NEW VOCAL REPERTORY An Introduction NEW VOCAL REPERTORY An Introduction by Jane Manning M MACMILLAN PRESS Music Division © Jane Manning 1986 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1956 (as amended). Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. First published 1986 Published by THE MACMILLAN PRESS LTD Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG2I 2XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world Typeset by Rowland Phototypesetting Ltd Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk in IIIupt Sabon Music examples drawn by Michael Finnissy British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Manning, Jane New vocal repertory. 1. Vocal music--History and criticism I. Tide 784 ML1400 ISBN 978-0-333-40538-3 ISBN 978-1-349-18494-1 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-18494-1 Contents Preface I Technical I Milton Babbitt: Three Theatrical Songs (any voice) 5 Barry Seaman: Chamber Music Book I (any voice) 7 George Newson: Four Songs (high voice) II Karl Aage Rasmussen: One and All (any voice) I4 Technicalll Lou Harrison: May Rain (any voice) I7 John Cage: The Wonderful Widow of Eighteen Springs and A Flower (any voice) I8 Peter Racine Fricker: Two Songs (baritone) 2.I Keith Humble: Five Cabaret Songs (any voice) 2.3 Thea Musgrave: A Suite o• Bairnsangs (medium/high voice) 2.6 Ronald Perera: Five Summer Songs (medium voice) 2.8 Alison Bauld: Dear Emily (soprano) 32. John Beckwith: Five Lyrics of the Tan;_Dynasty (high voice) 34 Elliott Carter: Three Poems of Robert Frost (medium voice) 36 Brian Dennis: The Exiled King (baritone) 39 Elaine Hugh-Jones: Six de Ia Mare Songs (soprano/tenor) 43 Earl Kim: Letters found near a Suicide (high voice) 47 Andre Previn: Five Songs (mezzo-soprano) so James Wilson: Bucolics (soprano/tenor) 53 Ronald Caltabiano: First Dream of Honeysuckle Petals Falling Alone (mezzo-soprano) 56 Harry Freedman: Anerca (soprano) 58 Gunther Schuller: Meditation (high voice) 62. Technicalm Trevor Hold: Something Rich and Strange (soprano/tenor) Karel Husa: Twelve Moravian Songs (medium voice) v NEW VOCAL REPERTORY John Tavener: A Mini Song Cycle for Gina (tenor/soprano) 72. David Bedford: Come in here child (soprano) 74 Richard Rodney Bennett: A Garland for Marjory Fleming (soprano) 77 Leonard Bernstein: I Hate Music! (soprano) 79 Donald Crockett: The Pensive Traveller (high voice) 83 Gordon Crosse: Voice from the Tomb (medium voice) 88 lain Hamilton: Songs ofSummer (high voice) 92. John Harbison: Mirabai Songs (female voice) 95 Robin Holloway: Wherever We May Be (soprano) 99 Jeremy Dale Roberts: Beautiful Lie the Dead (high voice) I04 Richard Steinitz: Songs from the Thousand and One Nights (tenor) Io6 Virgil Thomson: Five Songs (baritone) I09 Peter Dickinson: Extravaganzas (medium voice) I 14 Ross Edwards: The Hermit of Green Light (countertenor) I I7 Hans Werner Henze: Three Auden Songs (tenor) I2.I Daniel Manneke: Five Songs on English Poems (low voice) I2.4 Irving Fine: Mutability (mezzo-soprano) I2.9 Roger Smalley: Three Songs (mezzo-soprano) I32. Judith Weir: Scotch Minstrelsy (tenor) I3S Technical IV William Alwyn: Mirages (baritone) I40 Robert Beaser: The Seven Deadly Sins (tenor/baritone) I46 Alan Bush: Voices of the Prophets (tenor) ISO Corey Field: Escape at Bedtime (high voice/unison chorus) I 54 William Mathias: A Vision of Time and Eternity (contralto) IS6 Priaulx Rainier: Three Greek Epigrams (soprano) I6o Robert Heppener: Four Songs (high voice) I63 Peter Lawson: Care Charmer Sleepe (soprano/tenor) I67 Anthony Payne: Evening Land (medium voice) I72. Roger Sessions: On the Beach at Fontana (high voice) I77 Hugh Wood: Graves Songs Set II (high voice) I79 David Del Tredici: Four Songs (high voice) I83 Paavo Heininen: Love's Philosophy (high voice) I86 Donald Martino: Three Songs (bass/high voice) I89 Nicholas Maw: The Voice of Love (mezzo-soprano) I92. Barbara Pentland: Sung Songs nos. 4 and 5 (medium voice) I98 Leif Segerstam: Three Leaves of Grass (high voice) 2.00 Brian Elias: At the Edge of Time (tenor) 2.03 Elisabeth Lutyens: In the Temple ofa Bird's Wing (baritone) 2.07 Technical V Naresh Sohal: Poems ofTagore I (soprano) 2.I2. VI CONTENTS Bernard Rands: Ballad 2 (female voice) 214 Paul Robinson: Music as Climate (bass/baritone) 218 George Rochberg: Songs in Praise of Krishna (soprano) 222 Malcolm Williamson: Celebration of Divine Love (high voice) 228 Lyell Cresswell: Eight Shaker Songs (high voice) 232 John Joubert: The Turning Wheel (soprano) 238 Elizabeth Maconchy: Sun, Moon and Stars (soprano) 242 George Nicholson: Peripheral Visions (soprano) 246 David Blake: Beata /'alma (high voice) 250 Jonathan Harvey: Cantata II- Three Lovescapes (high voice) 253 Nicola LeFanu: A Penny for a Song (soprano) 25 8 Malcolm Singer: i am a little church (soprano) 263 Technical VI