UK composer Oliver Barton (b.1948) has put a number of his own songs up on his site for free download in PDF form. His music and texts demonstrate his fanciful imagination and strong sense of humor.
Available Songs:
This is one of a series of posts about books used as source material for Art Song Central.
Book Title: Five Shakespeare Songs
Composer: Roger Quilter (1877-1953)
Publisher: Boosey & Hawkes
Copyright: 1921
Contents:
All of the pre-1923 works of Igor Stravinsky have recently been made available online, thanks to Aztekera: Stravinsky’s pre-1923 works
This includes the following vocal pieces:
This is one of a series of posts about books used as source material for Art Song Central.
Book Title: My Favorite French Songs
Collected by: Emma Calvé (1858-1942)
Publisher: Oliver Ditson Company
Copyright: 1915
The Internet Archive has Volume 1 available for download: My Favorite French Songs
Contents, Volume 1:
Notes:
This book appears to be a quality edition, in keeping with the standards set in other Oliver Ditson publications from this period.
Each of the songs from this volume, when appropriate, will be uploaded as song posts are created for them. If you would like me to give priority to a song that is not yet posted, please let me know via the contact page.
This is one of a series of posts about books used as source material for Art Song Central.
Book Title: Chansons et Rondes Enfantines
Arranger: Jean-Baptiste Weckerlin (1821-1910)
Publisher: Garnier Frères, Libraires-Éditeurs
Published: 1870
This collection is available for download at the Internet Archive: Chansons et Rondes Enfantines
Contents:
Notes:
This beautifully illustrated volume, while not central to the mission of ASC, is brimming with simple arrangements of French folk songs for children. Game and dance songs are accompanied by descriptions of how to do them.
Songs like “Au claire de la lune,” “Sur le pont d’Avignon,” “Frère Jacques,” and “Il était une bergère” should be widely familiar, even outside of France.
The simplicity of the songs and the decorative presentation ought to make this a pleasant source of practice material for a diction class.
This is one of a series of posts about books used as source material for Art Song Central.
Book Title: Songs That Never Die
Compiled by: Henry Frederick Reddall
Editor: Dudley Buck
Publisher: W. J. Holland
Copyright: 1894
The Internet Archive has Songs That Never Die available for download.
Contents:
Notes:
Similar in scope and quality to Heart Songs, Songs That Never Die contains little music that would be appropriate for the concert stage, and a portion of the songs are presented in four part arrangements. However it does represent the literature which was popular in the late 19th Century, and has a number of well known chestnuts.
There are a number of piano selections at the end of the book. Only the vocal music has been listed.
This is one of a series of posts about books used as source material for Art Song Central.
Book Title: The Song Folio: standard vocal music with accompaniment for piano or organ by favorite composers.
Publisher: Thos. Hunter
Copyright: 1883
Google Books has an online copy of The Song Folio.
Contents:
Notes:
This is another volume that was focused on the home audience of the late 19th century. The typography for the music is dated, but clear.
Much of the content is ephemeral, though there are some notable gems from the period, including some which have fallen out of favor despite their quality. There are a number of songs by the popular composers Tosti, Pinsuti, Marzials and Arthur Sullivan. Notable pieces in this collection include Sullivan’s “The Lost Chord”, Pinsuti’s “Welcome, Pretty Primrose”, and J. Faure’s “The Palms”. (The latter of which is available elswhere on this site, in better editions, as Les Rameaux.)
I will probably not post individual songs from this collection, but if you feel one deserves more attention, please let me know via the contact page.
This is one of a series of posts about books used as source material for Art Song Central.
Book Title: The Good Old Songs We Used to Sing
Compiler: J. C. H.
Publisher: Oliver Ditson Company
Copyright: 1895
Google Books has an online copy of Volume 2.
Contents, Volume 2:
Notes:
There is a soft spot in my heart for volumes like this one, though many of its songs are inappropriate for the main thrust of the site. I love that so many of the songs truly were popular, rather than having been made so through effective marketing. I’m glad they preserve some tunes that I knew as standards, even if they are no longer known by today’s youth. And also that they preserve tunes which were lost to my generation, but which were widely known at the time.
Take, for example, “No one to love” on page 92. A Google search turns up virtually no modern references to this song, yet it was featured in a bunch of late 19th century novels with the clear presumption that it would be familiar to the reader. It seems to be a fine song, worth bringing back into the canon. (I imagine Patsy Cline singing it as I read through the score.)
There are, of course, several standards included which might be appropriate for beginning students, or those with an interest in folksongs or parlor songs.
I will probably not post individual songs from this collection, but if you feel one deserves more attention, please let me know via the contact page.
This is one of a series of posts about books used as source material for Art Song Central.
Book Title: Modern Music and Musicians Part 1: Compositions (Volume 3)
Editor: Louis C. Elson et. al.
Publisher: The University Society
Copyright: 1912
This volume has been posted at Google Books.
Contents:
Notes:
This is similar in scope to other publications of the University Society from this period, and indeed has some overlap with The World’s Best Music and La Mejor Musica.
Like The World’s Best Music, it has a graded index, giving a rough idea of the difficulty of each selection, and which can be an aid in finding or assigning repertoire.
The printing is generally clear and readable, and there is a nice selection of well known pieces, several of which are not in any other source currently linked by Art Song Central.
This is one of a series of posts about books used as source material for Art Song Central.
Collection Title: Treasury of Modern Song
Publisher: G. Schirmer
Copyright: 1902
The volume for high voice (soprano/tenor) is available for download via Google Books: Treasury of Modern Song.
