Songbooks

Rent

This is by far the must-get theater book of the year. With dazzling punk graphics that will quickly win book industry awards, the volume contains the entire libretto of the Tony- and Pulitzer-winning musical about love and loyalty among starving AIDS-stricken artists in New York's East Village. But editors Evelyn McDonnell and Katherine Silberger wisely understand that the story of the show's creation is as compelling as the musical itself--so more than half of this volume is devoted to an oral history of the composer/lyricist/librettist Jonathan Larson, who came to New York hoping to revolutionize musical theater--then died of an aortic aneurysm the night of the show's final preview. It's an event book for an event musical.

In these pages, Rent offers what most theater books can't: a chance to step behind the curtain and feel the electricity of a stage phenomenon as it unfolds.

Rent has single-handedly reinvigorated Broadway and taken America by storm. Sweeping all major theater awards, including the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for drama, as well as four 1996 Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Book, and Best Score for a Musical, Rent captures the heart and spirit of a generation, refleting it onstage through the emotion of its stirring words and music, and the energy of its young cast. Now, for the first time, Rent comes to life on the page -- through vivid color photographs, the full libretto, and an utterly compelling behind-the-scenes oral history of the show's creation. Here is the exclusive and absolutely complete companion to Rent, told in the voices of the extraordinary talent behind its success: the actors, the director, the producers, and the librettist and composer himself, Jonathan Larson, whose sudden death, on the eve of the first performance, has made Rent's life-affirming message all the more poignant.

24 Italian Songs and Arias - Medium Low Voice (Book/CD): Medium Low Voice - Book/CD (Schirmer's Library of Musical Classics)

For well over a century, the G. Schirmer edition of 24 Italian Songs and Arias of the 17th and 18th Centuries has introduced millions of beginning singers to serious Italian vocal literature. Offered in two accessible keys suitable for all singers, it is likely to be the first publication a voice teacher will ask a first-time student to purchase. The classic Parisotti realizations result in rich, satisfying accompaniments which allow singers pure musical enjoyment. For ease of practice, carefully prepared accompaniments are also recorded on CD by John Keene, a New York-based concert accompanist and vocal coach who has performed throughout the United States for radio and television. Educated at the University of Southern California, Keene has taught accompanying at the university level and collaborated with Gian Carlo Menotti and Thea Musgrave on productions of their operas.

100 Carols for Choirs

This is a selection of the best-loved carols and hymns for Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, and Easter: 74 of the most popular titles from Carols for Choirs 1, 2 and 3, plus 26 titles new to the series. There are carols suitable for both sacred and secular occasions, and both accompanied and unaccompanied material. The Order of Service for a Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols is included.

Company

Here at last is Furth's libretto to the convention-shattering 1970 musical (revived on Broadway in 1995) that launched composer Sondheim's most fertile period--and his cult. Originally a series of one-act plays about marriage, the musical adds a linking character, Robert, who is the only one without a spouse. In visiting each of a half dozen couples who are his friends, Robert seeks to learn "what do you get" from being married. The answer is far from Hallmark, but visceral. The text includes Furth's witty, cutting dialogue and Sondheim's brilliant lyrics--especially to "Another Hundred People," "Have I Got a Girl for You" and "Being Alive." A portrait of urban angst that is nonetheless hilarious.

16 vocal selections from the Broadway musical, including: Another Hundred People * Company * Getting Married Today * Have I Got a Girl for You * The Ladies Who Lunch * The Little Things You Do Together * Side by Side by Side * Sorry - Grateful * Tick Tock * and more.

Wagner's Ring of the Nibelung

There has long been a need for a modern English translation of Wagner's Ring -- a version that is reliable and readable yet at the same time is a true reflection of the literary quality of the German libretto. Stewart Spencer's well-reviewed translation, which follows the verse form of the original exactly, has filled that niche. It reads smoothly and idiomatically yet is the result of prolonged thought and deep background knowledge. The translation is accompanied by Spencer's introductory essay on the libretto and a series of specially commissioned texts by Barry Millington, Roger Hollinrake, Elizabeth Magee, and Warren Darcy that discuss the cycle's musical structure, philosophical implications, medieval sources, and Wagner's own changing attitude to its meaning. With a glossary of names, a review of audio and video recordings, and a select bibliography, the book serves as an essential complement to Wagner's great epic.

Messiah in Full Score

Dido and Aeneas: An Opera (Norton Critical Scores)

The Magic Flute (Guide to Understanding and Appreciating Opera)

Mozart's "fairy-tale opera" is one of the most beloved works in the repertory. It is a favorite for children's first exposure to opera as it is an enchanting work jammed with melodies that are both noble and playful. The Magic Flute is also one of the most problematic works in the repertory, full of staging difficulties (the hero enters, pursued by a monstrous serpent, and promptly faints--not very heroic of him) and some elements that seem unpleasantly sexist and racist to today's sensibilities. And there's the perennial malcontent who's all too eager to point out that The Magic Flute is not really a grand opera in any case, but a mere singspiel, with spoken dialogue and coarse comedy, no better than an operetta. And what's with all the Masonic imagery?

The story certainly has problems, but the score--one of Mozart's last--overcomes them all as surely as the Three Ladies scrag the serpent and Sarastro and the forces of truth and reason overcome the wicked Queen of the Night. This music has it all, from the heroic notes of Sarastro and the priests to the humor of the bird catcher Papageno. Don't overlook the wonderful ensembles of the Drei Damen and Drei Knaben; Mozart blends trios of soprano voices in a way that's undiluted magic, and that no one even came close to imitating until more than two centuries later, when Richard Strauss took the master's lessons to heart.

You can examine for yourself just how Mozart achieved his effect with this full orchestral score from Dover. It's a reprint of another publisher's out-of-copyright score (C.F. Peters of Leipzig, in this particular case); also, there's not a word of English in it once you get past Dover's title pages and the translation of the table of contents that they've thoughtfully provided. What you will get is all of the instrumental parts (note that most pianists will be unable to do much with this score!), all of the vocal parts, and acres of uncut German dialogue. Dover scores are a reasonably priced resource for singers, instrumentalists, conductors, and anyone who cares deeply about the opera.

The Black Dog Opera Library is the most popular, informative, and budget-friendly way to enjoy the greatest operas of all time. Each book contains a history of the opera, a synopsis of the story, a complete libretto in its original language as well as in English, dozens of photos, and a world-class Angel/EMI recording of the entire opera on two CDs. It's a must-have for die-hard opera lovers as well as those in need of an introduction to the timeless art form.

The Pirates of Penzance in Full Score

German Requiem in Full Score

Many composers--Mozart, Verdi, Durufle, Faure--have written settings of the requiem, the Roman Catholic mass for the dead, and the listener can find a score for every taste, from the bombastic to the reflective. In this 1865 composition, Johannes Brahms took a different tack. Instead of using the familiar texts of the Latin Mass, Brahms chose to write a German requiem with a decidedly evangelical tack. Using texts from the German translation of the Bible--beginning with a phrase from the Beatitudes and ending with the Revelation of St. John the Divine ("Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord Â…") Brahms created one of the most comforting works of its kind ever written. (There are few greater evocations of heavenly bliss than No. 4, the chorus sung in English as "How lovely is thy dwelling place.") You can see how he did it with this full orchestral score from Dover. Dover scores are short on bells and whistles--not to mention English translations--but if your primary interest is in the music and how it was put together, you will find this a valuable tool at a bargain price.