delapp-culver repertoire with resutls embracing spanish...

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REPERTOIRE WITH RESULTS:

EMBRACING SPANISH ART SONG

One of the voice teacher’s primary responsibilities is matching repertoire to

students’ aptitudes and developmental goals. Singing in a foreign language has long been

an important milestone toward which increased attention to phonetics and thoughtful

interpretation of poetic texts are developed. Our students’ language facilities, by heritage

or education, are changing, and we need to adjust our approach to these goals accordingly.

Worldwide, Spanish is the third most spoken language (after English and Mandarin

Chinese). As our studios grow and diversify, so too should our libraries. Embracing the

repertoire of Spanish art songs can put us in touch with our students’ expanding abilities.

The Spanish language has become increasingly prevalent in the United States in the

last fifteen years. As the Spanish-‐speaking population has grown, so has the demand for

artistic works in Spanish. Commercial recording artists now broadcast songs in Spanish

over the nation’s airwaves. Our national and regional opera houses are commissioning and

featuring works in Spanish. At the same time, there has been a recent abundance of

published literature from the Baroque era to the present in the Spanish language that

provides excellent musical and interpretive material for the professional and developing

singer. Publications by American and Latino scholars have made access to these songs and

resources easier than ever.

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While many vocal students in the United States are not native speakers of Spanish,

they do at some time study foreign language in their education. Trends in language study in

K-‐12 and higher education reveal that more students enroll in Spanish than the other three

languages—Italian, French and German—normally associated with European art song. In

fact, the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) reported in their

2011 publication, “Foreign Language Enrollments in K-‐12 Public Schools: Are Students

Prepared for a Global Society,” that Spanish was the language of greatest enrollment by far:

Spanish, studied by over 70% of foreign language students, dominated language course enrollment (Tables 6 and 7). French, a distant second both years, represented 14% to 15% of foreign language enrollment. All other languages were studied by 5% or less of foreign language students, with the fewest students enrolled in Russian. 1

Voice teachers can capitalize on this trend by building or expanding a library of song

literature in Spanish that can be used for development as well as artistic merit. Anthologies

that are readily available in the United States provide an ample supply of songs at various

development levels, much of which rivals the more traditional lieder and mélodie often

programmed on recitals. For those who teach voice in an academic institution or large

private studio, programming numerous recitals each year can be a daunting process. In her

Journal of Singing article “Tweaking the Song Recital,” Carole Kimball notes,

In numerous conversations with academic colleagues and university/college students, I have become aware that planning a well-‐balanced recital is, for many, something formidable. It is a chore instead of a joy to choose repertoire and explore possibilities for creative program design. This situation is not confined to academia; the private studio teacher is also faced

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with presenting public recitals from time to time. If one has a multiple recitals coming from his/her studio in one semester, it is tempting to fall back on literature that springs easily to mind as a “comfortable assignment.” Usually that repertoire does not lend itself to a “one size fits all” model, and further, does nothing to ignite students’ interest beyond simply learning the music.2

The more resources we have, the more effective we are at helping our students

engage with the music they perform.

With the wealth of published music and language resources (texts, electronic and

experiential) now available to voice teachers, it is easier than ever to program interesting

and diverse recitals. As opportunities and demands for professional singers in the coming

decades continue to transform, early exposure to a variety of languages and musical styles

can broaden the promising performers’ horizons. Likewise, future music educators who, as

the local authorities on vocal repertoire, includes Spanish-‐language songs in their libraries

and repertoire can encourage diversity and make inroads with students whose first

language is Spanish. Those who eventually serve on committees who select graded state

contest lists will support their diverse constituencies by adding more Spanish language

titles to their lists.

An investigation begins

My investigation into this repertoire was initiated by a personal desire to expand

my own concert repertoire and to explore a new language. The necessity of expanding my

library of developmental repertoire arose as I began a new position at The College of

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Wooster (Wooster, Ohio), where the majority of the undergraduate singers earn the

Bachelor of Arts degree or study as non-‐majors. As I worked to match songs to skills and

goals, time and again my students indicated they had studied Spanish in high school or

were currently enrolled in that language study. However, while many of them had learned

Italian and German art songs prior to college, very few of them had ever had the chance to

sing in Spanish.

