How to find translations and phonetic transcriptions of vocal works
There are several ways to find translations and phonetic transcriptions of opera, song, and sacred vocal music texts.
- Choose a print resource below
- Search the Library catalogue
- Check the liner notes of audio/video recordings
- Visit reputable online sites
- Consult a dictionary to clarify the meanings of individual words
1. Print resources
The following list contains many, but not all, of the Music Library's books for singers, coaches, accompanists, and others who wish to understand the meaning of various vocal texts and to pronounce them correctly.
By composer
Types of translations/transcriptions
- French: The original text is translated into French as well as English
- Idiomatic: The translator has rendered the original text into idiomatic English phrases (as opposed to word-for-word translations), but has not necessarily retained its rhyme and verse structure.
- IPA: The pronunciation of each word is transcribed using the International Phonetic Alphabet.
- Poetic: The translator has attempted to reproduce the poetic nature of the original text in the translation.
- Word-for-Word: Each word is translated literally. The grammatical sense of a translation is sacrificed to clarify the meaning of each individual word.
By language:
French
Bernac, Pierre. The Interpretation of French Song.
MT892 B4 1997
- Poetic
Castel, Nico. French Opera Libretti. 2 vols.
REF ML48 F74 1999
- Word-for-Word
IPA
Castel, Nico. Italian Belcanto Opera Libretti. 3 vols.
REF ML48 I83 2000
Vol. 3 contains French opera libretti of operas composed by Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini.
- Word-for-Word
IPA
Johnson, Graham. A French Song Companion.
ML54.6 J76 F74 2000
- Idiomatic
German
Cao, Hélène, and Hélène Boisson. Anthologie du lied.
REF ML54.6 A68 2010
- French
Poetic
Castel, Nico. German Miscellaneous Opera Libretti.
REF ML48 G37 2005
- Word-for-Word
IPA
Fischer-Dieskau, Dietrich. The Fischer-Dieskau Book of Lieder.
REF PT1160 E6 F5 1998
- Poetic
Glass, Beaumont. Selected Song Texts of Great German Lieder.
ML54.6 G53 2004
- Word-for-Word
IPA
Miller, Philip Lieson. German Lieder.
REF ML54.6 G275 1990
- Poetic
Paquin, Marie-Thérèse. Dix cycles de Lieder : Beethoven, Brahms, Mahler, Schubert, Schumann.
REF ML54.6 D59
- Word-for-Word
IPA
Idiomatic
French
Phillips, Lois. Lieder Line by Line, and Word for Word.
ML54.6 P55 L5 1996
- Word-for-Word
Idiomatic
Prawer, S. S. The Penguin Book of Lieder.
REF ML54.6 P46 1964
- Poetic
Italian
Castel, Nico. Italian Belcanto Opera Libretti. 3 vols.
REF ML48 I83 2000
- Word-for-Word
IPA
Castel, Nico. Italian Verismo Opera Libretti.
REF ML48 I89 2000
- Word-for-Word
IPA
Gerhart, Martha. Italian Song Texts from the 17th Century.
REF ML54.6 I83 v.1
- Word-for-Word
IPA
Gerhart, Martha. Italian Song Texts from the 18th Century.
REF ML54.6 I83 v.2
- Word-for-Word
IPA
LeVan, Timothy. Masters of the Italian Art Song.
REF ML54.6 M34 1990
- Word-for-Word
Poetic
Paquin, Marie Thérèse. Airs et mélodies: Mozart, Schubert, classiques italiens.
REF ML50.7 A383 1983
- Word-for-Word
IPA
Idiomatic
French
Russian
Richter, Laurence R. Selected Nineteenth Century Russian Song Texts.
ML54.6 R53 2005
- Word-for-Word
IPA
Piatak, Jean and Regina Avrashov. Russian Songs and Arias.
MT883 P54 1991
- Word-for-Word
IPA
Spanish
Cockburn, Jacqueline, and Richard Stokes. The Spanish Song Companion.
ML54.6 S76 2006
- Poetic
Various
Coffin, Berton. Phonetic Readings of Songs and Arias. 2nd ed.
REF MT883 P5 1982
- IPA
Coffin, Berton. Word-for-Word Translations of Songs and Arias. 2 vols.
REF ML54.6 W65 1966
- Word-for-Word
Retzlaff, Jonathan. Exploring Art Song Lyrics: Translation and Pronunciation of the Italian, German & French Repertoire. IPA transcriptions by Cheri Montgomery.
