French Vocal Literature

Repertoire in Context

By (author) Georgine Resick

Publication date:

22 December 2017

Length of book:

342 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

ISBN-13: 9781442258440

French Vocal Literature: Repertoire in Context introduces singers to the history and performance concerns of a vast body of French songs from the twelfth century to the present, focusing on works for solo voice or small vocal ensembles with piano or organ accompaniment, suitable for recitals, concerts, and church performances. Georgine Resick presents vocal repertoire within the context of trends and movements of other artistic disciplines, such as poetry, literature, dance, painting, and decorative arts, as well as political and social currents pertinent to musical evolution. Developments in French style and genre—and comparisons among individual composers and national styles—are traced through a network of musical influence.

French Vocal Literature is ideally suited for voice teachers and coaches as well as student and professional performers. The companion website, frenchvocalliterature.com, provides publication information, a discography, links to online recordings and scores, a chronology of events pertinent to music, a genealogy of royal dynasties, and a list of governmental regimes.

Prologue: French Prosody
Chapter One: French Poetry and the Development of Vocal Forms (12^th-16^th centuries)
Chapter Two: The Turbulent Century and the Air de cour (1576-1661)
Chapter Three: The Grand Siècle: Louis XIV and the birth of French opera (1661-1715)
Chapter Four: Life after Lully (1697-1750)
Entr’acte: Enlightenment, Revolution and Empire (1750-1815)
Chapter Five: Romance to Mélodie: The Advent of Romanticism in France (1815-1848)
Chapter Six: Middle Class Mélodie (1848-1870)
Chapter Seven: The Mélodie as Chamber Music (1850-75)
Chapter Eight : Wagnerites and Acolytes (1880s and 1890s)
Chapter Nine: The Belle Epoque I (1885-1894)
Chapter Ten: Harmonic and Prosodic Rebels: The “Impressionists” (Belle Époque II:1894-1906)
Chapter Eleven: “True France” and the March to War (Belle Époque III: 1906-1914)
Chapter Twelve : Les Années folles: Cocteau, Satie and Les Six (1918-1930)
Chapter 13: Mystical Mélodie: Romanticism extended (1914-1945)
Chapter Fourteen: Into the Twenty-First Century: Connecting the Irreconcilable (1945-present)

Many singers would find this [book] to be a welcome addition to the literature. . . The text would be a natural fit for a college vocal literature course. . . French Vocal Literature further establishes Resick’s reputation as a champion of underestimated composers and their work by providing resources for future generations while honoring the legacy of generations past.