CREATING A NEW AUSTRALIAN ART SONG RESOURCE
INTRODUCTION
Mezzo soprano Jenny Duck-Chong and soprano Nicole Thomson are developing a new resource for teachers and students of singing, an online database simply called the Australian Art Song Resource. Each listed song will include a comprehensive set of data and source material links. We hope this new 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.
CAN YOU HELP?
For Stage 1, we compiled a short survey to help us collect data on current practice. If you are a teacher of singing or a vocal coach we would love to hear from you.
Note: The preliminary survey is now closed. If you are interested in being updated on the project please contact me at: jenny@jennydc.com
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