In fact, registration records reveal that in the last seven years, more students at the

college have studied Spanish than either French or German at a ratio of 2:1 and 4:1.3 With

generous financial assistance from the College, I began an extensive study of Spanish vocal

music. The benefits paid off immediately, not only in the depth and breadth of my students’

degree recitals, but in the effect song research has had on their language study and liberal

arts education. It is my hope that the following annotated bibliography of anthologies and

resource list will be valuable to other teachers who are interested in exploring this

fascinating repertoire for themselves and their students.

Spanish Art Song as a Developmental Tool

Repertoire choices for the developing singer serve two main purposes: mastering

technique and exploring expressive connections to text. Italian has been the first choice of

many teachers for mastering resonant vowel sound and legato. While the Spanish language

shares many of the same traits as Italian (an abundance of open ended syllables, clear rules

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for the few diphthongs, and a natural legato when spoken), it has the enormous advantage

of one option (open) for the pronunciation of the/e/ and /o/ vowels [ɛ and ɔ]. Students in

the United States will most likely have heard and repeated the Latin American

pronunciation of words in classes and everyday life, but the Castilian pronunciation of texts

by poets born and educated in Spain will necessitate only a few changes to consonants.4

Students who have basic grammar skills in Spanish can easily connect with their

introductory foreign-‐language pieces.

Creating an Assessment Protocol

To ensure a student’s mastery of technique and expression, experts agree on two

primary goals:5

1. Choose songs that promote age-‐appropriate technical development; looking

carefully at the melody for range, tessitura, melodic contour, timbral choices; at the

texture for relative weight of the accompaniment to the voice and the dynamic

continuum; and at the rhythm for complexities of melody and language and the

“rapidity of melodic articulation.”6, 7

2. Choose songs that provide interesting yet accessible texts through which technical

development will be evident.

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When creating my own rationale for selecting repertoire from the eight anthologies

described below, I consulted many texts and articles.8 One in particular, the Ralston

Repertoire Difficulty Index (RRDI), was insightful in building reliable criteria for the

selection process.9 This tool utilizes a three-‐level scale (easy, moderate, difficult) to rank

seven characteristics of a song: range, tessitura, rhythm, phrases, melodic line, harmonic

foundations, and pronunciation.10 As a non-‐native speaker, I created a separate category in

which I analyzed the texts with my own learning curve in mind. In this category I utilized

an aspect of the analysis protocol established by J. Arden Hopkin in his Songs for Young

Singers, in which a point was added to a category if the song contains an “extreme”

technical element of tessitura or tempo.11 I added a point to the difficulty level of a song if

the text contained multiple instances of synalepha12 in a fast tempo, multiple instances of

vowel modification, or more than three stanzas of text to differentiate the difficulty level of

memorization between native and non-‐native speakers. My analysis protocol is as follows:

MELODY

EASY (1-‐2) Range=M10 or less Contour: mostly diatonic,

mostly conjunct motion, syllabic

Tessitura: medium

MODERATE (3-‐4) Range=P12 or less Contour: some difficult

intervals, melismas Tessitura: medium high or medium low, frequent register changes

DIFFICULT (5-‐6) Range= > P12 Contour: mostly chromatic,

leaps > One 8va Tessitura: high or low, difficult register

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changes

RHYTHM*

EASY (1-‐2) Melodic articulation= no long sustained notes or coloratura

Metric complexity: symmetrical and repeated patterns, little to no syncopation

Tempo: moderate

MODERATE (3-‐4) Melodic articulation= some long sustained notes or rapid motion

Metric complexity: alternating meters or pulse*, frequent syncopation

Tempo: moderate to somewhat slow or somewhat fast; frequent tempo changes

DIFFICULT (5-‐6) Melodic articulation=long passages of very slow or very fast motion

Metric complexity: alternating meters, compound meters, cross meters, *

Tempo: very fast or very slow

*Hallmarks of many songs in Spanish are rhythmic patterns in voice or accompaniment taken from dances, folk songs, etc. Complex patterns usually repeat throughout a piece.

