Growth of the site has been slow for the last month, but we’re now up to about 110 song posts, and there’s been a lot of work behind the scenes. (Many new songs have been scanned!)
However, I’ve recently added some new resources and added some aids to navigate the site better.
- The “Pages” section has been remodeled as “Site Navigation.”
- There is now a link there to view site news, and site news will now be regularly updated.
- The link to the “Song Index” has been replaced with a link to an index of indices called “Songs and Sources.”
- Multiple indices have been added to view only songs in a given language or for a given range.
- An “Expert’s Picks” section has been added, though it only contains two posts so far. More should follow — I’ve solicited lists from a number of colleagues. As the collection grows, these will become vital as a gateway into certain types of repertoire, especially for vocal music newbies.
- Several other resources are under development, and will be announced when they are added to the site.
For the record, one of the reasons for the slow pace of additional song posts is that I’ve only wanted to add material that is truly useful and popular. There is no “dead wood” in this collection. I’ve also been trying to keep the collection somewhat balanced. (ie: I’d rather add some spirituals before I add more Schubert.)
However, listing the song posts by language makes it easier to see some of the other gaps in the collection. I’ll be looking to add more Spanish material, and diversify the composers represented in all languages a bit more.
Adding song posts is the most time consuming part of this process, and I would be delighted to have help in researching and writing more of them… Please let me know if you’re willing to help in this area! (This should be especially easy for songs which can be found in IMSLP, though I’m not interested in referencing material there that is of low quality, such as the scans from the IU Variations Project.)
Thanks,
David
