Austrian composer's splendid settings of 53 poems by German poet Eduard Mörike. Includes Der Tambour, Verborgenheit, Elfenlied, 50 more. New literal prose translations of the lyrics provided, with lists of song titles and openings, and glossary of German musical terms. Sturdily bound, clearly reproduced collection of some of the finest lieder ever composed.

The Complete Songs of Hugo Wolf gathers together for the first time every poem Wolf set to music. Alongside the original German texts are translations by leading Lieder expert Richard Stokes, who also provides illuminating commentary. The 36 poets set by Wolf are each given their own chapter: a brief essay on the poet is followed by a note on Wolf's connection with the writer, extracts from letters that throw light on the Songs and convey his mood at the time of composition, and the texts and translations. Short biographies of all Wolf's correspondents flesh out the extraordinary life of this genius. This will be an indispensable volume for all lovers of Lieder.

Viennese composer Hugo Wolf produced one of the most important song collections of the nineteenth century when he set to music fifty-three poems by the great German poet Eduard Mörike. Susan Youens reappraises this singular collaboration to shed new light on the sophisticated interplay between poetry and music in the songs. Wolf is customarily described as 'the Poet's Composer', someone who revered poetry and served it faithfully in his music. Yet, as Youens reveals, this cliché overlooks the rich terrain in which his songs are often at cross purposes with his chosen poetry. Although Wolf did much to draw the world's attention to the neglected Swabian poet, his musical interpretation of the poetry was also influenced by his own life, psychology and experiences. This book examines selected Mörike songs in detail, demonstrating that the poems and music each have their own distinctive stories which at times intersect but also diverge.

With a foreword by the legendary accompanist, Gerald Moore, Eric Sams' study (Faber 1961, revised 1983) is a notable landmark in the establishment of Wolf as one of the supreme masters of German song. Comprehensively revised and enlarged in 1983, the main subject matter remains the 242 published songs that Wolf wrote for voice and piano, though the Ibsen songs for voice and orchestra are also discussed. English translations are provided and the backgrounds to the original poems by Morike, Eichendorff and Goethe, as well as the Italian and Spanish sources from which the songbooks were drawn, are fully explored. Each song is dated, its keys identified and vocal range determined. 'This is the most important book in the English language on the songs of Hugo Wolf since Ernest Newman proclaimed the composer's genius in 1907 . . . To the English-speaking student this work is a treasure to which he will find himself returning again and again: it is indispensable to those of us anxious to gain a deeper knowledge of Wolf.' Gerald Moore

Forty-three of the finest songs by foremost lute performer and composer of the early 17th century; includes two dances for solo guitar, original lute tablature, and complete song texts.

These masterful works by the baroque composer Arcangelo Corelli (1653 1713) are among the earliest created in the concerto grosso form. They radiate a vibrant lyricism and crisp dignity of style that set them clearly apart from works by most earlier composers, who strove primarily for virtuoso brilliance and whimsy. This finely produced yet inexpensive paperback edition meticulously reproduces the scores of all twelve of Corelli's concerti grossi from a famous edition prepared by violinist Joseph Joachim and musicologist Friedrich Chrysander at the end of the nineteenth century. Corelli's concerti grossi for strings and continuo, most of them written in the last three decades of his life, were not published until 1714, the year following his death. Together with his other works four sets of trio sonatas and one set of violin sonatas they won him celebrity in his lifetime, great influence on other composers in the decades after his death, and a fervent admiration from musicians, critics, and audiences that has never declined through the centuries."