A NEW AUSTRALIAN ART SONG RESOURCE

 INTRODUCTION

Mezzo soprano Jenny Duck-Chong and soprano Nicole Thomson are developing an exciting new resource for teachers and students of singing, an online database simply called the Australian Art Song Resource (AASR). Each listed song will include a comprehensive set of data and source material links. We hope this new tailored Resource will enable people to more easily access and discover some of the great Australian songs that exist and be a time-saving tool for teachers and students.
If you want to be updated on the project please contact us at: flametreetrio@gmail.com or via our facebook page.

Updates on the project and its development are below (in reverse chronological order). To read more about the beginnings of the project, start at the bottom of the page with AASR - The Project below.

LATEST NEWS

Jenny and Nicole will be delivering a presention on the AASR and a Lecture Recital with Flametree on Australian Art Song at the ANATS 2025 National Conference in July.

COMPLETING STAGE 1: THE AASR DATABASE

For several years, work has been underway to collate the Survey data and undertake additional research to design and create the new AASR online database. In July this year a prototype will be launched at the ANATS National Conference with the view to a public release of the resource before the end of the year.

FINALISING STAGE 1: SURVEY No. 2 COMPLETED

Survey No. 1 provided significant information to begin developing the AASR.  However, some answers were non-specific, not giving verifiable details of the exact songs or composers. Others listed complete song cycles, without specifying any individual songs.  As a result, we wanted to seek out additional details to verify and expand our original research.

To finalise our Stage 1 research we created AASR Survey No. 2.  In this development phase, we also did further research and analysis of the Survey No. 1 songs, collecting and collating song information and media sources for each of the listed works.

Survey No. 2 aimed to help ‘fill in the gaps’ in the data of the first survey and to add any additional songs that had not been collected in the first survey so our final list of Teacher-Taught songs was as comprehensive as possible.  

The survey is now complete. Data gathered from this survey has provided additional information on songs from Survey No. 1 and has expanded the original song list with more than 20 additional songs and 3 composers. This has helped us to gain a more accurate insight into which Australian Art Songs are being taught around Australia.

There are now 72 teacher-taught songs listed in the AASR representing 29 composers and spanning just over a century (1922-2021).

There are still many more conclusions yet to draw out of the survey data. However, at this time, we are directing our energy into developing the online database tool and testing it with the songs that we have already fully researched from Survey 1.

STAGE 1 - REFLECTING ON SURVEY No. 1

For Stage 1 of the AASR, Survey No. 1 sought information from singing teachers and educators about the Australian Art Song repertoire that they were currently offering their students.  The data collected has enabled us to compile a list of Currently Taught Songs.  Our current list of works from the initial findings stands at 47 individual songs and 5 song cycles (songs unspecified).  

DEFINING THE SCOPE
After compiling the data, it became clear that there were varied interpretations of what defines an Art Song or an Art Music Composer.  For the purposes of the AASR (Australia Art Song Resource) we have defined these terms as follows:

An Australian Art Song is a song that is composed primarily for voice and piano. Therefore, songs that are drawn from larger staged works (like operas or musicals) or choral works (for multiple voices), while they may be currently taught in studios, are outside the scope of this project.  An Australian Art Song is written by an Australian Art Music Composer, one that utilises Western classical techniques and language.  

An Art Music Composer is one who is Represented (identified as representing a significant artistic contribution) or is an Associate Artist (achieved a notable level of recognition in the community) with the Australian Music Centre (the national service organisation dedicated to the promotion and support of art music in Australia) or are featured in Wirripang’s catalogue of Australian Composers.
There is one listed composer who falls outside this definition but they are recognised as a classical composer, has works listed in AMC’s database and is performed regularly by leading classical Australian artists, so merits inclusion.

WHAT WE’VE LEARNED - A SNAPSHOT

Some of the most important observations we have gleaned from the results of the initial survey and our subsequent research are listed below.  Having worked with Australian contemporary vocal composers across our careers, we were surprised to see how few of them were currently represented in this list. 

THE SONGS

  • While there were around 50 songs specified in the Survey, the most commonly taught songs are frequently the oldest and have been primarily available in anthologies. These volumes may have been chosen for a variety of reasons. They generally contained information about AMEB grades or difficulty and often included some simpler songs for developing voices.   These anthologies brought a varied collection of songs by significant Australian composers into a single volume, providing an economical way to explore new Australian repertoire.  Despite a general lack of song information online, it is encouraging to see that some recently produced anthologies have also featured suggested gradings and other important details to assist with song selection.  

  • The most frequently taught song was Peggy Glanville-Hicks’ Come Sleep (1938). This song is from the early twentieth century, written almost 90 years ago.  There are many more Australian Art Songs that are, as yet, untapped by our surveyed participants.  The aim of developing this resource is to help bridge that gap.

