The idea for FIFTY-FIVE ART SONGS was conceived by Carl O. Thompson, head of The Division of Fine and Applied Arts at the State Teachers College, Bemidji, Minnesota. From his experience as a choral conductor, he knew how much choral groups enjoyed the chance to sing beautiful solos in unison instead of always being confined to their individual parts. But this collection isn't designed just for unison choral singing: It is equally valuable for class or individual vocal teaching, for amateurs and professionals. Sigmund Spaeth, well known for his writings, lectures, and radio talks on music, collaborated with Dr. Thompson in assembling this collection. He best describes its scope in the foreword: "This book is a cross section of the entire literature of Art Song. Every one of the 55 numbers is a classic of its kind and each is by a different composer, which in itself makes the collection unique." Also unique are Spaeth's new singable translations of the German, French, Italian, and Russian songs.

Originally created as a teaching tool, this bibliography has taken on a second life as a research tool for various facets of American art song, including, in this edition, both current and historical discography.

Each year as high school solo and ensemble festivals approach, choir directors and voice teachers search for the right songs for their students to sing. There is so much music available for young developing voices, but how can an overworked teacher keep track of it all? Songs for Young Singers, a careful review of more than 2,000 songs printed in over 70 anthologies, has been written to address the needs of choir directors and voice teachers of junior high and high school age students. Section I lists songs by title as well as the anthologies in which they are found . Teachers wishing to explore the works of a particular composer will turn to section II, where songs are listed by composer. In section III, IV, and V, the songs are categorized by Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced levels for Quick reference. Section VI lists the anthologies reviewed with a detailed description of the vocal demand of each song in the anthology. The songs have been evaluated on seven criteria: melodic contour (including range), phrase length, language, rhythm, accompaniment, harmonic language, and dynamics, and are listed by title, composer, and level of difficulty.

Recent American Art Song: A Guide is a reference source devoted to songs with English texts by American composers, written for solo voice and piano. The book focuses exclusively on art song since 1980, a substantial period largely ignored by scholars. This is the first study to examine this repertory in detail, and many of the songs and composers are discussed in print for the first time. Keith E. Clifton has examined approximately 1000 songs by nearly 200 composers. Many songs employ musical idioms well beyond traditional classical styles, including references to jazz, musical theater, rap, and rock & roll, and several songs blur the boundaries between recital and stage works. Organized alphabetically by composer, entries contain complete biographical and bibliographical information, with major works and links to print resources and composer websites when available. In addition, Clifton provides detailed information on the vocal range, musical style, and appropriate voice type for individual songs. The book concludes with a full discography and bibliography, as well as indexes listing the works by poet, song cycle, title, voice type, and level of difficulty.

The Song Index features over 150,000 citations that lead users to over 2,100 song books spanning more than a century, from the 1880s to the 1990s. The songs cited represent a multitude of musical practices, cultures, and traditions, ranging from ehtnic to regional, from foreign to American, representing every type of song: popular, folk, children's, political, comic, advertising, protest, patriotic, military, and classical, as well as hymns, spirituals, ballads, arias, choral symphonies, and other larger works. This comprehensive volume also includes a bibliography of the books indexed; an index of sources from which the songs originated; and an alphabetical composer index.