The Boosey Voice Coach is an entirely new concept in vocal training. Not a self-teaching manual, and not filled with off-putting diagrams, this series is a wholly practical guide to singing - learning about technique and interpretation through the repertoire itself. Each volume is devoted to singing in one particular language or to singing in a specific context, such as musical theatre or oratorio.
In each volume of the series, works from the vocal canon have been selected specifically by Mary King for their technical and musical challenges. Each piece is discussed at length, starting with the words ('Text' - including a literal translation as appropriate), moving to general advice about how the song might be approached ('Notes'), and then addressing the technical difficulties the music presents ('Skills'). Expressed in clear language, Mary King's approach is direct, practical and not limited to one particular teaching method. Any student will find that these books enrich and complement their vocal studies.
Singing in English: Even for native speakers, the English language presents singers with particular difficulties. How do you manage diphthongs, for example? How do you make consonants clear without spoiling the vocal line? How do you make sense of the story-telling in a strophic folksong? These issues and more are covered in this book, which contains songs with texts in the English language, from Britain and elsewhere.

Introduction
Purcell/Britten: Music for a while
Purcell/Britten: Man if for the woman made
Purcell/Britten: Sweeter than rose
Handel: O sleep, why dost thou leave me?
Handel: Where'er you walk
Haydn: The mermaid's song
Haydn: The spirit's song
Haydn: My mother bids me bind my hair
Warlock: The countryman
Warlock: The baylyn berith the bell away
Warlock: There is a lady sweet and kind
Finzi: Rollicum rorum
finzi: Fear no more the heat o' the sun
Traditional (arr. Britten): Oliver Cromwell
Traditional (arr. Britten): The salley gardens
Traditional (arr. Britten): The trees they grow so high
Copland: Why do they shut me out of heaven?
Copland: Heart we will forget him
Rorem: Orchids
Rorem: The serpent
Pronunciation guide