Customer Reviews

Song: A Guide To Art Song Style And Literature

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Let me sing my praises for Carol Kimball's much-needed contribution to the study of song repertoire! While broad in scope, it efficiently meets the outlines of the survey course in the classroom as no other book on international song has to date. Yet this treasure chest of titles, valuable background information, and references will serve many an individual singer, teacher, coach, or pianist as well. It is sure to be a staple in every library. Finally, a book on song literature and style that is complete, savvy and useful.

-- Thomas Grubb

This book occupies a unique place in the entire body of published works for an overview of the art song genre and its development. Dr. Kimball's superb eye for detail has carefully amassed an amazing compilation of biography, analysis, and commentary on the most comprehensive number of composers, spanning all eras of song composition. The introductory
section of the book lays out a practical but not mandatory approach to using the information, in a way that encourages good listening skills and a coherent overview. Additional bibliography provides a very flexible resource for any course structure or further independent study.

Excellent survey of the literature in the major European languages. Well-organized, thorough, wonderful bibliographies. Start with this book, check out the references, read the title recommendations, lots of hidden musical gems in here. Buy it first, then search for the references in Amazon or your local library. A splendid service to those who want to know more about classical song literature and its background.

Researching for an accademic paper on the development of the Art song has brought me to Amazon and it's great prices and selection. I bought this book based on the description, assuming that I would find some good resources for my paper and for future research.

When I got this book, I was astonished at the heft of the thing! This book is huge, and is much more than just information on a few songs or composers. "Song" gives a basic introduction to the idea of the Art Song, and then gives ideas on researching and studying the song that is being studied. from there, and for the vast majority of the book, the author completes a thorough, systematic survey of songs, grouping into location of origin (German, French, etc), then by composer in a chronological (earliest to latest) order.

Each of the most important composers of Art Songs is included here, with no glaring omissions that I have found. Each composer is presented, with valuable information on the individual, influence and styles. Then, the most important of that composer's songs (or song cycles) is given the same, thorough, systematic treatment, with more than a page of information and insight into each song.

I will doubtless use this book over and over in order to research my repertoire pieces I am studying, and those I am assigning to my students. I will also be passing this on to my own teacher and my mentor for their libraries.

This text contains valuable information on Standard Song Rep.
It provides in-depth but concise information on the composer, song text and the poet.

This book is fabulous! It is an important resource for a serious singer.

This book has been a wonderful tool in selecting repertoire for my voice students. Preparing for recitals and grouping repertoire is much simpler when you know what sound you want and can find composers of that style in one specific section.

An interesting and informative survey of western Art Song. This book contains short but thorough biographies of hundreds of art song composers, then breaks down their most important works with relevant information. Each entry also has a list of other important works by the composer that wasn't covered in this book. Another section contains general characteristics about some of the more well known art song composers. It is a list with bullet points that tells about the specific composers' use of harmony, melody, rhythm and other characteristics.

I used this book in an Art Song Literature class and it was a great help to understanding the composers, how they lived, why they composed the way they did, and what makes each song unique. Overall an excellent text that is comprehensive without being overwhelming. Anyone who wants an overview of art song composers and their works would do well to purchase this book. It will certainly be on my shelf for years to come, whether I am listening at home or studying at school.

A must-have for every voice teacher, college vocal music major or every lover or patron of vocal music. This is one of the finest comprehensive, yet accessible books ever written spanning the 400+ years of Song as we know it in the classical mediums. In addition to providing thorough information regarding all the major composers and analyses of their significant works, there is information on lesser-known composers from every country. Every day there is something new and exciting to learn from the book, even after I read it for a second or third time! Thank you Dr. Carol Kimball!

This is a great guide to song literature. I'm using it right now to study for my comprehensive exams. :)