Item Detail
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Barlow, Harold
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Morgenstern, Sam
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A dictionary of vocal themes
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Book
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New York, N.Y.
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1950
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Crown Publishers
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vi, 547 p. ; 25 cm.
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English
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Vocal music--Thematic catalogs.
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Vocal Music; Vocal Themes
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ML 128 .V7 B3 1950
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Barlow, Harold, and Sam Morgenstern. A Dictionary of Vocal Themes. New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1950.
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A reference for singers and musicians in identifying vocal themes and their composers.
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The dictionary includes the prominent themes from operas, cantatas, oratorios, Lieder, art songs, and miscellaneous vocal pieces. The themes included have been recorded in the United States and Europe. A folk song is only included if it has been arranged and edited by a composer “steeped in [his] own national folk idiom” and if recordings of the song have become “an international heritage.” If a popular tune has been recorded numerous times, it is included. Because Bach and Handel produced an enormous output of vocal themes, only those works recorded and those believed to be of most use are included. Only the most often performed themes are included for Lieder composers whose output is large, such as Schubert, Brahms, Wolf, and Strauss. Regarding operas, arias are included in the dictionary, but only selected, well-known recitatives are included. Some prolific composers are represented by only a couple songs because further scores are unavailable. Some operas, like Electra and Salome, are excluded as no particular vocal line is more significant than another.
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Alphabetical by composer’s last name. If multiple themes are listed by one composer, they are listed categorically (cantatas, Lieder, operas, oratorios, songs, etc.). However, some composer’s works are listed by opus number. Mozart’s works are listed according to their Köchel numbers. Each theme listed includes the composer, title, and an incipit that includes text. For some works, opening phrases are listed rather than a prominent theme because of difficulty in distinguishing a prominent theme. Indexed by melodic sequence (for finding entries by initial sequence of notes rather than composer), first line of text, and title.
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Stephanie Lee
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BYU Mus Ref
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2182