John Casken: Ia Orana, Gauguin (soprano) 266 Gwyn Pritchard: Enitharmon (mezzo-soprano) 270 Acknowledgments and publishers' addresses Composer index vii Preface It has long been my impression that the quality of the 'English­ language group' in a traditional song recital has been a little dis­ appointing, especially when compared with the richness of the German and French repertory. The same few songs, often culled from some examination syllabus many years ago, tum up constantly, and it appears that the available resources are not being used to best advantage. Our present century continues to provide us with the widest variety of styles imaginable, and works for voice and piano in English reflect this diversity. Recital items can range from weighty song cycles by British and American composers at their full maturity, to a wealth of more lighthearted fare. This book represents a highly personal selection of suggestions for extending an English-language repertory right up to the present day. It is not intended as a comprehensive catalogue, and doubtless contains some idiosyncrasies. There are bound to be omissions because of the wide-ranging nature of the task; some are conscious, however, as I felt these composers were perhaps well enough exposed for the time being. I had to cast my bread upon the waters in obtaining scores, especially those from sources abroad, and I am well aware that for all the many fine composers I have managed to include, there are as many more that should have had a place. However, it is a special pleasure to find myself in the position of being able to promote the cause of some lesser-known music of the highest quality, most of it by living composers. It became clear early on in the project that I could fill several volumes with eminently suitable material. I therefore had to limit myself by way of a few basic guidelines. It must be stressed that the book is not aimed at specialist virtuoso singers of new music or their audiences. Those of us who work in the new music world must beware the dangers of an elitism which may alienate others. Potential new­ comers to the field are understandably put off if they are made to feel like outsiders, particularly when they may have to negotiate an obstacle course to find the music and information they require. I NEW VOCAL REPERTORY Prospective performers and vocal teachers, bewildered by the maze of available material and diffusion of publishers, may need positive encouragement and practical help to find the treasures that exist. Unpublished songs present further problems as many composers do not successfully promote their own music. Prejudice against the unfamiliar is unfortunately inevitable. I find it depressing when visiting institutions in this country and abroad to be told by singing teachers that their pupils will not be attending my master class because they are 'not advanced enough to sing modern music'. So perhaps the most important reason for my writing this book is that the breaking down of stylistic barriers in vocal music is long overdue. Of all performing artists, singers have sometimes tended to be the least inclined to question accepted patterns or to indulge in intellectual or philosophical argument about their repertory. It is unfortunate that an advanced musical idiom has tended to lead the faint-hearted to believe that new music is beyond their capabilities. In fact, many contemporary composers write as mellifluously for the voice as did Handel or Mozart; others may need more concentrated technical work before they lie easily, but are rarely more vocally taxing than Bach. The simplest avant-garde notation may look dauntingly modern on the page but turn out to be the most suitable of all for beginners. Executing so-called 'extended vocal techniques' may be less problematic than spinning a series of long legato notes with perfect control. Many new works can make the most modest demands vocally and musically yet give audiences a refreshing surprise. A crucial distinction must be made between the standard of vocal technique (including interpretation) and the standard of musicianship required. I aim to clarify the situation by grading all works in these two separate categories - technical and musical - ranging from I to VI in progressive difficulty. Difficulties of technique invariably present the greater barrier, since they inhibit musical interpretation; the songs have therefore been ordered by degree of technical difficulty and then subdivided by musical difficulty. I have a particular fondness for the many fine songs in 'English traditional' vein which are already familiar to all of us, but it does seem worth pointing out that some composers may have been over­ performed at the expense of others equally worthy; this may explain why some obvious names are missing from this selection.