The New Imperial Edition of Solo Songs has been designed as a chronological anthology of song from the Lutenists down to the present day. As other albums will be devoted exclusively to operatic and oratorio arias these are generally omitted from the present volumes. Each song is briefly annotated and, except where indicated, appears in the original key or is set for the voice which it is normally associated. Songs have been chosen that will provide teacher and student alike with a working catalogue as a basis for more specialized research into the varied treasure of the literature of song, and offer to all singers a practical and logical conspectus of the diversities of lyrical song over a period of some three hundred years.