"Described as the ""life and soul of British contemporary music"", Jane Manning is an internationally celebrated English concert and opera soprano. In this new follow-up to her highly regarded New Vocal Repertory, Volumes I and II, she provides a seasoned expert's guidance and insight into the vocal genre she calls home.
Vocal Repertoire for the Twenty-First Century spans the late middle-20th century through the second decade of the 21st. Manning's comprehensive selection of contemporary art songs ranges from the avant-garde to the more easily accessible, including substantial song cycles, shorter encore pieces, and songs suitable for auditions and competitions. The two-volume guide presents expertly-informed selections tailored to particular voice types. Each of the 160 selections is accompanied by a highly detailed performance guide, music examples, levels of difficulty, and a brief encapsulation of vocal characteristics or challenges contained in the piece. A supplemental companion website provides composer biographies and an up-to-date list of recommended recordings. With a focus on younger composers in addition to prominent figures, Manning encourages singers to refresh and expand their recital repertoire into less familiar territory, and discover the rewards therein.
Volume 1 features works written before 2000, including pieces from such renowned composers as John Cage (""The Wonderful Widow of Eighteen Springs"", ""A Flower""), André Previn (""Five Songs""), and Igor Stravinsky (""The Owl and the Pussycat"")."
Introduction Guide to Gradings About the Companion Website Featured Works ADÈS, Thomas LIFE STORY soprano/any voice ALLBRIGHT, Terence TWO SONGS baritone ALWYN, William MIRAGES baritone ANTHEIL, George FIVE SONGS soprano/tenor ASIA, Daniel PINES SONGS soprano/mezzo ASTON, Peter FIVE SONGS OF CRAZY JANE solo soprano BABBITT, Milton THE WIDOW'S LAMENT IN SPRINGTIME mezzo BAULD, Alison BANQUO'S BURIED soprano/mezzo BECKWITH, John FIVE LYRICS OF THE T'ANG DYNASTY soprano/tenor BEDFORD, David COME IN HERE, CHILD soprano/amplified piano BENNETT, Richard Rodney A GARLAND FOR MARJORY FLEMING soprano BINGHAM, Judith THE CATHEDRAL OF TREES solo soprano/tenor BLAKE, David BEATA L'ALMA soprano/tenor CAGE, John THE WONDERFUL WIDOW OF EIGHTEEN SPRINGS and A FLOWER. any voice ( closed piano) CARTER, Elliott OF CHALLENGE AND OF LOVE soprano/mezzo CASKEN, John IA ORANA, GAUGUIN soprano CHILD, Peter EMILY DICKINSON SONGS soprano CRAWFORD SEEGER, Ruth FIVE SONGS (1929) contralto CRESSWELL, Lyell EIGHT SHAKER SONGS soprano/tenor CROCKETT, Donald THE PENSIVE TRAVELLER soprano/tenor CRUMB, George APPARITION soprano/mezzo DEL TREDICI, David FOUR SONGS ( 1958-1960) soprano/tenor DICKINSON, Peter EXTRAVAGANZAS medium voice EDWARDS, Ross THE HERMIT OF GREEN LIGHT counter-tenor EMMERSON, Simon TIME PAST IV soprano /electronics FIELD, Corey THREE LULLABIES soprano/tenor FINE, Irving MUTABILITY mezzo FIRSOVA, Elena TWO SONNETS OF SHAKESPEARE soprano GORB, Adam WEDDING BREAKFAST solo mezzo/soprano + tambourine GRANT, Julian DESPONDENT NONSENSES soprano/tenor HAGEN, Daron MULDOON SONGS medium voice HALADYNA, Jeremy TWO SONNETS OF SIR PHILIP SIDNEY soprano/tenor HARBISON, John MIRABAI SONGS soprano/mezzo HARRISON, Lou MAY RAIN any voice /prepared piano HENZE, Hans Werner THREE AUDEN SONGS tenor HOLMAN, Derek THE CENTRED PASSION baritone HOROVITZ, Joseph LADY MACBETH soprano/mezzo HUMBLE, Keith EIGHT CABARET SONGS medium voice HUSA, Karel TWELVE MORAVIAN SONGS medium voice KIM, Earl LETTERS FOUND NEAR A SUICIDE high/medium voice KING, Matthew DIVES AND LAZARUS soprano/tenor KNUSSEN, Oliver FOUR LATE POEMS AND AN EPIGRAM OF RAINER MARIA RILKE solo soprano KRENEK, Ernst THE FLEA soprano/tenor LARSEN, Libby SONGS