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when it comes to lyrical repertoire, nothing beats pieces that we take from throats - er, vocalists - and adapt to ourselves. i was wondering two things:

1. has anyone found a great anthology/album with many tenor and bass arias that we normally steal among them?

2. what do you think about playing female vocalist repertoire on the euphonium, down an octave. dumb? brilliant? could maybe work?

Take a look here. For the amount of music you're getting per CD (over 1000 pages), it's a pretty good deal:

http://www.cdsheetmusic.com/products/vocal.cfm

There are many marvelous arias for male voice, but I see no reason to limit yourself so. You don't even have to limit yourself to 2 choices. Check out "Lascia ch'io pianga,": an aria from Handel's opera Rinaldo. That one was originally written for a castrato, if memory serves!!

Speaking of Handel: Take the aria Why do the nations rage and whip through it at break neck speed. That ought to impress somebody.

I was trying to remember the vocal collection, two volumes, that is (or used to be) commonly used in colleges for class voice. Van Christie keeps popping into my head, but google isn't coming up with anything, so that might not be right.

SplatterTone wrote:Speaking of Handel: Take the aria Why do the nations rage and whip through it at break neck speed. That ought to impress somebody.

I was trying to remember the vocal collection, two volumes, that is (or used to be) commonly used in colleges for class voice. Van Christie keeps popping into my head, but google isn't coming up with anything, so that might not be right.

Oh so many years ago as a TA, I taught class voice at a major university which shall remain nameless. I used "24 Italian Songs and Arias". I think it's still in use, and for the same purpose.

"Why Do The Nations" on tuba or euph is a great idea. Thank you! It should work really well on CC tuba.

I had six years of voice in high school and college, although since a broken nose and (mumble) years since singing regularly in a classical-type choir you probably couldn't tell, and Nations would be great: ...so furiously rage together... etc.

Any collection of arias would do nicely, whether by composer, national school, or genre.

Another good one, as in the orchestration the cellos echo the baritone, is the Mendelssohn "It Is Enough" out of his oratorio Elijah. Something like Schumann's "Two Grenadiers" comes to mind, especially for the quip of La Marseillaise at the end.

I also agree some of the Italian bel canto, like the 24 Songs would really show off legato, dynamic, phrasing and range as a foil to a more technical piece: Tu lo sai, quanto ta mai.... Or something with more dramatico like Marcello's Il Mio Bel Fuoco, with its abrupt descending intervals punctuating the melody.

Even an old English chestnut like the Ash Grove or such arranged with variations would be a crowd pleaser.