Maxwell Music Library - Solo Voice Resources

Finding Solo Vocal Materials

Basics for Beginning Your Research	Song Texts and Guides--General Resources
Finding Songs--Printed Music	Song Texts and Guides--Specific Composers
Finding Songs--On Recordings	Interpretation and Guides to Performance
Song Indexes	Opera Resources
Phonetics and Diction	Musical Theatre Resources

The Basics for Beginning Your Research
Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians	Ref ML 105.B16 2001
Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Classical Musicians	Ref ML 105.S612
Composer Biographies	ML 410 (arranged alphabetically by composer)
IPA Manual	Ref MT 883.W34 1989
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians	Ref ML100 .N48 2001
The New Grove Dictionary of Opera	Ref ML 102.O6 N5 1992
New Harvard Dictionary of Music	Ref ML 100.R3 1986
Resources of American Music History	Ref ML 120.U5 R47

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Finding Songs -- Printed Music

Most song scores in the music library are in anthologies or collections. In Alcuin, the online catalog:

Do a title search for the collection of songs (do not use the title search for individual song titles).
Sometimes the online catalog has a note listing the contents of anthologies and collections. Do a keyword search for the song title (but realize this will leave many results out).
You can also do an author search for the composer and see if any printed music is listed under the titles "Songs. Selections," or "Vocal music. Selections," or similar uniform titles.
Finally, if you still have not found what you need, you should check in the song indexes for help in locating the song in a collection.
You can also browse the shelves to find collections by your composer. Look in M 1611-1626
See tips for searching Alcuin here.

The music librarian is available to assist you. If she is not in her office, please send an e-mail to request help.

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Finding Songs -- Recordings

Nearly all of the works on our CDs can be found through a keyword search in Alcuin, the online catalog.

For the most accurate results, use the advanced keyword search. Here you can limit to sound recordings while searching for the song title and composer name.
See tips for music searching here.

Classical Music Library is a comprehensive database of distinguished classical recordings. You can access it from anywhere. The best way to search is to browse by composer and find the work you want to listen to.

The music librarian is available to assist you. If she is not around, send an e-mail to request help.

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Song Indexes (Alcuin subject heading: Songs--Indexes)
American Vocal Chamber Music	Ref ML 128 .V7 L8 1985
Art-song in the United States, 1801-1987	Ref ML 128.S3 C37 2001
Catalogue of Vocal Solo and Duets Arranged in Biblical Order	Ref ML 128.S3 L38 2003
Chamber Music for Solo Voice and Instruments	Ref ML 128 .S3 K55 1994
Popular Song Index	Ref ML 128 .S3 H4
Repertoire for the Solo Voice, 2 vols. (Divided geographically)	Ref ML 128.S3 E8
A Singer's Guide to the American Art Song, 1870-1980	Ref ML 128.S3 V5
Singer's Repertoire, 5 vols. (One vol. for each voice type plus vol. of program notes)	Ref ML 128.V7 C67 1960
Song Index	Ref ML 128.S3 S31 1966
Song Index of the Enoch Pratt Free Library	Ref ML128.S3 L665 1998
Songs in Collections	Ref ML 128.S3 D37

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Song Texts and Guides -- General Resources (Alcuin subject heading: Songs--Texts)
The Fischer-Dieskau Book of Lieder	ML 54.6.F57 1977
Handbook to Bach’s Sacred Cantata Texts	Ref ML54.B15 C329 1996
The Interpretation of French Song	MT 892.B4
IPASource.com	Click here
Lieder, Line by Line and Word for Word	Ref ML 54.6 .P55 L5 1980
The Penguin Book of Lieder	ML 54.6 .P75 P5
The Ring of Words	ML 54.6 .M5 T5 1963
Sacred Latin Text and English Translations for the Choral Conductor and Church Musican	Ref ML54.8.S23 1998
Song Genre Page from DW3	Click here
The Spanish Song Companion	ML 54.6 .S76 1992
Word-by-Word Translations of Songs and Arias	Ref ML 54.6 .W65

