Description
Book SynopsisVocal chamber music encompasses a wide range of music composed for anything from a solo to twelve voices and instruments. Performing chamber music offers the singer a unique opportunity to increase collaboration with instrumentalists and improve technique, musicianship, artistry, and communication. So You Want to Sing Chamber Music offers a comprehensive guide to learning, rehearsing, and performing in this genre. The book explores such critical skills as choosing repertoire that is appropriate for one’s voice type, communicating with wind players and string players, preparing for a successful rehearsal, performance style, staging considerations, and recital programming. Also included are suggestions on using vocal chamber music as a pedagogical tool in the voice studio, alongside recommendations for listening and further reading. Additional chapters by Scott McCoy and Wendy LeBorgne address universal questions of voice science, pedagogy, and vocal health. The So You Want to Sing series is produced in partnership with the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Like all books in the series, So You Want to Sing Chamber Music features online supplemental material on the NATS website. Please visit www.nats.org to access style-specific exercises, audio and video files, and additional resources
Trade ReviewThis superbly written and logically organized book is a must-have resource for every voice teacher and singer, amateur or professional. It is filled with excellent reasons to add chamber music to ones’ repertoire and contains information on its history, stylistic forms and characteristics, uses for pedagogical, performance, and artistic development with a multitude of repertoire and resource suggestions for recital programming. Don’t miss this one! There’s no other book quite like it. -- Sharon Mabry, Austin Peay State University
Susan Hochmiller succeeds in exploring most gratifyingly the long tradition of vocal chamber music. Besides being extremely informative in numerous areas, this book argues strongly for the inclusion of this marvelous and often-neglected area of our repertoire in voice curricula and recitals, with benefits to all who take part. I know that this volume will become an often-consulted and valuable addition to my teaching library. -- Russell Miller, Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester
Hochmiller’s book is welcome indeed, being a thorough, thoughtful, engaging and informative addition to the available literature on this worthy topic. We often neglect those aspects of vocal study that involve collaboration with anyone other than a pianist. This can be a very limiting perspective, and Hochmiller helps both students and teachers to broaden their understanding of what it means to leave no stone unturned in their pursuit of excellence. This is a most welcome and valuable book! -- Karen Holvik, New England Conservatory
Table of ContentsChapter 1 – A Brief History of Chamber Music Chapter 2 – Why Sing Chamber Music? Chapter 3 – How to Program Vocal Chamber Music Chapter 4 – Breathe with the Bow: Communicating with Instrumentalists Chapter 5 – Stylistic Considerations Chapter 6 – Pedagogical Advantages of Using Vocal Chamber Music in the Voice Studio Chapter 7 – Singing and Voice Science, Scott McCoy Chapter 8 – Vocal Health for the Chamber Music Singer, Wendy LeBorgne Appendix – Introductory List of Art Song Duets, Trios, and Quartets Appendix – Selected Journal of Singing Articles, James Maroney and Joan Frey Boytim