Contents:
Notes:
The engraving on this edition is well done, and the original language texts are thankfully on top and in normal type. The volume contains an interesting mix of familiar standards and pieces long fallen out of favor. (Those that are unfamiliar may be gems waiting to be rediscovered…)
I’m hoping to locate a copy of the low voice version of this collection as well.
This is one of a series of posts about books used as source material for Art Song Central.
Book Title: Choice Sacred Solos for High Voice
Publisher: Oliver Ditson Company
Copyright: 1883
Google Books has this volume available for download as a PDF file: Choice Sacred Solos
Contents:
Notes:
These Christian songs are mostly by composers long forgotten. However, there is some decent material in this volume, especially for use as service music within a church setting.
Songs from this volume will be uploaded, when appropriate, as song posts are created for them. If you would like me to give priority to a song that is not yet posted, please let me know via the contact page.
Elizabeth Parcells was a terrific American soprano who had a lofty international career cut short by cancer in 2005. Her life has been memorialized in a website that features numerous writings, recordings and videos of her singing and teaching.
Of particular interest to users of ASC would be the “Singing” section of the site, which also features PDF scores to accompany the many of the recordings on the page. Here is a partial list of scores included:
Also, presumably with the composers approval, are a set of songs by Lenoard J. Lehrman (b. 1949), with recordings and PDF files of the scores in manuscript form:
This is one of a series of posts about books used as source material for Art Song Central.
Book Title: Thirty Songs by Franz Liszt
Editor: Carl Armruster
Publisher: Oliver Ditson Company
Copyright: 1911
Google Books has the high voice volume available for download as a PDF file: Thirty Songs
Contents:
Notes:
Songs from this volume will be uploaded, when appropriate, as song posts are created for them. If you would like me to give priority to a song that is not yet posted, please let me know via the contact page.
IMSLP currently has PDF files up for songs of Hugo Wolf. These include:
Sieben Gedichte aus dem Buch der Lieder von Heinrich Heine
Drei Lieder nach Gedichten von Michelangelo
Sechs Lieder für eine Frauenstimme
This is one of a series of posts about books used as source material for Art Song Central.
Book Title: Select English Songs and Dialogues of the 16th and 17th Centuries
Editor: Arnold Dolmetsch
Publisher: Boosey and Co.
Copyright: 1898
Google Books has a complete version for download as a PDF file: Select English Songs and Dialogues of the 16th and 17th Centuries
Contents:
Notes:
Songs from this volume will be uploaded, when appropriate, as song posts are created for them. If you would like me to give priority to a song that is not yet posted, please let me know via the contact page.
This is one of a series of posts about books used as source material for Art Song Central.
Book Title: Eight Songs from Rosseter’s Book of Ayres 1601
Editor: Charles Kennedy Scott (1876-1965)
Publisher: Breitkopf & Härtel
Copyright: 1907
Google Books has a complete version for download as a PDF file: Eight Songs for Solo Voice and Lute
Contents:
Notes:
These short English lute songs make good pieces for beginners. Each is one page long, with tuneful melodies and multiple verses.
Songs from this volume can be downloaded individually above, but no song posts have been created for them. If you would like me to give priority to a song that is not yet posted, please let me know via the contact page.
IMSLP currently has PDF files up for many vocal works of Ludwig van Beethoven, including:
This is one of a series of posts about books used as source material for Art Song Central.
Book Title: Wagner Lyrics for Soprano
Editor: Carl Armbruster
Publisher: Oliver Ditson Company
Copyright: 1904
Google Books has a downloadable copy of Wagner Lyrics for Soprano.
Note that this volume includes two sets of Lieder.
Contents:
Notes:
Each of the arias in this volume will be uploaded as song posts are created for them. If you would like me to give priority to a song that is not yet posted, please let me know via the contact page.
This is one of a series of posts about books used as source material for Art Song Central.
Book Title: The World’s Best Music
Editor: Victor Herbert et. al.
Publisher: The University Society
Copyright: 1908 (Revised and Enlarged)
This multi-volume set has been posted at Google Books. Volumes 6, 7 and 8 contain sheet music for piano and voice. Each relevant volume is linked below with a listing of its contents.
Contents:
Notes:
I have a 1904 edition of this to scan if useful, and there is some considerable overlap with the 1918 edition of La Mejor Musica, volume 7 of which was previously scanned for ASC. The selections strongly reflect both the prevailing taste at the time and the proclivities of the panel of editors, which included Louis C. Elson and Victor Herbert.
Many of the songs in this collection are essentially unknown to modern audiences, having dropped from (or never entered) the standard repertoire, and often with good reason. Yet, there are also some wonderful songs to be discovered.
The edition does not appear to have been aimed at a scholarly audience, and has some significant drawbacks. Nearly every song has English as the “main” language, even though the prevailing aesthetic (in the USA, at least) is now to sing songs in their original language. In a few cases, the original language of the song is not even included.
Occasionally, other editorial choices were out of line with modern practice. There are also errors in both text and music, though they don’t appear terribly often. Attribution is sometimes sketchy as well. I’ve noted a few egregious errors but have certainly missed or ignored others.
Nevertheless, the printing is generally clear and readable, and there is a nice selection of well known songs and forgotten gems.
One potentially useful aspect of this collection is an index of the contents, graded by difficulty, at the beginning of Volume 6.
Songs from this volume will be uploaded as song posts are created for them. If you would like me to give priority to a song that is not yet posted, please let me know via the contact page.
IMSLP currently has PDF files up for the complete songs of Henri Duparc (1848-1933):
