Rather than a general survey of art song literature, this book clearly and insightfully defines the fundamental characteristics of art song, and the integral relationship between lyric poetry and its musical settings.  Topics covered include poetry basics for singers, exercises for singers in working with poetry, insights into composers' musical settings of poetry, building recital programs, performance suggestions, and recommended literature for college and university classical voice majors.  The three appendices address further aspects of poetry, guidelines for creating a recital program, and representative classical voice recitals of various descriptions.  This book is extremely useful as an "unofficial" text for college/university vocal literature classes, as an excellent resource for singers and voice teachers, and of interest to all those who are fascinated by the rich legacy of the art song genre.  Paperback, 400 p.