TEXT*

EASY (1-‐2) Rapidity of articulation: slow to moderate

Synalepha: none to little Number of Stanzas: <3

MODERATE (3-‐4) Rapidity of articulation: some sustained notes or rapid motion

Synalepha: occasional synalepha in moderately rapid articulation

Number of Stanzas: 3

DIFFICULT (5-‐6) Rapidity of articulation: long passages of very

Synalepha: occurs often or in passages of fast articulation

Number of Stanzas: >3

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slow or very fast motion *ADD ONE POINT for extensive vowel modification.

HARMONY & ACCOMPANIMENT

EASY (1-‐2) Structure: diatonic with modulation to closely related key or tonal area

Relationship of voice to accompaniment: triadic accompaniment with few dissonances, mirror voice part

MODERATE (3-‐4) Structure: modal or some chromaticism, frequent modulation to distant key or tonal area

Relationship of voice to accompaniment: consonant to moderate dissonance, frequently supports voice part with occasional independence

DIFFICULT (5-‐6) Structure: highly chromatic or atonal Relationship of voice to accompaniment:

dissonant; clear delineation between melody and accompaniment

DYNAMICS

EASY (1-‐2) Mezzo piano and mezzo forte levels throughout will suffice for artistic phrasing

MODERATE (3-‐4) Mostly mezzo piano to mezzo forte with occasional softer or louder phrases

DIFFICULT (5-‐6) Pianissimo or fortissimo indications, subito dynamic changes within a breath phrase

After determining a rating for each category, I averaged the difficulty rating for each

piece to give an efficient indication of the difficulty level of each piece and the target

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audience for each anthology. A song that falls into the low numbers of the EASY category

would be appropriate for a high school student or adult with little singing experience. As

the scores approach the 12-‐13 mark, the challenges are more appropriate for

undergraduate students or those with previous individual instruction. The MODERATE and

ADVANCED categories indicate challenges most appropriate for serious upper-‐level

undergraduates, graduate students and professionals. Employing a category rating is most

prudent when considering the financial investment of building a library. When it is time to

match a song to a singer, it is far more valuable to have information for the individual

categories. A complete data set of the songs, with individual scores for each category, can

be accessed at www.discover.wooster.edu/cculver/research.

The Anthologies

The Latin American Art Song (La Canción Artística en América Latina): A Critical Anthology

and Interpretative Guide for Singers. Edited by Patricia Caicedo. Published by Tríto, 2005.

Caicedo’s anthology includes forty-‐eight songs in Spanish and Portuguese. All of the songs

were written in the Twentieth century and most are for the moderate to advanced singer.

Several selections in Portuguese and Quechua (the indigenous language of Peru, Bolivia and

Ecuador) are included. However, with the pronunciation guides and phonetic

transcriptions for all of the languages, the translations and the thorough notes on the

composers and songs, this important collection is valuable for all types of studios. It is

available through Sheet Music Plus, the Latin American Art Song Alliance, and Mundoarts.

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A tí 8 Easy ¡Ay, mi vida! 9 Easy Deseo 9 Easy En la playa 9 Easy Pimpín sarabín 9 Easy Solo por el rocío 9 Easy Mañana es domingo 10 Easy Tutito hagamos ya 10 Easy Arrunango 11 Easy Calla niño, calla 11 Easy Canto de esclavos 11 Easy Tránsito 11 Easy Cuando el caballo se para 12 Easy El pensiamento importuno 13 Easy Carnavalito 13 Easy Coplas venezolanas 13 Easy Cuando el camino me fatiga 13 Easy Este niño compró un huevito 13 Easy Gitana 13 Easy Triste 13 Easy Amanceciendo 14 Easy Comadre Rana 14 Easy Cotón colorado 14 Easy Cunado voy a la aldea 14 Easy Imillita 14 Easy Pregón 14 Easy Serenata 14 Easy Luz mala 15 Moderate El niño mudo 16 Moderate Suspiro cuando te miro 16 Moderate Al banco solitario 17 Moderate Cuando lejos, muy lejos 17 Moderate Coplas para tus ojos 18 Moderate Si el silencio fuera mía 18 Moderate Escena 20 Moderate Desposorio 21 Moderate Yo no sé 21 Moderate Negra está la noche 25 Advanced Zarzamora con el tronco gris 25 Advanced

