Customer Reviews

26 Italian Songs and Arias: Medium Low

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This book is an absolute must have for any singers repertoire. With arias ranging from simple to complex, it is a great stepping stone in building the classical voice. The songs can be used as starters for the more amateur singer or as recital/competition pieces for those with more experience. Every serious student and private teacher should have a copy on hand.

I used this as my textbook for my Intermediate Voice class at Fullerton College. THe class was intended for voice majors or non advance non majors. I really like the book and I think that it works for beginners through advanced singer who want to learn classical vocal technique and vocal literature. This is an update version of the old Schrimer edition which I bough during my high school vocal lessons to prepare me to be a college voice major. I like the book becuase of its composer backround information and backround on where the arias came from. It also has a singable translation of the Italian text and a literal translation of the text. I also like the convience of the piano accompaniment CD because it is a useful practic aid. I also find the CD helpful becuase I am not yet have the piano skills high enough to accompany my self. I also like the book's IPA transcription and the guide to Italian pronunciation. I liekt his book better than the Schirmer edition becuase it is more useful for self study and is more accurate then the Schirmer becusae it comes from the authentic sources.This is must have book for any clasical vocalist or college or high school voice student.

for Regionals this year (a high school singing competition) i picked a song from this book, "Lasciatemi Morire". but now i have become nearly obsessed with italian operas and all the songs in this book are wonderful; i have spent quite a bit of time learning more of them. none are too difficult, and all are appropriate for a competition. i would recommend this book to anyone interested in opera, or singing in italian. i have thoroughly enjoyed it! =)

As a singer I have found this book to be better than any other collection that I have found. For singers who are interested in historical accuracy and want to sing pieces as they were written by the composer, this book is a must. For singers who simply want to sing popularized versions of pieces that are attributed to the composer (yet might not be recognizable to the composer as their piece) another collection would be better. As mentioned by others the word for word translation, the pronunciation guide, and the singable translation (for beginners) are all excellent. The ornaments are interesting and provide a challenge for higher level beginners. The book is highly recommended by Marilyn Horne as a source of corrected misinformation regarding these early Italian pieces. I personally recommend that beginners purchase the version which has the CD accompaniment included.

I bought this instead of the Schirmer edition on the advice of experts at Byron Hoyt, who noted these versions of the old favorites are more authentic and the piano accompaniments easier. However, I found the version of "Gia il sole dal Gange" quite tricky -- both for me, an intermediate singer, and my accompanist. If the Schirmer version is good enough for Cecilia Bartoli, it's good enough for me!

26 Italian Songs and Arias is definitly more authoritative than the G. Schirmer. I love the phonetics, translations, and notes.

However, the book can be disappointing. The added ornamention is clumsy most of the time, and the accompaniments are harder to play, and not as supportive for young singers. This book is great for reference, since it contains information on the composers, suggestions for ornaments, and accurate translations. But I wouldn't use it for a beginning singer.