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Song Texts and Guides -- Specific Composers
Brahms' Complete Song Texts	Ref ML 54.6.B82 G52 1999
The Complete Song Texts (Schubert) (Includes phonetic transcriptions)	ML 54.6 S39 W53 1988
A Guide to the Solo Songs of Johannes Brahms	MT 121.B73 S73 1995
Hugo Wolf and his Morilke Songs	ML 410.W8 Y68 2000
Hugo Wolf's Complete Song Texts	Ref ML54.6 .W853 G52 2000
The Lieder of Richard Strauss	MT 121.S83 J4
The Poetic Debussy	ML 54.6.D42 C62 1982
Schubert's Complete Song Texts, 2 vols.	Ref ML 54.6 .S39 G5 1996
Singing Schumann	MT 121.S38 M55 1999
Songs and Madrigals (Monteverdi)	ML 54.7 .M66 1999
The Songs of Hugo Wolf	ML 410.W8 S2 1983
Texts of the Solo Songs of Hugo Wolf in English	ML 54.6 .W6 D72

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Interpretation and Guides to Performance (Alcuin subject heading: Singing--Interpretation)
The Art of the Song Recital	MT 892 .E54
Bringing Soprano Arias to Life	MT 892.G64
The Interpretation of French Song	MT 892.B4
An Interpretive Guide to Operatic Arias	MT 892 .S5 1983
Master Lessons of Fifty Opera Arias	Oversize MT 892.W5
Music for the Voice	ML 128.V7 K3 1968
The Performer Prepares	MT 892.C34 1990
Repertoire for the Solo Voice	Ref ML 128.S3 E8
Schubert Song Cycles, With Thoughts on Performance	MT 892 .M6
Singer and Accompanist	MT 892 .M7 1973
Singer's Repertoire	Ref ML 128.V7 C67 1960

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Phonetics and Diction (Alcuin subject heading: Singing--Diction)
Diction for Singers (English, Italian, Latin, German, French, Spanish)	Ref MT 872.D52 1990
A Handbook of Diction for Singers (Italian, German, French)	Ref MT 883 .A23 1999
Overtones of Bel Canto (Includes exercises)	Oversize MT 883. C6
Phonetic Readings of Songs and Arias	Ref MT 883 .S56 1996
Singing Early Music (European languages in Late Middle Ages and Renaissance)	MT 883 .S56 1996

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Opera Resources
The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, 4 vols.	Ref ML 102.O6 N5 1992
Annals of Opera, 1597-1940	Ref ML 102.O6 L3 1955
The Aria Database	Click here
The Billboard Encyclopedia of Opera	Ref ML 102.06 B55 2004
Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera	Ref ML 102.O6 R67
Crowell's Handbook of World Opera	Ref ML 102.O6 R67
Encyclopedia of Opera, ed. Orrey	Ref ML 102.O6 E6
Encyclopedia of Opera, Ewen	Ref ML 102.O6 E9 1963
Guide to Operatic Duets	Ref ML 102.O6 B6 1994
Guide to Operatic Roles and Arias	Ref Ml 102.O6 B64 1994
The International Opera Guide	Ref ML 102.O6 S76 1990
The Metropolitan Opera Encyclopedia	Ref ML 102.O6 M47 1987
The Metropolitan Opera History	Click here
Opera and Musical Theatre (Indiana Univ.)	Click here
Opera Genre Page from DW3	Click here
Opera Glass	Click here
Singers' Edition, Operatic Arias: Lyric Soprano...	Oversize MT 890.S56 L97 1992
Singers' Edition, Operatic Arias: Sobrette...	Oversize MT 890.S56 L675 1992
Yahoo!'s Opera Links	Click here

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Musical Theatre Resources (Alcuin subject heading: Musicals)
The American Musical Theatre Song Encyclopedia	Ref ML 102 .M88 H59 1995
A Century of Musicals in Black and White	Ref ML 102 .M88 P37 1993
The Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre, 2 vols.	Ref ML 102 .M88 G3 1994
Musicals! A Complete Selection Guide for Local Productions	ML19 .L9 1994
Opera and Musical Theatre (Indiana Univ.)	Click here
Singers Musical Theatre Anthology (Song collection in volumes by voice part)	M 1507 .S63 1993
With an Air Debonair: Musical Theatre in America	ML 1711 .P67 1991

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Search Alcuin - Tips for Vocal Music Searches

Limit to material type (Music Scores/Printed Music or Sound Recordings, in the drop-down menus)

Separate words with AND, OR, & NOT

Schubert AND song
Schubert AND (song OR lied)
Bach NOT Johann

Truncate words with an asterisk that may have multiple endings

Bach AND cantat* - will find cantata, cantate, cantatas, cantaten
Schubert AND (song* OR lied*) – will find song, songs, lied, lieder
Rachmanino* - will find items listed as Rachmaninov and Rachmaninoff

Use catalog or opus number of larger work rather than song name

Bach AND “bwv 61”
Mozart AND “K. 427