Great Singers, First Series

George Titus FerrisProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 2.9

Word count: 307K words
Chapters: 31

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Great Singers, First Series by George T. FerrisAuthor: Ferris, George T. (George Titus), 1840-,Language: English, Class: ML: Music: Literature of music, Release Date: Jan 4, 2006

Editor's review

This book is the first series of George T. Ferris's collection of singer biographies, also belonging to the music literature category of free e-books from Project Gutenberg. The book centers on famous vocalists, presenting the landscape of modern vocal art through accounts of their lives, stage careers, and singing styles. Ferris's approach leans toward narrative and character portrayal, and the language carries the charm of nineteenth-century biographical writing, making it suitable as a general reader on vocal history rather than a manual on vocal technique or vocal pedagogy. The first-series arrangement allows readers to read by individual figures, convenient for browsing in fragmented time. Because the book was written long ago, its evaluations of singers and some historical facts bear the marks of their era; readers should keep a critical eye and consult modern vocal history materials for comparison. The English original is also suitable as English extensive reading material on a musical theme, helping learners accumulate relevant vocabulary in authentic texts.

Who it's for

A good fit for

General music enthusiasts interested in the history of vocal art and historical singers
Readers who wish to understand the modern opera stage through figures as the main thread
Learners who need public-domain English nonfiction texts for extensive reading practice
Music majors who want to supplement background knowledge on vocal figures

Not a good fit for

Learners who want to systematically study vocal technique or vocal pedagogy
Researchers who need the latest academic findings and rigorous citations
Readers with weak English who rely on Chinese translations

Reading tips

Read by individual figures: choose one singer at a time, then review the era and stage background after finishing.
While reading, organize clues about each figure's active years and representative roles to form a concise timeline of vocal history.
Keep judgment on the book's evaluative content and consult other vocal history materials for verification.
For the English original, start with chapters on familiar figures, build music vocabulary, then read unfamiliar chapters.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a vocal textbook?

No. The material shows that this book belongs to music literature and is a biographical work centered on singers' lives and stage careers, not a manual for vocal training or vocal pedagogy; those seeking to study singing technique should choose another textbook.

What is the difference between the first series and the second series?

The material only states that this book is the "first series" and does not provide the specific contents of the second series. What is certain is that this series collects biographies of a group of singers, and readers can read by individual figures in this series without presupposing later content.

Can I read it without a vocal background?

Yes. The book is mainly figure narrative and does not depend on professional vocal knowledge. General readers can treat it as musical life stories; skipping professional terms will not affect overall understanding.

Where can I get the e-book?

This book is released by Project Gutenberg as a free public-domain e-book. Readers can search for the title on that platform to obtain the electronic text; the specific download formats are subject to what the platform provides.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

George Titus Ferris Author · American · 1840

George Titus Ferris (1840–), an American author whose date of death is unknown, is known for popular and lively biographies of classical musicians. His works include The Great German Composers, Great Italian and French Composers, Great Violinists and Pianists, and the two-volume Great Singers; six of his works are held in this collection. Written for general readers, these books present the lives and artistic achievements of composers, performers, and singers in an accessible narrative style, aiming to bring music history to a broad audience and helping to popularize knowledge of classical music.