Singing in Czech

Timothy Cheek's Singing in Czech: A Guide to Czech Lyric Diction and Vocal Repertoire, with its accompanying audio, builds on the original pioneering work of 2001 that set "a new and very welcome high standard for teaching lyric diction," according to Notes: The Journal of the Music Library Association. In the decade and a half since the first appearance of Singing in Czech, Timothy Cheek offers users in this new revised edition updated information, important clarifications, and expanded repertoire. In a slightly enlarged format and paperback form, readers will discover a more accessible, easier to use work. Singing in Czech is divided into two parts. The first takes the reader systematically through each sound of the Czech language, enhanced by recordings of native Czech opera singers. The formation of each sound is described, and when useful, compared to other languages. Every sound is assigned its IPA symbol, along with exercises and examples, always with the technical and expressive considerations of the singing voice in mind. Chapters within the first part cover the Czech vowels, consonants, rules of assimilation, approaches to singing double consonants, stress and length, Moravian dialect, and an introduction to singing in Slovak. Fine points of formal pronunciation have been clarified in this revised edition. In the second part, Cheek offers a thorough overview of Czech art song, expanded from the first edition. Texts to major song literature and opera excerpts by Smetana, Dvorak, Janacek, Martinu, and Haas, with timings, editions, word-for-word translations, idiomatic translations, and IPA transcriptions follow. Specific works have been chosen for every voice type, and for every level. Moreover, in this revision, Cheek has added two new chapters on works by the twentieth-century Czech female composer Vitezslava Kapralova and the twenty-first-century composer Sylvie Bodorova, and provided translations and pronunciation of additional song cycles by Dvorak and Martinu. Useful appendices listing Czech poets, publishers, and organizations have also been brought forward in time. This revised edition of Singing in Czech is indispensable for singers, vocal coaches, voice teachers, collaborative pianists, and opera and choral conductors who are interested and engaged in the performance of the rich Czech vocal repertoire.