This is the only book to cover in detail so many aspects of the voice, ranging from medieval music to Madonna and beyond. Almost anything one wants to know about singing practices and singing styles can be found here in chapters that cover world music, rock, rap and jazz; European art song, ensemble singing, the English cathedral tradition and the choral movement in the United States; Renaissance, Baroque and Classical singing treatises, contemporary vocal techniques, children's choirs and the teaching of singing today. The contributors are leading international performers and specialists.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 248-278) and index.

1. Introduction: singing at the turn of the century / John Potter Pt. I. Popular traditions 2. 'Songlines': vocals traditions in world music / John Schaefer 3. Rock singing / Richard Middleton 4. The evolving language of rap / David Toop 5. Jazz singing: the first hundred years / John Potter Pt. II. The voice in the theatre 6. Stage and screen entertainers in the twentieth century / Stephen Banfield 7. Song into theatre: the beginnings of opera / John Rosselli 8. Grand opera: nineteenth-century revolution and twentieth-century tradition / John Rosselli Pt. III. Choral music and song 9. European art song / Stephen Varcoe

10. English cathedral choirs in the twentieth century / Timothy Day 11. Sacred choral music in the United States: an overview / Neely Bruce Pt. IV. Performance practices 12. Some notes on choral singing / Heikki Liimola 13. Ensemble singing / John Potter 14. The voice in the Middle Ages / Joseph Dyer 15. Reconstructing pre-Romantic singing technique / Richard Wistreich 16. Alternative voices: contemporary vocal techniques / Linda Hirst and David Wright 17. The teaching (and learning) of singing / David Mason 18. Children's singing / Felicity Laurence 19. Where does the sound come from? / Johan Sundberg.