Vocal technique is best learnt on a one to one basis from a reputable teacher. However, a great deal of information about the world of classical song can be had from your local bookshop or library. These are a few suggestions from the many titles available. Most of these books have their own bibliographies, which can help you explore their particular area of interest.
Adler, Kurt. PHONETICS AND DICTION IN SINGING: (ITALIAN, FRENCH, SPANISH, GERMAN.) Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press. 1967.
Arblaster, Anthony. VIVA LA LIBERTA: POLITICS IN OPERA, Verso, 1993.
Bernac, Pierre. THE INTERPRETATION OF FRENCH SONG. (Translations of French song texts by Winnifred Radford)
London. Gollancz, 1976.
Blackwood, Alan. THE PERFORMING WORLD OF THE SINGER. London Hamish Hamilton, 1981.
Cook, Deryck. THE LANGUAGE OF MUSIC. London. O.U.P. 1962.
Copland, Aaron. MUSIC AND IMAGINATION. London. Harvard University Press. 1952.
Conrad, Peter. A SONG OF LOVE AND DEATH: THE MEANING OF OPERA. London, Chatto & Windus. 1987.
Corp, Ronald. THE CHORAL SINGER'S COMPANION, Batsford 1987.
Cowden, Robert H.. CLASSICAL SINGERS OF THE OPERA AND RECITAL STAGES, Bergin Garvey Publishing. 1994.
Craig, David. ON PERFORMING: A HANDBOOK FOR ACTORS, DANCERS, SINGERS ON THE MUSICAL STAGE. London. McGraw-Hill. 1987.
Cummings, Henry. TAKING A DEEP BREATH: A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO THE WORKING OF THE SINGER'S VOICE. Thames Publishing. 1993.
Davies, John Booth. THE PSYCHOLOGY OF MUSIC. London. Hutchinson, 1978.
Dunbar-Hall, Peter. A GUIDE TO MUSIC AROUND THE WORLD.
(P. Dunbar-Hall, G. Hodge> Science Press, 1991.
THE DICTIONARY OF COMPOSERS. Edited by Charles Osbourne. London. Papermac. 1981.
Donnington, Robert. THE RISE OF OPERA, London. Faber 1981.
THE FISCHER-DIESKAU BOOK OF LIEDER (With English translations by George Bird and Richard Stokes) London Gollancz: Pan Books, 1974. (Parallel German text and English translation, with English introduction.)
Fraser, Shena. SING AT SIGHT. London. Patterson, 1981
THE GRAND OBSESSION: AN ANTHOLOGY OF OPERA Edited by Rupert Christiansen, London. Collins 1988.
Gray, Anne. THE POPULAR GUIDE TO CLASSICAL MUSIC> Robert Hale, 1994.
Grout, Donald J. A HISTORY OF WESTERN MUSIC. 4th Ed.
(Donald J. Grout and Claude V. Palisca) London. Dent, 1988.
Harman, Alec. MAN AND HIS MUSIC: THE STORY OF MUSICAL EXPERIENCE IN THE WEST. (With Anthony Milner and Wilfred Mellers.) London. Barrie and Rockliff. 1962.
Heriot, Angus. THE CASTRATI IN OPERA. Calder and Boyars, 1975.
Hogwood, Christopher. MUSIC AT COURT. London. Gollancz. 1980.
Holst, Imogen. CONDUCTING A CHOIR: A GUIDE FOR AMATEURS. London. O.U.P. 1973
Iles, Norman. WHO REALLY KILLED COCK ROBIN ?: NURSERY RHYMES AND CAROLS RESTORED TO THEIR ORIGINAL MEANINGS. London. Hale, 1986.
Kerman, Joseph. OPERA AS DRAMA. Faber 1989.
Kobbé, Gustav. KOBBÉ'S COMPLETE OPERA BOOK. 8th Ed. Edited and revised by the Earl of Harewood, London Putnam. 1969.
