Contemporary English Vocal Music Selection. Piano Accompaniment (Volume 1): Art Songs

Author: Fan Yongtao et al.
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-10-01
Features: Art Songs (Volume 1) Art songs are an important component of professional vocal music education, but modern English art songs remain largely unexplored in China's vocal music education. To select representative and high-artistic-value works, we not only studied professional books, musical scores, and recordings but also sought invaluable guidance from Dr. Sandra McLean, a renowned American vocal music educator, art song expert, and professor at the University of Virginia, regarding the curation of 20th-century English art songs. To ensure the artistic value of the selected songs, we first prioritized works by famous composers of the 20th century, such as Benjamin Britten, Vaughan Williams, Leonard Bernstein, and Samuel Barber. We also included outstanding composers who are native English speakers and are well-known for their art song compositions. In terms of lyrics, the poets and writers behind these art songs include many celebrated figures, such as the British literary giant Shakespeare, the literary master of India Rabindranath Tagore, the British poet Robert Browning, the British writer and poet Robert Stevenson, Ruth Pitter, a recipient of the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry, and John Masefield, the British Poet Laureate. These works by world-renowned literary figures further guarantee the artistic value of the selected songs.