Vocal Repertoire for the Twenty-First Century, Volume 1 Works Written Before 2000

Described as the "life and soul of British contemporary music", Jane Manning is an internationally celebrated English concert and opera soprano. In this new follow-up to her highly regarded New Vocal Repertory, Volumes I and II, she provides a seasoned expert's guidance and insight into the vocal genre she calls home.

Vocal Repertoire for the Twenty-First Century spans the late middle-20th century through the second decade of the 21st. Manning's comprehensive selection of contemporary art songs ranges from the avant-garde to the more easily accessible, including substantial song cycles, shorter encore pieces, and songs suitable for auditions and competitions. The two-volume guide presents expertly-informed selections tailored to particular voice types. Each of the 160 selections is accompanied by a highly detailed performance guide, music examples, levels of difficulty, and a brief encapsulation of vocal characteristics or challenges contained in the piece. A supplemental companion website provides composer biographies and an up-to-date list of recommended recordings. With a focus on younger composers in addition to prominent figures, Manning encourages singers to refresh and expand their recital repertoire into less familiar territory, and discover the rewards therein.

Volume 1 features works written before 2000, including pieces from such renowned composers as John Cage ("The Wonderful Widow of Eighteen Springs", "A Flower"), André Previn ("Five Songs"), and Igor Stravinsky ("The Owl and the Pussycat").

Jane Manning, OBE is a freelance singer, teacher, and academic, currently a Professor in the Vocal Studies Department of the Guildhall School of Music, and Visiting Professor at the Royal College of Music. In the U.S., she has been Visiting Professor at Mills College, and has given guest seminars at Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, MIT, New England Conservatory, Princeton, Stanford, USC and Yale. A soprano with over 50 years' experience as an internationally celebrated contemporary music performer, she holds Honorary Doctorates from the Universities of York, Keele, Durham, and Kingston, and is a Fellow of the Royal Academy and the Royal College of Music. Over the course of her career, she has given over three hundred world premieres and has worked closely with composers such as Harrison Birtwistle, Pierre Boulez, John Cage, Elliott Carter, Oliver Knussen, Peter Maxwell Davies and Judith Weir, earning her a reputation as an exemplary performer of new music. She is the author of Voicing Pierrot (2012), New Vocal Repertory: An Introduction (OUP, 1994), and New Vocal Repertory, Vol. 2 (OUP, 1999).