  • We were surprised to discover how little repertoire was shared.  The vast majority (76%) of songs surveyed were taught by only individual teachers. Even the most frequently taught song (21.6%) was shared by less than a quarter of respondents.  But frequency decreased markedly from here.  The third most frequently taught song was statistically tied between five living composers - Elena Kats-Chernin, Carl Vine, George Palmer, Sally Whitwell and Calvin Bowman. But only 8% of respondents taught any one of these songs. The title of most frequently taught composer (19%) was again shared by five composers - Calvin Bowman, Dorian Le Galliene, Benjamin Loomes, Margaret Sutherland and Alan Tregaskis. 

Based on this evidence, teachers do not seem to share information about this repertoire with each other and repertoire that could be more widely used is not commonly known.  It also seems likely that teachers may have their own connection to the composer or the work which has led to their selection.  

SOURCING

  • Assessing difficulty of repertoire is a key concern for teachers (and often not noted in many current song listings). Anthologies can include works of varying difficulties. Teachers may gravitate to these curated collections, especially if they are already in their personal libraries, as they provide variety of repertoire and difficulty in one volume. 

  • Some songs in the current list have been out of print for many years, are not commercially available or only available to view online or borrow.  Perhaps these songs are being taught by those who learned them or inherited them from their teachers.  In our research, we have discovered that some out of print scores have recently been republished, making this material accessible again.

  • It can be difficult for teachers to source new songs as information can rarely be found in a single location.  Currently, sheet music is available on different platforms -  the Australian Music Centre, Wirripang, or via the composer directly. Sometimes the songs exist only in audio form. 

Using the results of Survey No. 1, the creators of the AASR have initiated conversations with music publishers and the Australian Music Centre. These organisations are beginning to implement changes to help make accessing this music a simpler process for teachers.

CRITERIA

  • There are many gaps in the information available online.  Sites vary in the amount of detail provided with limited or no information on grading, suitability or tessitura. Voice specification is often absent or generalised (‘unspecified voice’). Transpositions of songs and indication of range are rare.

  • The majority of teachers found the following six areas to be of the greatest significance in their selection of repertoire (listed from highest percentage to lowest): Difficulty, Range, Score availability, Suitability, Voice type, Tessitura.  

Survey No. 1 supplied us with enough data to begin construction of Stage 1 of the AASR: Currently Taught Songs. This database will include information on the selection criteria most requested by teachers.  Many hours of additional research has been needed to refine this data since song information was limited, difficult to source and had to be gathered from various sites.

CONCLUSIONS 

Our research has shown that at present teachers, many of whom have expressed a keen interest in this project, can find it hard and time-consuming to make song selections. Repertoire is not widely shared, sources can be difficult to access, information is often incomplete or not to be found in one place and key criteria may not be addressed.  More detailed song information available in one location would allow teachers to access and share suitable material more easily.

AASR - the project

RATIONALE

As working singers we have specialised throughout our careers in recital and chamber music programs and have performed, recorded and commissioned new Australian works and contemporary art songs. Through long associations with high calibre and boutique ensembles including Halcyon, The Song Company and Cantillation, we have also worked in collaboration with many wonderful Australian composers - from the emerging to the venerated – and know first-hand some of the wealth of song that exists in this country. 

As teachers of singing we have brought this experience into our studios, sharing our interest and knowledge with students and guiding them to greater awareness and appreciation of this interesting and varied repertoire.  But we have found the number of singing students who have studied music of either living or Australian composers is still relatively small.  Conversations with colleagues have made us aware that a resource such as this is an important tool to assist teachers and students to connect to Australian composition and composers.

While many teachers and students know the Australian Music Centre as a valuable hub to discover more about Australian music, we have heard that teachers can feel daunted when making song selections from the vast online catalogue.  Because of this, too many songs that could be taught are currently inaccessible or unknown.  We have both been asked numerous times for assistance in making repertoire choices and have realised there is a real need for a more comprehensive and accessible art song-specific resource.

We want to see more Australian music sung and more Australian composers performed.  

 

OVERVIEW

The project will consist of two stages.  For the first stage of the project, we are compiling a resource of teacher-tested repertoire that documents the songs that are currently being taught in studios around the country. In the next stage, we plan to expand the resource with additional song listings and related materials.  

Stage 1 will identify repertoire that is currently taught within Australia.  We will survey teachers about their current song usage, sources of material and any challenges in selecting material as well as what they consider the most critical search criteria for song selection.

From this data, we will develop and compile an online resource of currently taught repertoire which will include :
- a list of currently taught Australian Art Songs
- data on the most-identified search categories
- statistics of use
- links to available materials (scores, recordings, websites etc).

Stage 2 will expand the resource with additional song selections and further materials that we believe could be suitable for singing teachers and students.  New listings will be added to this resource complete with their search criteria and resource links.  As many Australian works lack recent recordings, and some excellent works have never been recorded, we envisage this stage will include the creation of new recordings and live presentations. This will enable discovery and future study of new material and will connect teachers and students to a more extended resource.

We would like to thank the Australian National Association of Teachers of Singing (ANATS) and its members for their assistance with this project. 

LINKS

• TOWARDS AN AUSTRALIAN ART SONG RESOURCE - Read Jenny’s blog on the project here