Grade 1
ISBN 978-1-78601-039-1
The change of syllabus has afforded the opportunity for much additional material, and a delightful inclusion in the Grade 1 volume is ‘Catch a Falling Star’, made famous by Perry Como or The Princess Diaries – depending on your age – but immediately appealing to many in the younger age range. At the other end of the youth spectrum, Lin Marsh's ‘Pirates!’ is fun and has a rumbustiousness set to capture the imagination of even the most reluctant of young singers. ‘Sing a Rainbow’ is familiar to many and is great for encouraging a legato line. Other songs in this volume include ‘Anna-Marie’, ‘Skye Boat Song’, ‘Go Tell it on the Mountain’, ‘Out in the Garden’, Schumann's ‘Der Abendstern’, ‘We're Off to See the Wizard’, ‘After the Ball’, ‘Conkers!’, and the charming ‘Truly Scrumptious’.
Grade 2
ISBN 978-1-78601-040-7
The Grade 2 volume has much to entertain, also appealing to the younger age range with a variety of creatures, from ‘Monsters!’ (once again by Lin Marsh), to Flanders and Swann's ‘The Hippopotamus’, and the clip-clippety clogs of the mice in ‘The Windmill in Old Amsterdam’. Again, there is a clutch of arrangements: ‘The Winter it is Past’, ‘Land of the Silver Birch’, and ‘The Mermaid’.
Grade 3
ISBN 978-1-78601-041-4
The best newcomer in the Grade 3 songbook is ‘All I do is dream of you’ from Singin’ in the Rain. The traditional Maori song ‘Pokarekare Ana’, made famous in the UK by Karl Jenkins, appears here in another arrangement by Allan Bullard, while ‘Peace song’ by Dorothy Buchanan will appeal to more soulful singers.
Grade 4
ISBN 978-1-78601-042-1
The selection here is particularly satisfying, with the beautiful Dowland song ‘Now, O Now I Needs Must Part’, together with: ‘Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child’; ‘My Secret Love’; the fabulous ‘How Lucky You Are’ from Seussical the Musical; and Jay Althouse's arrangement of ‘The Jones Boys’. The Matilda song ‘Naughty’ will likely be a popular choice for some, though do check the huge cuts for the exam, and Betty Roe's ‘Song of the Bluebell Wood’ is atmospheric and enchanting – it's a relief to have the latter within a volume rather than as a fly-away and easily-lost song leaflet.
Grade 5
ISBN 978-1-78601-043-8
The delightful ‘Star Vicino’ appears in Grade 5 in the key of F major – this is also available in Edition Peters’ Changing Voices in E flat in the treble clef and C major in the bass clef, for those who would prefer lower keys – and includes optional decoration provided in the second verse. Other songs include: John Rutter's ‘Gaelic Blessing’; Chausson's ‘Hébé’; ‘I Can Give You the Starlight’ by Ivor Novello; ‘I'll Build a Stairway to Paradise’ by the Gershwins; and ‘Slipping Through My Fingers’ from Mamma Mia. Ben Parry's ‘Career Paths’ is also printed in this book. This originally appeared in Changing Voices and is clearly proving popular with the exam boards, being found in the new Trinity syllabus, too. Eagle-eyed teachers may note that the gynaecologist in the original song has changed career to become a radiologist, which will certainly help to save the blushes of both teacher and student. As many singing teachers will already have this song in the aforementioned book, it might have been useful to publish it in a different key, transposing up a tone perhaps, to make it more suitable for higher voices.
Summary
The only caveat I have with this series of books is that there are so many new – and not necessarily better – arrangements of folk songs which are widely available elsewhere. For instance, the ‘Skye Boat Song’ of Grade 1 and ‘The Water is Wide’ in Grade 5 are in Jay Althouse's Folk Songs for Solo Singers series. It would be wonderful if ABRSM could diversify by commissioning entirely fresh material or bringing to life lesser-known folksongs. The Icelandic folksongs in Grades 3 and 4 are rather lovely, however, and provide more unusual material. The book these are taken from, Icelandic Art Songs: First Collection, was rather tricky to get hold of when the songs first appeared in the previous singing syllabus. Now, however, it is more widely available and is well worth looking up – particularly the gorgeous Draumalandiđ (Landscape of my heart) and Vor hinsti dagur (Our final day).
Even outside of the folksong world, these volumes contain many songs, such as ‘Over the Rainbow’ (Grade 4) and ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ (Grade 5), which can be found in Faber's The Best of Singing books and countless other compilations. ‘Fairest Isle’ is also in The Best of Singing and Edition Peters’ The Art of Song series, among other volumes. Such duplication will fill pages but does nothing for propagating a wider range of material – but perhaps ABRSM is trying to provide a convenient single-book solution over encouraging an exploration of a wider repertoire.
From a practical perspective, the books in this new series are slimmer than their predecessors, due to the omission of unaccompanied folk songs. The lack of a spine means that, while the publications are not so readily identifiable on the bookshelves, they do easily stay open on the music stand. The songs are helpfully grouped on the contents page according to the list in which they appear in the syllabus. All books have six songs from list C, with three songs each for lists A and B in Grades 1 and 2, and four songs in Grades 3 to 5. Singing teachers will also appreciate the instructions on relevant exam cuts.
Recordings of the accompaniments for all the songs in these volumes are available via the ABRSM's Singing Practice Partner app (at £1.99 each), which is available for both Android and iOS devices. The benefits of this include being able to select the key and speed of your choice. There are also downloads of the accompaniments available on the ABRSM website. Note, however, that these are in a fixed key as presented in the book.
Caveats aside, these volumes are worth the investment for those who don't already have the songs on their bookshelves, and will lend themselves to many a novice or experienced singer who wishes to release their inner songbird in the land of exams.