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Songs of Nineteenth-‐Century Spain (Canciónes de España). Edited by Suzanne Rhodes-‐

Draayer. Published by The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2005. Three Volumes: High and Low

Voice. These anthologies contain a total of eighty-‐three songs by fifty different composers.

While most of the songs reflect the Italian presence so prevalent in Spain during the

nineteenth century, many contain the melodic and rhythmic patterns associated with

traditional Spanish music. Rhodes-‐Draayer has included IPA transcriptions, word-‐for-‐word

and idiomatic translations and a concise and detailed pronunciation guide. She has

included a brief biography of each composer and definitions for the traditional song

types—especially helpful for recitalists who must research and write program notes,.

Volume Three includes appendices in which Rhodes-‐Draayer categorizes the contents of

the entire set by difficulty level (beginning students, intermediate-‐level singers and

advanced singers.) and appropriate gender. Upon further inquiry, Rhodes-‐Draayer

explained the rationale behind her choices: songs for beginning students were simple with

little or no coloratura, shorter in length and had some repetition. Songs for intermediate-‐

level singers contain a slightly wider range and more difficult harmony and phrasing, while

songs for advanced singers are longer, more complex and contain the traditional cante

jondo elements.13

Canciones de España Vol. 1

Amor y Olvido 5 Easy A Mi Madre 7 Easy ¡...La de Ojos Azules! 9 Easy

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El Caudillo de los Ciento 9 Easy A Granada 12 Easy Ave Maria 12 Easy Niño Divino 12 Easy Un Adios 14 Easy ¿Te Acuerdas? 16 Moderate El Amor y los Ojos 16 Moderate La Pajarita 16 Moderate ¡Malditos Quereres…! 17 Moderate A Tus Ojos 17 Moderate Amor sin Esperanza 17 Moderate La Manola de Madrid 17 Moderate Ninette 17 Moderate El Arreglito 19 Moderate La Española 20 Moderate Las Quejas de Maruja 20 Moderate Lo que está de Dios 20 Moderate La Madrileña 22 Advanced La Pecadora 24 Advanced Cacho di Cielo 25 Advanced


¡Ay! Mar que son mi lágrimas 9 Easy Duérmete, Niña 10 Easy Madre de Alma Mía 10 Easy Temores de la Inocencia 10 Easy La Imagen 11 Easy Melodía 11 Easy Las Hadas 12 Easy El Abencerrage 13 Easy El Ocaso 13 Easy La Mariposa 13 Easy Ya Tengo Dueño 13 Easy Cual de Aquestas Tres Cosas 14 Easy O sí o No 14 Easy Sávale, Virgen María 14 Easy Un Medio de que Vivas 14 Easy Abre del Ojo, Mona 15 Moderate El Chairo 15 Moderate El Li Lis 16 Moderate

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O Celeste Dulzuna! 16 Moderate Ayes en la Inquisición 17 Moderate La Hermana de la Caridad 17 Moderate Rosa-‐-‐Rosa 17 Moderate Serenata 17 Moderate Yo que no sé Caller 18 Moderate La Perla 19 Moderate La Vuelta del Soldado 19 Moderate La Odalisca 21 Moderate La Ausencia de Colás 23 Moderate El Corazón en Venta 24 Advanced La Mantilla de Tira 25 Advanced Juguete Español: Allí Está 26 Advanced Su Desventura 27 Advanced


