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Songs from AustraliaDavid Miller, Wendy Dixon, Cathy Aggett and Linda Foulsham Wollongong, 2006: Wirripang, 246pp, CD ISBN 1876829 09 5 www.australiancomposers.com.au Reviewed by Carol-ann Bentley The authors have combined their many skills and vast experience to create this impressive resource book. Twenty seven Australian songs, composed between 1933 and 2002, have been selected for this much needed teaching manual. The songs alone would attract many with their variety of moods, styles and musical features, but here we have each song prefaced by pages of information to educate, assist and enhance performance through understanding of style, meaning, concepts and technique. There are several composers represented. Horace Keats has been featured strongly and his works of 1930s and 1940s give us a good indication of his wonderful contribution to song, and why he has been referred to as The Schubert of Australia. Others include Carl Vine, Peter Sculthorpe, Alan Tregaskis, Stephen Yates and John Wayne Dixon. The words chosen for setting vary from ancient writings and folk lore to well known poets e.g. William Blake. The subject matters and moods range from the humorous Monkey and Turtle (Leek/Trad), the gentleness of The Lamb (Keats/Blake), the sorrow of Come Sleep (Glanville-Hicks/Fletcher), to the rollicking Waltzing Matilda (Cowan/OLeary/Patterson). Value for the voice teacher and performer. The selection and the grading of the songs follow the new component of the 2005 Trinity Syllabus and these gradings are listed in the book along with the A.M.E.B gradings where appropriate. This is very useful for the singing teacher in the selection of repertoire for exam and non exam students. There is a midi accompaniment CD with the book, and this assists in the learning process, as does the Glossary included. A wonderful inclusion is Appendix 1 containing vocal exercises and technique, with cross references to songs e,g. development of breath control, legato and transition through upper passaggio. These exercises can also be used as warm ups for all voice students. General background of the song, outcomes, notes on the composer, voice types, range and tessitura are given for each entry. How many goodies can there be? At the front of the book is the useful diction guide for English, using the International Phonetic Alphabet. Ideas for the singer are found in Performance Techniques e.g. Dinahs song (Rofe/Rothfield) comments on word-painting and special intervals. Epigram 1 (Yates/ancient texts) has advice on breathing and approaching chromatic passages. Textural analysis is a wonderful feature as it gives insight into the poetry of the songs, and understanding makes for a more sensitive presentation. The piano accompanist is given suggestions for interpretation and communication, with gradings provided. These gems from the experts include attention to special words, chords and communication in the comments for Sea Wraith (Keats/Donnelly); tips on maintaining dramatic tension in Evening (Dixon/Dickinson); and the use of the pedal to give atmospheric effects in The Stars Turn (Sculthorpe/Morphett). Value for the HSC teacher and student. Both courses in HSC Music are concepts based. The analysis of duration, pitch, dynamics and expressive techniques, tone colour, texture and structure make it ideal as a resource for schools. The Music 1 students could use the information and songs for a study of 3 of the set topics. The Music 2 students have a mandatory topic Music of the last 25 years, and 9 songs are in that category. A recording list is supplied for each song. Finally, the book has good sized print and stays secure on the piano stand! A CD of Songs From Australia is available, with Wendy Dixon accompanied by David Miller. We can look forward to the follow up book which is underway. In my opinion the authors have achieved their aim of supplying us with a solid resource to assist in the development of interpretive and performance skills.
Music Forum Vol 13, Issue 1 |