Koestenbaum, Wayne. THE QUEEN'S THROAT: OPERA, HOMOSEXUALITY AND THE MYSTERY OF DESIRE. G.M.P. 1993.
Legge, Anthony. THE ART OF AUDITIONING: A HANDBOOK FOR SINGERS, ACCOMPANISTS AND COACHES. Ed. Trevor Ford.
London Rhinegold Publishing. 1988.
Lehmann, Lilli. HOW TO SING: Translated from the German by Richard Aldrich, new revised and supplemented edition translated by Clara Willenbucher. Dover Publications Inc. 1993.
Lockspeiser, Edward. MUSIC AND PAINTING; A STUDY IN COMPARATIVE IDEAS FROM TURNER TO SCHOENBERG. London. Cassell, 1973.
Manen, Lucie. BEL CANTO: THE TEACHING OF THE CLASSICAL ITALIAN SONG SCHOOLS, ITS DECLINE AND RESTORATION. O.U.P. 1987.
Meyer, Leonard B. EMOTION AND MEANING IN MUSIC> Chicago. London. University of Chicago Press. 1956.
THE NEW GROVE DICTIONARY OF OPERA/ Ed. Stanley Sadie. Macmillan, 1992. 4 Vols.
Northcote, Sydney. BYRD TO BRITTEN: A SURVEY OF ENGLISH SONG> London, John Baker, 1966.
Osbourne, Charles. HOW TO ENJOY OPERA Loughton: Piatkus, 1983.
Osbourne, Charles. CONCERT SONG COMPANION, A GUIDE THE CLASSICAL REPERTOIRE. Da Capo Publishing. 1985
THE OXFORD ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF OPERA, O.U.P., 1994
Rosenthal, Harold (editor). THE CONCISE OXFORD DICTIONARY OF OPERA, O.U.P., 1980
Schiotz, Aksel. THE SINGER AND HIS ART, (With a preface by Gerald Moore) London, Hamilton, 1971.
Shipton, Alyn. SINGING AND RECORDING AND PRODUCING MUSIC. Shipton/Heinemann. 1993.
Slaman, Esther UNLOCKING YOUR VOICE: FREEDOM TO SING. Gollancz. 1989.
Smallman, Basil. THE BACKGROUND OF PASSION MUSIC: JS BACH AND HIS PREDECESSORS. London. SCM Press. 1957.
SOUND AND THE VISUAL ARTS: INTERSECTIONS BETWEEN MUSIC AND PLASTIC ARTS TODAY. Ed. Jean-Yves, with the collaboration of Alexandre Broniarski. Translated by Brian Holmes and Peter Carrier. Dis Voir. 1993.
Spink, Ian. ENGLISH SONG, DOWLAND TO PURCELL, London. Batsford, 1974.
Stebbing, Lionel. MUSIC THERAPY: A NEW ANTHOLOGY. Knowledge Books, 1975.
Steven, Larue C.. HANDEL AND HIS SINGERS. O.U.P. 1995
Stinchelli, Enrico. STARS OF THE OPERA, Gremese International, 1992
Towse, Ruth. SINGERS IN THE MARKETPLACE, O.U.P., 1993
Ward, David. SING A RAINBOW: MUSICAL ACTIVITIES WITH MENTALLY HANDICAPPED CHILDREN. London, O.U.P. 1979.
Wills, Geoff. PRESSURE UNDER STRESS. London. Sage Publications. 1988.
Wilson-Dickson, Andrew. THE STORY OF CHRISTIAN MUSIC: FROM GREGORIAN CHANT TO BLACK GOSPEL: AN AUTHORITATIVE ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO ALL THE MAJOR TRADITIONS OF MUSIC FOR WORSHIP. Lion Publishing, 1992.
Young, Percy M. THE CHORAL TRADITION : AN HISTORICAL AND ANALYTICAL SURVEY FROM THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY TO THE PRESENT DAY. London. Hutchinson, 1962.