- Poetic
- IPA
Singher, Martial. An Interpretive Guide to Operatic Arias.
MT892 S5 1983
- Poetic
By composer:
Johann Sebastian Bach
Ambrose, Z. Philip. The Texts to Johann Sebastian Bach's Church Cantatas.
REF ML54 B15 C32 1984
Also available online
- Poetic
Martino, Donald, ed. 178 Chorale Harmonizations of Joh. Seb. Bach. 2 vols.
M3.1 B2 A15 1985
English translations are found in vol. 2.
- Poetic
Unger, Melvin P. Handbook to Bach’s Sacred Cantata Texts: An Interlinear Translation with Reference Guide to Biblical Quotations and Allusions.
REF ML54 B15 C329 1996
- Word-for-Word
Georges Bizet
Dibbern, Mary. Carmen: A Performance Guide.
ML410 B62 D53 2000
- Word-for-Word
IPA
Johannes Brahms
Glass, Beaumont. Brahms' Complete Song Texts.
REF ML54.6 B82 G52 1999
- Word-for-Word
IPA
Magner, Candace A. Phonetic Readings of Brahms Lieder.
ML883 M23 1987
- IPA
Stark, Lucien. A Guide to the Solo Songs of Johannes Brahms.
MT115 B73 S73 1995
- Idiomatic
Stark, Lucien. Brahms' Vocal Duets and Quartets with Piano.
MT115 B73 S7 1998
- Idiomatic
Claude Debussy
Cobb, Margaret G., ed. The Poetic Debussy: A Collection of His Song Texts and Selected Letters. Rev. 2nd ed.
ML54.6 D42 C62 1994
- Poetic
Rohinsky, Marie-Claire. The Singer’s Debussy.
ML54.6 D42 R62 1987
- Word-for-Word
IPA
Poetic
Gabriel Fauré
Gartside, Robert. Interpreting the Songs of Gabriel Fauré.
REF ML410 F27 G37 1996
- Word-for-Word
IPA
George Frideric Handel
Castel, Nico. Handel Opera Libretti.
ML49 H13 K4 2005
- Word-for-Word
IPA
Leoš Janáček
Cheek, Timothy. The Janacek Opera Libretti: Translations and Pronunciation.
ML49 J36 J37 2003
- Word-for-Word
IPA
Idiomatic
Giacomo Meyerbeer
Letellier, Robert Ignatius, and Richard Arsenty. Giacomo Meyerbeer: The Non-Operatic Texts.
ML47 M47 2007
- Poetic
Claudio Monteverdi
Stevens, Dennis. Claudio Monteverdi: Songs and Madrigals.
ML54.7 C54 1998
- Poetic
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Castel, Nico. The Libretti of Mozart’s Completed Operas. 2 vols.
REF ML49 M83 C3 1997
- Word-for-Word
IPA
Modest Mussorgsky
Richter, Laurence R. Mussorgsky’s Complete Song Texts.
ML54.6 M9 R52 2002
- Word-for-Word
IPA
Idiomatic
Giacomo Puccini
Castel, Nico. The Complete Puccini Libretti.
REF ML49 P75 C37 2002
- Word-for-Word
IPA
Weaver, William. Seven Puccini Librettos.
ML49 P75 W423 1981
- Idiomatic
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Challis, Natalia. The Singer's Rachmaninoff.
ML54.6 R18 S52 1989
- Word-for-Word
IPA
Poetic
Richter, Laurence R. Rachmaninov’s Complete Song Texts.
ML54.6 R18 R53 2000
- Word-for-Word
IPA
Poetic
Joaquín Rodrigo
Draayer, Suzanne Rhodes. A Singer’s Guide to the Songs of Joaquín Rodrigo.
ML54.6 R63 D7 1999
- Word-for-Word
IPA
Idiomatic
Franz Schubert
Glass, Beaumont. Schubert's Complete Song Texts. 2 vols.
REF ML54.6 S39 G515 1996
- Word-for-Word
IPA
Magner, Candace A. Phonetic Readings of Schubert Lieder.
MT883 M25 1994
- IPA
Reed, John. The Schubert Song Companion.
REF ML134 S38 R44 1985
- Poetic
Wigmore, Richard. Schubert: The Complete Song Texts.
REF ML54.6 S39 W54 1988
- Poetic
Robert Schumann
Glass, Beaumont. Schumann's Complete Song Texts.
REF ML54.6 S4 V62 2002
- Word-for-Word
IPA
Dmitri Shostakovitch
Richter, Laurence R. Shostakovich’s Complete Song Texts.
