A Handbook of Diction for Singers: Italian, German, French

Written for the student whose native languge is English, this book is designed to serve as the core text for courses in Italian, German, and French diction required of all voice majors. It is also intended for voice teachers, vocal coaches, conductors, and anyone else who deals with the singing of texts in these languages. The book begins with an overview of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), then provides for each language a list of IPA symbols corresponding to its sound and explains the pronunciation of its specific sounds and sound combinations, with detailed discussion of syllabification and word structure, diacritical marks, vowel lengths, double consonants and consonant clusters, and the use of dictionaries. Illustrated with numerous musical examples and exercises, this text concentrates on the pitfalls that most affect singers.