Editing Pierre Bernac (section)

===Writer===

====''The Interpretation of French Song'' (1970)====

Bernac wrote two books: ''The Interpretation of French Song'' (1970) and ''Francis Poulenc: The Man and His Songs'' (1977). He wrote the first in English for the guidance of English-speaking singers.{{refn|Bernac wrote the English prose; his former pupil Winifred Radford (1901–1993) supplied line-by-line English translations of the French verses.<ref name=notes/>|group= n}} He explained in his preface that he had space for only the most outstanding composers; nevertheless the book covers 200 mélodies by 18 composers, from [[Hector Berlioz|Berlioz]] to Poulenc, via [[Charles Gounod|Gounod]], [[César Franck|Franck]], [[Édouard Lalo|Lalo]], [[Camille Saint-Saëns|Saint-Saëns]], [[Léo Delibes|Delibes]], [[Georges Bizet|Bizet]], [[Jules Massenet|Massenet]], [[Henri Duparc (composer)|Duparc]], [[Emmanuel Chabrier|Chabrier]], [[Ernest Chausson|Chausson]], [[Gabriel Fauré|Fauré]], [[Claude Debussy|Debussy]], [[Erik Satie|Satie]], [[André Caplet|Caplet]], [[Albert Roussel|Roussel]] and [[Maurice Ravel|Ravel]].<ref name=notes/>

In the first of the three introductory chapters Bernac describes the role of the concert singer and the significance of "interpretation" –  bringing the words and music to life through imagination and personal vision, with unceasing respect for the composer's indications and for the inseparability of the text and its music. The second chapter consists of technical advice on French vowel and consonant sounds and their proper vocal production. The third analyses the differences between the French mélodie and the German lied. The bulk of the book consists of analyses of the various composers' techniques, with detailed advice to singers. The reviewer in the American journal ''[[Notes (journal)|Notes]]'' called the book a masterpiece,<ref name=notes>Grubb, Thomas. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/896561 "The Interpretation of French Song"], ''Notes'', March 1971, pp. 480–482 {{subscription required}}</ref> and his counterpart in the British ''[[Music & Letters]]'' called it "a 'must' for any serious student of the French repertory".<ref>[https://www.jstor.org/stable/731579 "The Interpretation of French Song"], ''Music & Letters'', July 1970, pp. 310–311 {{subscription required}}</ref>

====''Francis Poulenc: The Man and His Songs'' (1977)====

The second book was written in French, but first published in English translation. In 1977 [[Victor Gollancz Ltd|Gollancz]] in London and [[W. W. Norton & Company|Norton]] in New York published a translation by Winifred Radford.<ref>[https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp08554/winifred-radford "Winifred Radford"], National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 18 May 2020</ref><ref name=wc>WorldCat {{oclc|3729779}} and {{oclc|906256451}}</ref> The original French text was published in Paris by Buchet-Chastel the following year as ''Francis Poulenc et ses mélodies''.<ref>WorldCat {{oclc|610487250}}</ref> Bernac used an approach similar to that in his earlier book: a short biographical study of Poulenc is followed by a discussion of the composer's style and the singer's approach to it, and the bulk of the book considers the songs individually, grouped by the various poets' names.<ref name=rb/> Reviewing the English edition, ''The Musical Times'' said "This is not just a book about Poulenc songs. With its fine literary style … it is an unselfconscious exposé of the spirit of being French, and an object lesson in how to approach any musical repertory with a high degree of rationale, but above all a warm heart".<ref name=rb>Bowman, Robin. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/959598 "Francis Poulenc, the Man and His Songs"], ''The Musical Times'', September 1978, p. 767 {{subscription required}}</ref> The English edition has a preface by Sir Lennox Berkeley and the French by Henri Sauguet.<ref name=wc/>