REF ML54.6 S559 S6 2007
- Word-for-Word
IPA
Richard Strauss
Castel, Nico. Four Strauss Opera Libretti. [Der Rosenkavalier, Elektra, Salome, Ariadne auf Naxos]
REF ML49 S76 O6 2002
- Word-for-Word
IPA
Glass, Beaumont. Richard Strauss’ Complete Song Texts.
REF ML54.6 S78 G53 2004
- Word-for-Word
IPA
Jefferson, Alan. The Lieder of Richard Strauss.
MT115 S83 J4 1971b
- Poetic
Piotr Ilich Tchaikovsky
Richter, Laurence. R. Tchaikovsky’s Complete Song Texts.
ML54.6 T24 R53 1999
- Word-for-Word
IPA
Idiomatic
Sylvester, Richard D. Tchaikovsky’s Complete Songs: A Companion with Texts and Translations.
ML54.6 T24 S9 2004
- Poetic
Giuseppe Verdi
Castel, Nico. The Complete Verdi Libretti. 4 vols.
REF ML49 V45 C372 1994
- Word-for-Word
IPA
Weaver, William. Seven Verdi Librettos.
ML49 V45 O62 1975
- Idiomatic
Richard Wagner
Castel, Nico. Three Wagner Opera Libretti. [Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Tristan und Isolde, and Parsifal]
REF ML49 W14 S8 2006
- Word-for-Word
IPA
Castel, Nico. Der Ring des Nibelungen.
REF ML50 W14 R32 2003
- Word-for-Word
IPA
Hugo Wolf
Richter, Laurence R. Hugo Wolf’s Complete Song Texts.
REF ML54.6 W64 G52 2000
- Word-for-Word
IPA
2. Search the Library catalogue
Books of translation/transcriptions | Translations in scores
Books of translation/transcriptions
Most translation resources are classed in the range ML47-ML54.8. The most popular resources are kept in the 3rd-floor Reference section; the rest are located on the 5th floor.
Other useful resources may appear under the following subject headings:
Song and vocal chamber music texts
Songs, German -- Texts
(Substitute another language for "German")
The texts of major poets may appear in published translations such as The Complete Poems of Heinrich Heine and Last Love Poems of Paul Eluard: A Bilingual Edition. These may be found in the Library catalogue:
- In the Advanced Search screen of the Library catalogue, enter the poet's name and select "Keywords in Author" and
- Select English (or another desired language) as the "Language" limit.
Opera Libretti
All opera libretti in the Music Library collection should have the following subject heading:
To find the libretto of a specific opera, use the Advanced search in the Library catalogue
- Enter the composer's name and words from the original name of the opera (e.g., use nozze, not marriage)
- Write librettos as a "Keyword in Subject."
The French periodical Avant-Scène Opéra publishes French translations of opera libretti paired with the original text as well as historical commentary on the work, a list of significant productions, and a discography.
Translations in Scores
Several scores include translations, either singable ones printed with the music or poetic ones printed separately. To locate these scores use the Library catalogue:
- In the Advanced Search screen, enter composer and work/genre keywords in the "Keywords in all fields" field.
- Type translation*. The * is a truncation symbol and will retrieve records with either translation or translations.
- Select Score from the drop-down "All types of materials" field.
It will be necessary to sift through catalogue records of scores with other translations (e.g., of the prefatory material or critical commentary).
3. Check the liner notes of audio recordings
Most audio recordings produced for an Anglo-American audience provide English translations of the recorded texts. European labels such as Harmonia Mundi or Deutsche Grammophon will often provide French translations as well.
Follow these steps to find translations in liner notes:
- In the Advanced Search screen of the Library catalogue, enter composer and work keywords in the "Keywords in all fields" field.
- Type translation*. The * is a truncation symbol and will retrieve records with either translation or translations.
- Select Recorded music from the drop-down "All types of materials" field.
Not all sound recordings are listed in the Library catalogue. For more information on locating audio/video recordings in the McGill Library, visit the How to find recordings page.
Internet Resources
The Lied, Art Song, and Choral Texts Archive
Dictionaries
Print dictionaries are found on the shelves facing the windows in the 3rd-floor reference section. Many include phonetic transcriptions.
Online language dictionaries are accessible from any McGill computer or remotely via VPN. The most commonly consulted online reference tools are listed on McGill Library's Dictionaries page.
If you have any comments about the Library or suggestions of how we could do things better, please let us know.