Cual de Aquestas Tres Cosas 7 Easy Nice Vengada 8 Easy Lágrimas 9 Easy Niña Pancha 9 Easy Si al Mecer las Azules Campanillas 10 Easy Plegería 10 Easy Rosa 10 Easy Si al Mecer las Azules Campanillas 10 Easy No Hay Quien Dé una Limonosa 11 Easy Un Médio de Que Vivas 12 Easy A la Incredulidad 13 Easy El Túmulo 13 Easy Seguidillas del Requiem Eternam 13 Easy Si a Otra Cuando Me Quieres 13 Easy El Chalán 15 Moderate ¡Mi Pobre Reja! 16 Moderate A... 16 Moderate Mis Descuidados Ojos 16 Moderate El Despecho 17 Moderate ¡Desengaño! 18 Moderate Las Castañuelas 18 Moderate A María 19 Moderate El Barquero 19 Moderate El Pelele 20 Moderate

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A Mi Nazarena 22 Moderate La Serenata 23 Moderate El Primer Vals 24 Advanced Canción de la Bien Casada 25 Advanced El Beso del Poeta 26 Advanced Prólogo 26 Advanced El Padre Nuestro 27 Advanced Canción de Cuna 30 Advanced

Nine Latin American Folk Songs. Edited and arranged by Bruce Trinkley. High and Low

Voice with Accompaniment CD for available for either key. Published by Alfred: 2004.

Collaborators Bruce Trinkley and Jason Charnesky have put together a tuneful and

uncomplicated collection of folk songs that fall into the lowest of the EASY category and are

best for beginning students. The accompaniments, while supportive, are thick and lack

imagination. The preface includes a brief pronunciation guide. These collections can be

purchased through Amazon, Sheet Music Plus or from the publisher.

¿Dónde vas, Alfonso doce? 5 Easy Vuela, suspiro 5 Easy A Cantar a una Niña 7 Easy Mi Mamá me aconsejaba 7 Easy Una Tarde Fresquita de Mayo 7 Easy Villancico 8 Easy El Capotín 9 Easy Al Pasar por Sevilla 14 Easy

Anthology of Spanish Song. Edited by Maria DiPalma and Richard Walters. Published by

Hal Leonard, 2001. High and Low Voice with accompaniment CD available for either key.

This collection brings together picturesque art songs, tonadillas (popular songs) and

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zarzuela arias with several popular cycles and sets previously available separately:

Granados’ majo/maja inspired Tonadillas, the Siete canciones populares españolas by de

Falla and the Canciones clásicas españoles by Obradors. In addition, the editors have

included nine of Edward Kilenyi’s Mexican Folk Song Settings, which are excellent songs for

beginning students.

Encantadora María 5 Easy Pregúntale á las estrellas 6 Easy Seguidilla dolorosa de una enamorada 6 Easy El Majo Timido 7 Easy El trobador 7 Easy Mi sueño 7 Easy Canción de cuna 9 Easy El tra la la y el punteado 9 Easy La seña 9 Easy Asturiana 10 Easy Canción 10 Easy Canción de tímida 10 Easy La calle de paloma 10 Easy La paloma blanca 10 Easy Noche serena 10 Easy Canción contra las madamitas gorgoriteadoras 11 Easy Seguidillas religiosas 11 Easy Canción picaresca 12 Easy El Majo Discreto 12 Easy

Oración de las madres que tienen a sus hijos en brazos 12 Easy Del cabello más sutil 13 Easy El galán incógnito 13 Easy El majo celoso 13 Easy La mi sola, Laureola 13 Easy Lágrimas mias 13 Easy Amor bendito 14 Moderate Callejeo 14 Moderate ¡Dios mío, qué solos se quedan los muertos! 15 Moderate ¿Corazón, porqué pasáis...? 15 Moderate La maja dolorosa 2 15 Moderate La maja dolorosa 3 15 Moderate

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El majo olvidado 16 Moderate El paño moruno 16 Moderate Nana 16 Moderate Con amores, la mi madre 17 Moderate De que me sirve 17 Moderate Preludios 17 Moderate Chiquita la novia 19 Moderate Amor y odio 20 Moderate El mirar de la maja 20 Moderate Jota 20 Moderate Seguidilla murciana 20 Moderate Al amor 21 Moderate Canción Andaluza: El pan de Ronda 21 Moderate La Maja de Goya 21 Moderate La Partida 21 Moderate Olas gigantes 22 Moderate La maja dolorosa 1 23 Moderate Polo 23 Moderate Rima 23 Moderate

