of the book explores how we can begin to read poetry and

contains lists of poems that may be used for study and

reading. There are also suggestions that might be helpful in
becoming comfortable working with the texts we sing.
The musical score is the framework for the poem—its
partner and the other half of the art song equation.
Studying the score and seeing how the composer has set
the words in a musical context is vital to preparing song
repertoire. Working with style is another important
component of the preparation puzzle. Looking at the broad
components or musical characteristics of the song and
breaking them into smaller sub-headings can help us see
how the composer has intuited the poem and has translated
its imagery into sound.
The next section of the book centers on working with
recital formats of differing designs and content, and
discusses building recitals of varied, interesting, and
engaging repertoire. The ideas presented here are intended
to spark interest in working with repertoire in ways that
will produce a committed, organic performance.
After all the preparation is completed, the songs we have
worked on so diligently must be communicated to our
listeners in performance. Our presentation must reflect our
preparatory work, our vocal sound, and our artistic
sensibilities.
Interpretation is an intangible word and shares a
relationship to the singer’s emotional response in the
moment of performance. Distinguished interpreter of the
French mélodie and renowned teacher Pierre Bernac
wrote: “In the art of music, it is the interpreter’s
performance which we come to regard as the work itself.” 1
In order to produce imaginative and artistic performances,
singers must have done extensive preliminary work with
words and music. Then, armed with the knowledge that
they have uncovered, abandon themselves in the moment of
performance to being the final conduit for the voices of the
poet and the composer.