Getting the Most Out of Mozart: The Vocal Works.

* Getting the Most Out of Mozart: The Vocal Works, by David Hurwitz. Amadeus Press (512 Newark Pompton Turnpike, Pompton Plains, NJ 07444), 2005. 210pp. $22.95

David Hurwitz brings his lifetime of passion for music, thoughtful perceptions of music, and a ready wit to his study of Mozart's vocal works. Having already completed a study of Mozart's instrumental works in another text, Hurwitz succeeds in bringing the reader of this volume to a richer understanding of Mozart's music, whatever the genre. Although musical skills and vocabulary would be helpful when reading this book, a love for learning about music is the strongest prerequisite.

Part One contains detailed studies of seven of Mozart's operas and is called "The Great Operas." Hurwitz provides charts that describe the instrumentation used for the vocal solos, ensembles and choruses for the operas in this section. The principal characters in each opera are described by referring to the music assigned to them. Part Two addresses other vocal works in three sections entitled: The "Not-So-Great-Operas," "Concert Arias" and "Sacred Music." An additional strength of the book is the included CD that contains arias and ensembles discussed, sometimes with text and translation provided. By inserting a section of nine pages of photographs from some of the operas studied, the author has further increased the value of the text.

As founder and executive editor of Classicstoday.com, Hurwitz works in an arena that enables him to write with authority as he provides us with insights into 11 of his chosen "Not-So-Great-Operas" written by Mozart. Some of these are granted less than one page of anecdotal and historical notes, but that is sufficient to allow the reader to place each work in the context of Mozart's life. Based on Hurwitz's often clever observations, the reader can choose whether to explore these operas more in depth.

Ten "Concert Arias" and seven selections of "Sacred Music" are worked through in abbreviated fashion for the final sections of the book. By prefacing each aria and sacred work with a listing of instrumentation, Hurwitz uses a device not usually seen in a study of vocal works. Throughout this book a singer would be encouraged to become more aware of the importance of instrumentation in vocal works ... an important aspect that is too often overlooked by young singers, in particular.

There were occasional misspellings (Mesetto rather than Masetto) and the "attention getter" when English ("the") appeared in the midst of Italian libretto, but the book is most often delightful, both informative and stimulating. It seems that Hurwitz achieves the mastery that he attributes to Mozart ... that of "suggesting largeness of scale in a very short span of time."--Reviewed by Cheryl Coker, NCTM, Jackson, Mississippi.

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