The Art Song in Latin America. Edited by Kathleen Wilson with J. Arden Hopkin. Published

by Pendragon Press: 1998. Shortly after its publication, Wilson and Hopkin’s collection was

hailed in the Music Library Association’s (MLA) quarterly journal as a “both a pedagogical

tool and a valuable collection.”14 The diction section is thorough and especially helpful with

descriptions of the problematic consonants ll, y and b. Difficulty levels lie mostly in the

EASY and ADVANCED categories, which includes several highly chromatic selections. Many

of the songs express musical nationalism (e.g., Jaime Leon’s “La Campesina,” which evokes

the social struggle of the Columbian people during the first half of the twentieth century)15

and are attractive to students with academic interest in cultural studies. It is available

through Amazon, The Latin American Art Song Alliance, J.W. Pepper and directly from the

publisher.

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Palomita 6 Easy Cancíon tonta 7 Easy La noche del llano abajo 8 Easy Berceuse 9 Easy El Caballito 10 Easy Las Cinco horas 11 Easy Triste 12 Easy Hilando el copo del viento 13 Easy Pampamapa 13 Easy Copla triste 14 Easy La hija del veijo Panch 15 Moderate La Campesina 18 Moderate La Gitana 22 Moderate La niña de la guitarra 22 Moderate Cancíon (para mi niño) 24 Advanced Por estos cuatro caminos 24 Advanced North Carolina Blues 25 Advanced Yaraví 26 Advanced Si un niño mere en la guerra 28 Advanced A veces un no niega 29 Advanced Bito Manué 29 Advanced

Spanish Theater Songs: Baroque and Classical Eras. Edited by Carol Mikkelsen.

Published by Alfred: 1998. Medium High and Medium Low Voice. This collection of

tonadillas, short arias from the early zarzuelas and dance-‐inspired songs provides an

interesting alternative for younger singers to the traditional Italian Baroque arias. Editor

Carol Mikkelsen has provided a brief language tutorial, International Phonetic Alphabet

transcriptions with word-‐for-‐word translations. The poetic idea and historical background

for each piece provides the recitalist with excellent background for program notes. Most

pieces appear in their original key in the Medium High volume. The lower transposition

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may be more comfortable for younger singers who may become fatigued by the high

tessitura. It is available through Amazon, Sheet Music Plus and J.W. Pepper.

Bailete agitanado 6 Easy Ya canta el ave 6 Easy ¡Alma, sintamos! 8 Easy Tirana del cangrejo 8 Easy Tirana del Trípili 8 Easy De pena, de susto 11 Easy Confiado jilguerillo 13 Easy El jilguerito con pico de oro 13 Easy Cuerpo bueno, alma divina 14 Moderate El contrabandista 15 Moderate

Resources for the Teacher and Student

Teachers who arrive at a crossroads when exploring repertoire in a new language need not

despair. A great many resources beyond the anthologies themselves are available in print

and digital form. Master classes, courses and workshops are held in the United States and

abroad for a deeper understanding of the language and culture.

Diction and Translation

As noted above, several of the anthologies provide IPA transcriptions, as well as

concise and detailed information for authentic pronunciation. In addition to these

resources, singers can consult: Diction for Singers, by Joan Wall; A Singer’s Manual of

Spanish Lyric Diction, by Nico Castel; The Oxford Spanish dictionary: Spanish-‐

English/English-‐Spanish; and The New World Spanish-‐English English-‐Spanish Dictionary.

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While non-‐native speakers will always benefit from constructing word-‐for-‐word

translations, many texts are available with artistic translations. The Singer’s Anthology of

20th Century Spanish Songs by Josep Miquel Sobrer and Edmon Colomer provides both

translations and IPA for songs by Granados, de Falla and Mompou. In the Spanish Song

Companion, Jacqueline Cockburn and Richard Stokes provide translations for songs from

the thirteenth to the twentieth centuries. While the Lied, Song and Choral Text Archive

(http://www.recmusic.org/lieder/) boasts an enormous number of Spanish titles, it offers

relatively few English translations because of copyright protections.

