How to Sing (Meine Gesangskunst): Free Audiobook and Listening Guide

How to Sing (Meine Gesangskunst), credited to Lehmann, Lilli, is available as a LibriVox volunteer audiobook. This guide identifies the recording, its source summary and its audio tracks.

About the work

The LibriVox catalogue summary, preserved with the recording, reads:

LibriVox recording of How to Sing (Meine Gesangskunst), by Lilli Lehmann (1848-1929), translated by Richard Aldrich (1863-1937). Read by Ruth Golding. Lilli Lehmann, born Elisabeth Maria Lehmann, was a German operatic soprano of phenomenal versatility. She was also a voice teacher. She wrote: "Every serious artist has a sincere desire to help others reach the goal—the goal toward which all singers are striving: to sing well and beautifully." This is the 1915 second (expanded) edition of her book, and the accompanying online book scan includes many illustrations and diagrams, both physiological and musical, which the listener will find useful. Much of Lilli Lehmann's advice is complex and demanding - the standards which she set for herself were beyond the highest aspirations of most professional singers. However, there is still much in this book that is enlightening to all those who are interested in using their voice to best advantage, both in song and the spoken word. (Summary by Ruth Golding and Wikipedia)

Recording facts

• Recording title: How to Sing (Meine Gesangskunst)
• Author credits: Lehmann, Lilli
• Language: English
• Original MP3 tracks: 22
• Listed recording duration: 5:23:43

Catalogue topics

• non-fiction
• advice
• singing
• song
• voice
• opera
• singer
• music

Track guide

1. 00 - Preface; My Purpose; My Title to Write on the Art of Song — 13:51
2. 01 - Section 1: Preliminary Practice — 9:38
3. 02 - Section 2: Of the Breath — 12:59
4. 03 - Section 3: Of the Breath and Whirling Currents — 8:32
5. 04 - Section 4: The Singer's Physiological Studies — 10:03
6. 05 - Section 5: Equalizing the Voice - Form — 13:49
7. 06 - Section 6: The Attack and the Vowels — 20:42
8. 07 - Sections 7-8: Nasal Singing; The Head Voice — 20:17
9. 08 - Sections 9-12: Sensations of Tongue, Nose, Palate and Resonance of Head Cavities — 12:06
10. 09 - Sections 13-14: On Vocal Registers; Development and Equalization — 17:58
11. 10 - Sections 15-16: White Voices; Theodor Wachtel — 8:44
12. 11 - Section 17: Highest Head Tones — 6:24
13. 12 - Sections 18-19: The Tremolo; The Cure — 12:31
14. 13 - Sections 20-21: The Tongue; Preparations for Singing — 10:09
15. 14 - Sections 22-24: Position of the Mouth; Connection of Vowels; The Lips — 15:36
16. 15 - Sections 25-27: The Vowel Sound Ah; Italian and German; Auxiliary Vowels — 18:12
17. 16 - Sections 28-30: Resonant Consonants; Practical Exercises; The Great Scale — 21:19
18. 17 - Sections 31-32: Velocity; Trill — 12:59
19. 18 - Section 33: How to Hold One's Self when Practising — 8:32
20. 19 - Section 34: Pronunciation - Consonants — 39:10
21. 20 - Sections 35-36: Concerning Expression; Before the Public — 8:44
22. 21 - Sections 37-38 and Note: Interpretation; In Conclusion; Remedy for Catarrh and Hoarseness — 21:38

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Source and rights

This is a record from LibriVox's official Internet Archive collection, with a public-domain licence recorded in its metadata. LibriVox's policy includes its catalogue summaries as well as its recordings. Its public-domain assessment follows United States law; copyright status can differ elsewhere. The summary and track facts are reproduced and reformatted from that record. Dates attached to the archive upload are not treated as original book publication dates.