaining the use of vowels, consonants, assimilation, and stress. The second part covers a few selected songs from various composers. There are appendices on Publishers, Organizations, Czech Poets, and a Checklist of important things to remember. (CB)

Olin’s book is an incredibly unique take on the stereotypical diction book of a language. She starts with a history of the alphabet, then proceeds to explain the basic mechanics of the language. Next there is a section on Russian grammar, then a chapter she titles “Pillars of Creative Performance.” A collection of brief writings by non-musicians on how Russian music makes them feel is included, as well as a section by musicians on Russian Style in Performance. Another section on Russian repertoire, including opera, and a list of arias by voice-type. Olin wraps the book up with Russian literary inspiration, and two appendices on Working with a Dictionary and a Compilation of Sung Exercises. A thorough resource on Russian diction. (CB)