FROM LETTERS soprano LEES, Benjamin SONGS OF THE NIGHT soprano/tenor LEFANU, Nicola BUT STARS REMAINING solo soprano LUTYENS, Elisabeth IN THE TEMPLE OF A BIRD'S WING baritone MACONCHY, Elizabeth SUN, MOON AND STARS. soprano McDOWALL, Cecilia FOUR SHAKESPEARE SONGS soprano MacMILLAN, James THREE SCOTTISH SONGS medium voice McCABE, John REQUIEM SEQUENCE soprano McLEOD, John PEACOCKS WITH A HUNDRED EYES counter-tenor (or mezzo/baritone) MARSH, Roger A LITTLE SNOW solo voice (any) MARTINO, Donald THREE SONGS bass MATHIAS, William A VISION OF TIME AND ETERNITY contralto MATTHEWS, David FROM COASTAL STATIONS medium voice MAW, Nicholas THE VOICE OF LOVE mezzo MAXWELL DAVIES, Peter THE MEDIUM solo mezzo/soprano MILNER, Anthony OUR LADY'S HOURS soprano/tenor MUSGRAVE, Thea A SUITE O'BAIRNSANGS medium/high voice PAYNE, Anthony EVENING LAND soprano/mezzo PÉCOU, Thierry MAMMAL DREAMS mezzo PERERA, Ronald FIVE SUMMER SONGS medium voice PHILIPS, Julian AN AMHERST BESTIARY soprano/tenor PICKER, Tobias THE RAIN IN THE TREES soprano/tenor POWELL, Mel HAIKU SETTINGS soprano/tenor PREVIN, André FIVE SONGS mezzo PRIMOSCH, James THREE SACRED SONGS medium voice RAINIER, Priaulx CYCLE FOR DECLAMATION tenor/soprano RITCHIE, John FOUR ZHIVAGO SONGS mezzo ROCHBERG, George FANTASIES medium voice ROMANO, Kate WHO KILLED COCK ROBIN? soprano SALTER, Timothy LIFE soprano /tenor SAMUEL, Rhian THE HARE IN THE MOON soprano SCHUMAN, William TIME TO THE OLD medium/high voice SCHWANTNER, Joseph TWO POEMS OF AGUEDA PIZARRO soprano (+ crotales) SESSIONS, Roger ON THE BEACH AT FONTANA soprano/tenor SILVER, Sheila TRANSCENDING baritone SINGER, Malcolm I AM A LITTLE CHURCH soprano/mezzo SKEMPTON, Howard THE MALDIVE SHARK baritone SOHAL, Naresh POEMS OF TAGORE I soprano SOMERS, Harry EVOCATIONS mezzo STRAVINSKY, Igor THE OWL AND THE PUSSYCAT medium voice WHEELER, Scott SERENATA baritone WHITEHEAD, Gillian AWA HEREA soprano WIEGOLD,Peter LES ROSES soprano WILLIAMSON, Malcolm CELEBRATION OF DIVINE LOVE soprano/tenor WILSON, James FIRST FROST bass Glossary Programming Suggestions Recommended Reading Useful Anthologies Useful Addresses Permissions
Jane Manning, OBE is a freelance singer, teacher, and academic, currently a Professor in the Vocal Studies Department of Guildhall School of Music, and Visiting Professor at the Royal College of Music. In the U.S., she has been Visiting Professor at Mills College, and has given guest seminars at Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, MIT, New England Conservatory, Princeton, Stanford, USC and Yale. A soprano with over 50 years' experience as a celebrated contemporary music performer, she holds Honorary Doctorates from Universities of York, Keele, Durham, and Kingston, and is a Fellow of the Royal Academy and the Royal College of Music. Over the course of her career, she has given over 3 hundred world premieres and has worked with the composers Harrison Birtwistle, Pierre Boulez, John Cage, Elliott Carter, Oliver Knussen, Peter Maxwell Davies and Judith Weir. She is author of Voicing Pierrot (2012),New Vocal Repertory: An Introduction (OUP,1994), and New Vocal Repertory, Vol. 2 (OUP,1999).
Reviews for Vocal Repertoire for the Twenty-First Century, Volume 1: Works Written Before 2000
Here is a detailed resource for all singers venturing into new song repertoire. Thank you, Jane Manning! * Lucy Shelton, soprano * Dr. Manning provides a singer's account of 160 English-language songs: insightful remarks on tessitura, vocal color, appropriate voice-type, text, interpretation, level of complexity and technical difficulty. It's the fruit of unparalleled experience in singing hundreds of vocal works over the past half-century. * Graham Hair, Professor Emeritus, Glasgow University *
