This significant reference of over 600 entries compiles and catalogues information about repertoire composed specifically for the countertenor from 1950 to 2000. Representing more than 350 composers, it provides a resource for countertenors and voice teachers to identify and become more familiar with contemporary works for countertenor.

"In Twentieth-Century Countertenor Repertoire: A Guide, Steven L. Rickards has compiled and cataloged information about more than 600 pieces composed specifically for the countertenor between 1950 and 2000. He has collected works from thirty countries in thirty-one languages - including early forms of Akkadian, English, Flemish, French, and Greek - and representing more than 350 composers. With reference numbers for easy accessibility, entries include composers' names, birth and death dates, and nationality; title, medium, date, duration, instrumentation, voicing, range, and tessitura of the compositions; and author and language of the texts. Rickards also provides the who, when, and where of premiers, whether the pieces were commissioned, and publisher and availability. He also offers personal observations and those of the composers', including the difficulty and appropriateness of the works for differing levels of singers, from students to professionals."--BOOK JACKET.

The use of high male voices in the past has long been one of the most seriously misunderstood areas of musical scholarship and practice. In opening up this rich subject (to readers of all sorts) with refreshingly clear perspectives and plenty of new material, Simon Ravens' well-researched book goes a very long way to rectifying matters. Ravens writes damnably well, and if the story that emerges is necessarily a complex one, his treatment of it is always engagingly comprehensible.' ANDREW PARROTT Tracing the origins, influences and development of falsetto singing in Western music, Simon Ravens offers a revisionist history of high male singing from the Ancient Greeks to Michael Jackson. This history embraces not just singers of counter-tenor and alto parts up to and including our own time but the castrati of the Ancient world, the male sopranists of late Medieval and Renaissance Europe, and the dual-register tenors of the Baroque and Classical periods. Musical aesthetics aside, to understand the changing ways men have sung high, it is also vital to address extra-musical factors - which are themselves in a state of flux. To this end, Ravens illuminates his chronological survey by exploring topics as diverse as human physiology, the stereotyping of national characters, gender identity, and the changing of boys' voices. The result is a complex and fascinating history sure to appeal not only to music scholars but to performers and all those with an interest particularly in early music. Simon Ravens is a performer, writer, and director of Musica Contexta, with whom he has performed in Britain and Europe, regularly broadcast, and made numerous acclaimed recordings. Ravens had previously founded and directed Australasia's foremost early music choir, the Tudor Consort. Between 2002 and 2007 his regular monthly column Ravens View appeared in the Early Music Review, to which he still regularly contributes.

Choral Music: A Research and Information Guide, Third Edition, offers a comprehensive guide to the literature on choral music in the Western tradition. Clearly annotated bibliographic entries guide readers to resources on key topics within choral music, individual choral composers, regional and sacred choral traditions, choral techniques, choral music education, genre studies, and more, providing an essential reference for researchers and practitioners. Covering monographs, bibliographies, selected dissertations, reference works, journals, electronic databases, and websites, this research guide makes it easy to locate relevant sources. Comprehensive indices of authors, titles, and subjects keep the volume user-friendly. The new edition has been brought up to date with entries encompassing the latest scholarship, and updated references and annotations throughout, capturing the continued growth of literature on choral music since the publication of the second edition.

In its 114th year, Billboard remains the world's premier weekly music publication and a diverse digital, events, brand, content and data licensing platform. Billboard publishes the most trusted charts and offers unrivaled reporting about the latest music, video, gaming, media, digital and mobile entertainment issues and trends.

"Opera Coaching "is the first practical guide for pianists, singers, and opera producers to this important--and often neglected--career. The opera coach is a teacher who helps singers not only meet the physical and vocal demands of a score, but--like the dramatic coach--shapes their entire performance. The opera coach must have a wide knowledge, from a full understanding of human physiognomy and the human voice, to the many languages used in Western vocal music, to the entire expanse of the opera repertoire, from its roots in 17th century sung drama through today's most modern compositions. "Opera Coaching "covers all of these topics and more, making it the ideal resource for anyone interested in this fascinating career.