International Singing Programs

The best way for non-‐native speakers to absorb the repertoire is to coach with native

experts and to immerse themselves in the culture. Michelle Latour detailed several

excellent programs in the February 2012 edition of Classical Singer Magazine. These

summer festivals and courses are open to advanced students and teachers: Project Cancíon

Española (The Interpretation of Spanish Song) in Madrid, and the Música en Compostela in

Santiago de Campostela. At the Barcelona Festival of Song, performances prominently

feature works by Latin American composers and provide commissions of new works. The

courses offer musicological instruction and coaching in Spanish, Portuguese and Catalan.

The International Spanish Music Center (ISMC) offers a short course, Canción Española

Wien, every February. The outstanding artistic and developmental significance of this

repertoire merits a substantial investment of time and finances.

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In the introduction to Solo Vocal Repertoire for Young Singers: An Annotated

Bibliography, editor Joan Boytim quotes vocal pedagogue Weldon Whitlock regarding

teaching effectiveness and a broad repertoire base:

In knowing what to teach, the teacher’s knowledge and experience are constantly strained to the breaking point. No matter how wide and extensive the teacher’s repertoire, it is never comprehensive enough. The demands for repertoire are different for each individual pupil. The good teacher continually carries on his study in repertoire and adds to it.16

These words, written in 1971 and quoted in 1980, still ring true today. Our voice

students are coming to formal study with early experiences with foreign languages,

especially Spanish. It behooves the voice teacher to build up a repertoire of Spanish-‐

language song that is of high artistic merit and can be introduced at multiple development

stages.

1 American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. Foreign Language Enrollments in K-‐12 Public Schools: Are Students Prepared for a Global Society. Accessed June 27, 2012. http://www.actfl.org/files/ReportSummary2011.pdf

2 Kimball, Carole, “Tweaking the Song Recital.” Journal of Singing, 66, no. 2 (November/December) 2009: 207.

3 The College of Wooster has not offered Italian since 2006.

4Suzanne Rhodes-‐Draayer, Canciones de España (Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2003), xvii.

5Texts by Joan Frey Boytim, Barbara Doscher & John Nix, Suzanne Draayer, J. Arden Hopkin, Alan Ord and Thomas Goleeke were consulted.

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6 J. Arden Hopkin, Songs for Young Singers: An Annotated List for Developing Voices.

Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2002), x.

7 Many songs in the Spanish repertoire feature the unique melismatic and melodic contour of cante jondo: the melodic ornamentation that fixates on certain pitches in melismas, reminiscent of the Moorish influence in southern Spain.

8 These anthologies were chosen because they contain English translations and can be purchased easily in the United States.

9 Janette Ralston, “The Development of an Instrument to Grade the Difficulty of Vocal Solo Repertoire,” Journal of Research in Music Education, 47, no. 2 (Summer, 1999): 163-‐173.

10 ibid.

11 Hopkin, ix.

12 Synalepha occurs when a word concluding with a vowel precedes a word beginning with a vowel. The two vowels fuse and the two words are pronounced as one.

13 Suzanne Rhodes-‐Draayer, email to author, July 12, 2012. 14 Susan Thomas, review of The Art Song in Latin America: Selected Works by Twentieth-‐

Century Composers by Kathleen L. Wilson; Arden Hopkin, Notes, Second Series, Vol. 56, No. 4, http://www.jstor.org/stable/899883.

15 Victoria Sofia Botero, “The Art Songs of Jaime León: A Textual and Musical Analysis” (master’s thesis, University of Missouri-‐Kansas City, 2011), 92-‐93.

16 Weldon Whitlock, Profiles in Vocal Pedagogy : A Textbook for Singing Teachers (1975) quoted in Joan Frey Boytim, et al, Solo Vocal Repertoire for Young Singers: An Annotated Bibliography (National Association of Teachers of Singing, 1982), i. © Carrie deLapp Culver 2013

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