Gary's Guide to Russian Diction for Singers

Russian phonetics is fairly simple, despite a few daunting phonemes. But the spelling of Russian sounds using the Cyrillic alphabet is less straightforward. It gets worse when it is transcribed into English through German or French filters with their odd spellings. Given the chaos of phonetics and spelling in English, the singer may be confronted by a confused welter of competing transcriptions, and may not know where to turn. Turn here. This guide will avoid esoteric linguistic terms as much as possible and clarify the most problematic issues. It will give you the Russian letters with their German, French, West Slavic, and typical English transcriptions, and also their values in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), discussing any troublesome matters along the way. It will present a consistent and user-friendly transcription system designed for singers, not for linguists or language learners or interpreters, but a practical singers' system designed for maximal clarity on the ground, in the studio, and on stage.

Author: Gary Cox
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Published: 07/02/2014
Pages: 26
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.19lbs
Size: 11.02h x 8.50w x 0.05d
ISBN: 9781500350727

About the Author
In the field of Russian Studies, Gary Cox (PhD Columbia) is a literature specialist -- most of his writings are on Dostoevsky and other 19th century figures, but he has also written on all periods and genres. As a teacher, he has always aimed for breadth, giving a broad survey of Russian culture for the general learner. Dr. Cox studied Russian at Indiana University (Bloomington), Columbia University (New York City), Harvard University, and Moscow State University. He has taught Russian Language and Literature at a number of institutions, including a tenured stint as Director of Russian Studies at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, and also in Indiana, Missouri, and Colorado. Since (voluntarily) leaving academia, he has guided tours all over Russia and East Europe (based for six years in Bratislava, Slovakia and Vienna, Austria) and is now offering Russian language tours of Chicago and other American sites. In all of the places he has lived, Gary has been active in semi-professional music and theatre, and has sung in many auditioned and professional choirs. Several times he has founded or co-founded chamber groups for a capella choral performance, in central Missouri, in the Denver area (at the Colorado Renaissance Festival), and in Bratislava, and has produced CDs with some of these groups. He has coached Russian Diction for the Dallas Opera Chorus and the Dallas Symphony Chorus, and has taught an informal workshop for fellow singers several times (in Dallas, in Denver, Aspen, and Boulder Colorado), as well as coaching privately for professional singers and graduate students. Gary also speaks Czech and Slovak, and can offer a session on Czech diction to supplement Russian work.

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