A Heritage of 20 Th Century British Song

In 1977 The Association of English Singers and Speakers published a four-volume work A Heritage of Twentieth Century British Song which was a collection of songs published by Boosey & Hawkes and which were in the opinion of the editors worthy of the attention that such a publication would bring. Sixteen years later with the benefit of further perspective the Association has published this supplemental volume differing from its distinguished predecessor in that it includes works both unpublished and published by a variety of companies. The composers range from the very most familiar and celebrated Ralph Vaughan Williams Arnold Bax Elizabeth Poston to thelesser-known like Rebecca Clarke and Alastair MacGeorge. The book includes biographical information on the composers and notes about each song for performance purposes. The technical requirements range from quite straightforward to most demanding.

Volume One of A Heritage Of 20th Century British Songs provides a wealth of wonderfully British tunes that also happen to be some of the best ever composed. The books aim to provide a diversity of songs for different types and ranges of voice although high voice tends to dominate with some top Gs.