Daring Divas 3: Finding Repertoire: Publishers to Explore, Part One

Greetings all!  There are quite a few wonderful resources for classical vocal music to explore, and I’d like to share a bit about each that I’ve found.  If I haven’t mentioned one that you know about, please do feel free to share their information in the comments section. The first two companies have absolutely huge catalogues with an amazing selection.

The first company is Classical Vocal Reprints, owned by Glendower Jones.  Mr. Jones is passionate about his repertoire, extremely knowledgeable, and always more than willing to share information about the music he has in his catalog.  If you call the company’s main line you will likely speak with him directly.  He is a generous man; in 2007 I participated in the National Association of Teachers of Singing Intern Program, and he generously donated multiple music scores to all twelve of us! He is the main publisher for Lori Laitman’s songs, and also carries the music of IAWM members Judith Cloud and Joelle Wallach.  In addition to Laitman’s music, I purchased a wonderful selection of spirituals by Jacqueline Hairston (niece of African-American choral composer/actor Jester Hairston) from his site, and highly recommend them for singers of all levels.  I also see that Jones carries the music of American composers Lora Aborn, Vivian Fung, Valerie Saalbach, Evelyn Simpson-Curenton, and Joyce Hope Suskind. He also carries some music of Beach, Chaminade, and publishes Baroque music through Green Man Press.   So much to explore…and when budget allows I cannot wait to explore the vocal music of many more of these composers.  The website: http://www.classicalvocalrep.com/

Company #2 has a similar wonderful owner: Walter Foster of Recital Publications.  He carefully selects each piece of music he carries, and is very accessible for dialogue if you are interested in the music of a particular composer. (He even put me in touch with an additional European publisher for a composer I was researching.) His focus is on late 19^th and early 20^th century art songs from many countries, with some additional genres such as concert arias, duets, and vocal chamber music.  I researched and discovered the music of Giulia Recli, Mary Turner Salter, Adela Maddison, Bertha Frensel Wegener-Koopman, Mathilde von Kralik, Yvette Guilbert, Helen Hopekirk, and others through Foster’s great reprints.  Many items in his catalog are public domain materials reprinted for modern use.  This is a bonus for recording and performance purposes!  In addition to the above composers, the following female composers are included in the RP catalogue: Frances Allitsen, Dina Appeldoorn, Adele Aus der Ohe, Agathe Backer-Grondahl, Amy Beach, Lili and Nadia Boulanger, Gena Branscombe, Cecile Chaminade, Henriette Coclet, Eva Dell’Acqua, Cécile Dufresne, Eleanor Everest Freer, Mme. Marie de Grandval, Marie Hinrichs, Augusta Holmes, Elisabeth Kuyper, Margaret Ruthven Lang, Liza Lehmann, Lise Maria Mayer, Catharina van Rennes, Clara Kathleen Rogers, Lady John (Alice) Scott, Hilda Sehested, Rita Strohl, Julie Weissberg, Maude White, Elsa Laura von Wolzogen, and others.  If I win the lottery I will purchase the complete catalogue!!!  In the meantime, there is much to explore and many female composers worthy of research and consideration.  I highly recommend this company and its incredible owner.  The website: http://recitalpublications.com/

In order to do each publishing company justice, I will continue this discussion in another post.  Stay tuned, and please comment if you have any experiences to share or any composers you recommend from the above publishers. Thanks for reading!

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Julie Cross, Treasurer of the IAWM, is a mezzo teaching voice, diction, and vocal literature at the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater. She blogs about how performers choose repertoire.

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