If they’re good enough for Beyoncé, they’re good enough for the rest of us, right?

The Schirmer edition of the 24 Italian Art Songs and Arias has long been a staple in the music library of most voice teachers. 

Although they are most frequently sung by beginning or intermediate singing students, some of the selections also have a history of being included in the recital programs of some of the world’s greatest singing artists.

If you read no further, hopefully you watched the above video and realize the following tenet of great musical literature: when treated with the same respect as any Strauß Lied or Viardot mélodie or song by [insert your favourite art song composer here], these songs which have been relegated to the ranks of pedagogical literature contain beautiful poetry and music. 

More importantly, these songs contain many of the necessary “ingredients” which make songs successful, especially one key ingredient: keeping the text at the forefront of the audience’s ear.

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Origins of the 24 Italian Art Songs

The publication of the Schirmer edition dates back to 1948, but in truth only represents a handful of an earlier compilation.

The Italian composer Alessandro Parisotti (1853-1913) compiled three volumes of solo songs and arias from past centuries and organized them in three volumes of arie antiche (literally “ancient arias”); what we know as the Schirmer 24 Italian Art Songs and Arias is merely an amalgamation and pruning of the first two volumes of Parisotti’s compilation.

As the birth of art song did not truly occur until the classical era and most of the composers contained within this volume lived and worked in the 17^th and 18^th centuries, the “songs” contained within this collection are from early operas and other musical sources. 

Something to perhaps consider when grading the inherent difficulty of these songs is the source from which they come. 

Below is a chart which shows the songs and their original sources. Following the chart is a series of definitions for some of Parisotti’s categorizations.

Important terminology

Arietta – in opera, a solo song which is shorter and less dramatically and musically developed than a typical aria; diminutive of “aria”

Cantata – from the Italian “to be sung” which describes a secular form of vocal chamber music, usually for solo voice with continuo and organized into several sections that would alternate between recitative and aria, using dramatic texts which often revolve around themes of love and romantic relationships (not to be confused with the German Lutheran “Cantata” as popularized by Johann Sebastian Bach, among others)

Canzone – in opera, aria which functions as a song outside the opera’s primary dramatic plot

Canzonetta – a short, simple song; diminutive of “canzone”

Madrigal – from the Italian “madrigale" or “song in the mother tongue” which describes a non-strophic piece for solo voice with accompaniment (Caccini used the term “aria” to describe anything strophic)

Monody – piece for solo voice with continuo

Solfeggio – a textless piece of music meant to be sung as an exercise in singing scales, interval patterns and other melodic devices

General approaches to the 24 Italian Art Songs

If one were to consider the original sources through a pedagogical lens, they might say that the relatively speaking “easiest” songs would be the two solfeggi by Francesco Durante: Vergin, tutto amor and Danza, danza fanciulla gentile. 

The former, written as a slow, solemn prayer, explores descending scale patterns in different figurations of the traditional minor scale in a relatively low-to-middle tessitura. The latter is written as a fiery and passionate dance but utilizes many five-note ascending scales followed by arpeggiation. I would posit that, although its origins are unknown, that Nina is perhaps a solfeggio as well due to its repeated use of triadic and scalar musical figures.

Following the solfeggi would be the two “songs” – Amarilli, mia bella and Se tu m’ami, se sospiri. Caccini’s madrigale is mostly through-composed, save some repeated material near the end. The long notes are an effective exercise in intonation and steady tone production. The frequently-used notation of the final flourish on the last word often poses a challenge for inexperienced musicians. 

Parisotti’s song which he attributed to Pergolesi has a clear ABA form. However, it is worth noting that since Parisotti wrote it, this is not really an “ancient aria” – but rather a romantic-era Italian song written during the height of Italian romanticism. 

Admittedly more folk-like in nature, it is therefore not a necessity to ornament the return of the A section in this piece.

The cantate and the one church aria would logically be the next step in this collection, followed by the arias from operas. This is just one approach to organizing these songs for the purposes of teaching.

Because of the significant changes in music notation from the time of these songs’ original composition to that of Parisotti, the Schirmer edition is relatively easy to read. 

Parisotti uses more familiar time signatures that younger students might easily recognize. Other editions honour the originally notated meters and rhythms, meaning that many of the same songs appear in meters dictated by the half note as opposed to the quarter note or eighth note. 

The melody and the rhythm, as perceived aurally, remain mostly the same between editions. It is ultimately the decision of the singer and/or teacher regarding which edition to use.

Exploring related editions

It is interesting to note how Parisotti chose some different labels for certain pieces which seem to disregard their original source. For more information on specific songs and the differences from their source material to Parisotti’s realization and other present-day considerations, I would recommend consulting John Glenn Paton’s edition of 26 Italian Songs and Arias. This edition also includes Alessandro Scarlatti’s “Sento nel core” as well as “Star vicino” which is commonly misattributed to Salvator Rosa. 

Yet another edition published by Schirmer, 28 Italian Songs and Arias, includes three more selections: “Delizie contente” by Francesco Cavalli, “Intorno all’idol mio” by Antonio Cesti and “O leggiadri occhi belli” by an anonymous composer; unfortunately it contains many of the same errors from Parisotti’s original edition. This edition is useful nonetheless because it comes in five transpositions instead of just two; there is even an edition which contains all five keys.

As the above editions contain music exclusively by male composers, I would also recommend 24 Italian Songs & Arias by Women Composers, published by Hildegard Publishing Company. This edition comes in two transpositions and is a welcome addition to any singer or singing teacher’s library.

Conclusion

There is a surprising amount of mystery surrounding this longstanding collection of songs. There is also an interesting complexity surrounding their origins and inherent difficulty levels. 

Regardless of who is singing them, always remember: these songs deserve our best artistry, just as any song does.

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