Great songs for soprano, alto, tenor and bass voices.
Here are some songs categorised by voice type and genre – appropriate for choir auditions.
Award winning Music Director and Choral Clinician Brian Wismath encourages singers who are thinking of joining a choir to go and hear that choir in person: ‘Get a sense as to what kind of repertoire they look at. What is the skill level of the choir? Do you feel like you would fit in? Is it a group that inspires you to become a part?’
If a ‘yes’ is emerging to these questions, then the next step is to ask the conductor or the administrative head to find out what they require in an audition. What do they want to hear? If they don’t have a list of pieces for you to choose from you may find the list below will help.
Soprano Voice
Art Songs:
- Caro Mio Ben – Giuseppe Giordani (Italian)
- Beau Soir – Claude Debussy (French)
- If Music be the Food of Love – Henry Purcell
Folk Songs:
- She’s Like the Swallow – Carl Strommen
- The Water is Wide – Unknown Composer
- The Last Rose of Summer – Thomas Moore
Classic Musical Theatre Songs:
- If I Loved you (Carousel) – Rogers and Hammerstein
- I Could Have Danced all Night (My Fair Lady) – Frederick Loewe
- Green Finch and Linnett Bird (Sweeney Todd) – Stephen Sondheim
Alto Voice
Art Songs:
- Sure on this Shining Night – Samuel Barber
- Nel Cor Piu Non Mi Sento – Giovanni Paisiello (Italian)
- Bist Du Bei Mir – Bach (German)
Folk Songs:
- Oh Shenandoah – Unknown Composer
- The Skye Boat Song – Anne Campbelle MacLeod
- Oh Danny Boy – Frederic Weatherly
Classic Musical Theatre Songs:
- Climb Every Mountain (The Sound of Music) – Rogers and Hammerstein
- Somewhere Over the Rainbow (The Wizard of Oz) – Harold Arlen
- Getting to Know you (The King and I) – Rogers and Hammersteinm
Tenor Voice
Art Songs:
- O del Mio Amato Ben – Stefano Donaudy (Italian)
- Du bist die Ruh’ – Franz Schubert (German)
- I Attempt from Love’s Sickness to Fly – Henry Purcell
Folk Songs:
- Loch Lomond – Unknown Composer
- Flow Gently, Sweet Afton – Jonathan E. Spilman
- The Parting Glass – Unknown Composer
Classic Musical Theatre Songs:
- Oh, What a Beautiful Morning (Oklahoma) – Rogers and Hammerstein
- Maria (West Side Story) – Stephen Sondheim
- Bring Him Home (Les Miserables) – Claude-Michel Schönberg
Bass Voice
Art Songs:
- Du Bist Wei Eine Blume – Robert Schumann (German)
- Fear No More the Heat o’ the Sun – Roger Quilter
- Vittoria, Vittoria mio Core! – Giacomo Carissimi (Italian)
Folk Songs:
- Swing Low, Sweet Chariot – Wallis Willis
- Hard Times come again no More – Stephen Foster
- Early One Morning – Unknown Composer
Classic Musical Theatre Songs:
- If Ever I Would Leave You (Camelot) – Frederick Loewe
- Some Enchanted Evening (South Pacific) – Rogers and Hammerstein
- Stars (Les Miserables) – Claude-Michel Schönberg