Phonetic Readings of Songs and Arias - Paperback

by Berton Coffin (Author)

Since 1964, the first edition has served singers, teachers of singing, and students of lyric diction as a guide to the correct pronunciation of songs in foreign languages. Lyrics and phonetic transcriptions are presented together so that a song may be correctly articulated from the first reading. The 413 songs included have been carefully selected from Coffin's The Singer's Repertoire (1960) and are representative of the most frequently performed vocal repertoire, with songs and arias for all voice classifications. This second edition contains revised German transcriptions with diphthongs altered to be of better acoustical and vocal value in singing. Correlated with Coffin's Overtones of Bel Canto (1980).

Author Biography

The late Berton Coffin's teachings and writings established him as an international authority on vocal pedagogy. Professor Emeritus, University of Colorado, Boulder, he also lived and taught in Europe from 1976 to 1983-in his private studio in Vienna; during summers with the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria; and in twenty-one opera houses in Austria, Denmark, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland. He presented master classes in the United States and in Europe and served as a visiting professor of voice at U.S. universities. Dr. Coffin, baritone, held academic and professional music degrees from Columbia University, Eastman School of Music, Chicago Musical College, and Earlham College.