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Date sent: Sat, 29 Jan 2000 20:47:17 EST
Subject: Re: musical theatre fachs - Longish
To: vocalist
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In a message dated 1/29/00 5:20:10 PM Eastern Standard Time,
lasharp-at-nycap.rr.com writes:

> I think that the Singers Musical Anthology Books purport to be in the
> original show keys and yes, it is a bother if you only want to buy one
book.
> In one silly instance, the songs of a medium soprano role were split into
> the Soprano and Mezzo/Alto books.

I attended a NATS workshop several years ago during which we had a
presentation given by Richard Walters, the person who edits and in some,
cases, arranges pieces for Hal Leonard publications. He gave us some
personal notes on his Musical Theater Anthologies, which state that the songs
are indeed in the original keys used on Broadway, but which also explain the
insertion of certain songs in various editions, i.e., the placement of a
"soprano" song in a mezzo anthology, etc. It seems to me, upon reading these
notes, that in many cases he is trying to help out singers or teachers by
placing in one volume a group of songs that could reasonably be sung by a
given voice type. He uses range, weight of voice, technical demands, and
style of singing when making his choices. In his descriptions, (which may
also be listed in the front of each anthology - mine are at school so I can't
check) are more particulars about certain roles and songs, for instance: "In
My Own Little Corner" from Cinderella, by Rodgers and Hammerstein, although
the song is in the Mezzo album (range from d1-d2) he indicates that the song
takes "charm" and would be appropriate for either a "slim-voiced mezzo" or an
"ingenue soprano", and then mentions that Julie Andrew first did the role.
He also includes the description "baritenor" in many of the male solos,
indicating that hybrid musical theater voice that can live in either world.
By the way, he also specifically mentions "On the Street Where You Live",
which was cited in an earlier post, as being in a key which most tenors find
a bit low, but which still belongs to the tenor "fach" due to the timber of
voice needed in the role (more boyishly infatuated).
I think that these volumes are a good resource for those looking at
musical theater material; 40 original-key songs (so many anthologies have
diluted the keys to a "medium" mode which really won't work if you're serious
about getting a particular part) in one book for only 19.95 seems a pretty
good bargain to me. For those who want a more accessible (and cheaper)
alternative, the Joan Boytim/Hal Leonard series is also good for younger
singers or those just beginning vocal studies.

I am planning on doing a workshop later in the year in which I will provide a
distilation of which roles seem suitable for which voice types. I am still
working on the material now, but will try to share it when it's complete (or
you can sign up for the course! LOL). One last note- remember - in musical
theater, how you LOOK also is extremely important. I have a 16-year-old
female student who is already 6' tall; I have already discussed with her the
problems inherent in her auditioning for ingenue roles in her high school.
You've got to be realistic about what "type" you are physically as well as
vocally.

Sharon Szymanski, UNC-Chapel Hill