Searching Effectively

Art Songs

To find art songs, try SUBJECT searching of the OSU Libraries Catalog using these Library of Congress subject headings:

• Songs
• Song cycles
• Folk songs
• Jazz vocals
• Love songs
• Sacred songs
• War songs
• Songs - Accompaniment
• Songs - History and criticism
• Songs - Texts

Art songs -- See Songs
--subdivision Songs and music under names of persons, corporate bodies, places, classes of persons, ethnic groups, wars, and topical headings for collections or single works of vocal or instrumental music about the topic or entity named; and subdivision Music under ethnic groups for music of the group 

Art songs, Sacred -- See Sacred songs
--headings for specific types of sacred solo vocal works, e.g. Sacred monologues with music (Voice with instrumental ensemble); Solo cantatas, Sacred 

For translations of texts, check our reference shelves in the ML54 call number range. 

Also see these call number ranges:

• Biographies of composers: ML410
• Collections of songs: M1619-1620
• Duets, trios, etc. for solo voices: M1528-1529.5
• History & criticism: ML2800-2881
• Interpretation, phrasing, expressions, etc.: MT892
• Performance practice (historical): ML457
• Separate works: M1621
• Song cycles: M1621.4
• Songs with accompaniment of one instrument (other than piano): M1623-1624.8
• Songs with accompaniment of piano and one other instrument: M1621.3

Useful links

Art Song Central - free, printable sheet music, chiefly classical, for singers and voice teachers

IPA Source - International Phonetic Alphabet transcriptions and translations of arias and art song texts

Hymnal.net - hymns and gospel songs

J.S. Bach's Church Cantatas - comprehensive information on the cantatas and other vocal works

The Cyber Hymnal - hymns, author and composer biographies

The Lied, Art Song,and Choral Texts Archive

Hymnary - an index of 5,203 hymnals and more than one million published hymns, with scores, media, and information from sources such as Julian's Dictionary of Hymnology, hymnal handbooks, and experts in the field. Includes a melody search

These books may also be helpful:

Coffin, Berton. Singer's Repertoire. New York: Scarecrow Press, 1960. MT883 .P5 1982 

Davis, Richard. A Beginning Singer's Guide. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press, 1998. MT820 .D27 1998

Emmons, Shirlee. The Art of the Song Recital. New York: Schirmer Books, 1979. MT892 .E54

Emmons, Shirlee. Power Performance for Singers: Transcending the Barriers. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. MT892 .E55 1998 

Espina, Noni. Repertoire for the Solo Voice: A Fully Annotated Guide to Works for the Solo Voice Published in Modern Editions and Covering Material from the 13th Century to the Present. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1977. ML128.S3 E8

Kagen, Sergius. Music for the Voice; A Descriptive List of Concert and Teaching Material. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1968. ML128.V7 K3 1997 

Kimball, Carol. Song: A Guide To Style And Literature. Redmond, Wash.: Pst. Inc., 1996. MT120 .K55 1996 

Meister, Barbara. An Introduction to the Art Song. New York: Taplinger Pub. Co., 1980. ML2800 .M44 1980