Canciones de España

Although the music of Spain is diverse, profound, colorful and deserving of recognition, a collection of nineteenth century Spanish songs has never been available to singers in the United States. Until now, Spain has been neglected in the study of music history. Collections of zarzuela arias have been published, but art song composed prior to Turina, Granados, Obradors, de Falla, and Rodrigo have remained in the archives of Spanish libraries. This fascinating anthology, a collection of 23 songs composed by a variety of Spanish composers born in the nineteenth century, provides an exciting opportunity to explore the gems of Spanish vocal repertoire. Songs have been selected by virtue of the quality of the poetry, the artistry of the song setting, the beauty of the melody, the variety of the accompaniment, and those with an indigenous flavor. This repertoire is fresh, exciting, and unique, utilizing lovely Spanish rhythms, harmonies and poetry. Available both in high and low voice editions. Contains: Word-for-word translations and Idiomatic translations, Brief biographies of the composers, International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) transcriptions of the texts, A concise guide to the pronunciation of Castilian Spanish.

Dr. Suzanne Rhodes Draayer, soprano, is professor of voice and related studies at Winona State University. She is the author of A Singer's Guide to the Songs of Joaquín Rodrigo (2003), and Canciones de España: Songs of Nineteenth-Century Spain, Volume I (2003) and Volume 2 (2005; all published by The Scarecrow Press, Inc.).