Choral Lit: 1910-Present

sprechstimme

- expressionist vocal technique somewhere between singing and speaking. - Developed by Schoenberg - Featured in Survivor from Warsaw (narrator) Sprechgesang vs. Sprechstimme: - Sprechgesang is related to the operatic recitative manner of singing (in which pitches are sung, but the articulation is rapid and loose like speech) - Sprechstimme is closer to speech itself (because it does not emphasize any particular pitches)

Expressionism

- music intended to shock - most often associated with Second Viennese school - melodies often based on wide (angular) leaps and unpredictable motion - dissonant harmonies, often atonal - textures vary from very sparse to extremely dense - rhythm and meters can be unpredictable

Impressionism

- style associated with Debussy and Ravel - based on short, motivic melodies, colorful harmonies sometimes used non functionally - pictorial effects - exploration of unusual scalar materials - extended harmonies

bitonality

- the use of two different keys at the same time (any more than two is polytonality) - can apply to a single chord or a composition - Ives, Psalm 67 (upper voices in C, lower in Gm) - Debussy's compositional style - Associated with Primitivism (comp. trend of Bartok and Stravinsky)

Carnavalito

- trans. Little Carnival - traditional South American dance from the altiplano and puna regions - Mostly pentatonic, cheerful mood - The music is characterized by the use of instruments such as the quena, siku and the bombo - One of the folk genres used in the Missa Criolla (Ramirez), in the rhythm of the Gloria specifically

Herbert Howells

1892-1983, English - Studied at the Royal College of Music with Stanford, Wood, and Parry, R.V. Williams a big influence - Had a burst of fame with instrumental music pre WWII but for the rest of his life was known for his sacred choral works - Known for writing elegiac music, life marked by death (WWI and WWII, death of his son, death of each musical mentor) - "English qualities" in his music: tudor counterpoint, pentatonic melodies and modes, love of English literature/text setting. - Rich, sensuous harmony: loves the 9ths/11ths/13ths, lots of soft dissonance, speechlike text setting, large paragraphs in his phrasing - Held many church and teaching positions: Royal College of Music, Salisbury Cathedral, St John's Cambridge, St Paul's Girls School, London University We studied: Requiem Collegium regale (Anglican evensong canticles, Magnificat and Nunc) Hymnus Paradisi (quotes Requiem) A Spotless Rose

Lili Boulanger

1893-1918, French - First female winner of Prix de Rome - Studied with Faure - Chronic illness, died at 24 - Colorful harmonies, striking instrumentation, skillful settings of texts, elements of Faure and Debussy Works studied: - Hymne au Soleil (SATB, piano, Mz solo) - Psalm 24 (1916, orchestra and choir) - Vieille prière bouddhique (1914-17, orchestra and choir)

Paul Hindemith

1895-1963, German - Studied violin and composition - Late-Romantic style - Operas and Chamber Music - Expressionism and beyond - Work with Brecht and Benn Philosophes: - Neue Sachlichkeit - Gebrauchsmusik - Pitch organization and Pandiatonicism - Spielmusik Music of Early Period: consonant intervals, accessibility Middle Period: older elements, contrary motion, pandiatonicism, quartal and quintal harmonies Late Period: contrary motion, hemiola, polyrhythm, extended ostinati

pandiatonicism

A musical technique of using the diatonic (as opposed to the chromatic) scale without the limitations of functional tonality. It sanctions free, even simultaneous, use of any or all seven tones of the diatonic scale. Bass determines harmony and chords still thought of as tertian (so sevenths, ninths, thirteenths considered as consonances). Paul Hindemith.

William Grant Still

1895-1978, American - "The Dean of African American Composers." A huge number of "firsts" for Black American composers - theory and counterpoint for a couple years at Oberlin - Studied with Edgar Varèse - Worked in NYC as a successful arranger - His wife Verna Arvey was a pianist and author. Wrote a lot of the poetry he set, wrote essays on his behalf, etc. - Known primarily for his Afro-American Symphony and his dramatic vocal works (operas, song cycles, etc). - Excelled at works that incorporated human drama: opera, choral ballads, large number of pieces that incorporated many elements of performance (dance, singing, orchestra, theater, etc.) - Incorporated blues and jazz elements - often described as neo-romantic. - did not place much emphasis on setting "negro folk music" because he didn't want to get pigeonholed. Works Studied - Holy Spirit, Don't You Leave Me from Three Rhythmic Spirituals - And They Lynched Him On a Tree (Lynch Mob/White Chorus, Black Chorus, alto solo, narrator, orch)

Francis Poulenc

1899-1963, French - did not study music formally - Between ages of fifteen and nineteen he took music lessons privately with the Spanish pianist Ricardo Viñes, who introduced him to important composers and to poets. - In 1936, following the death of his friend Pierre-Octave Ferroud (composer and critic), experienced a religious reawakening during a pilgrimage to the chapel of the Black Virgin of Rocamadour (France) - In the early 1960s, having achieved celebrity status, he frequently attended major performances of his works - For him the most important element of all was melody Works studied: Litanies a la Vierge Noire Messe en Sol majeur Sept chansons Huit chansons francais Quatre motets pour un temps de penitence (Barely)

Randall Thompson

1899-1984, American, NYC/Boston - Became Harvard U professor in 1951, retired 1965; was awarded four honorary degrees - 1959 - made Knight of the Republic of Italy - Known as "Dean of American Choral Composers" in later half of his life - Several choral compositions (including Alleluia and selections from Frostiana) were among most widely published and performed of all choral works of the 20th century Style - Diatonic - Parallel motion chords in inversions - "Plainspoken and never more difficult than it needs to be" - Restrained yet with emotional punch - Neoclassical, combining trad. Style with 20th century. Form and counterpoint Works studied - Alleluia, SATB unaccomp - Frostiana, SATB/piano (movements for SSA only, TTB only, orch version later) - Testament of Freedom (TTBB with piano, band, or orch)

Octatonic scale

Any scale of 8 notes, but usually the symmetrical scale of alternating whole and half steps. - Used in Symphony of Psalms (Stravinsky) - Also associated with Debussy/Ravel, Impressionism

Maurice Duruflé

1902-1986, French - Famous organist, received his training as a chorister growing up and studying with Louis Vierne, Charles Tournemire, and composition with Paul Dukas. Taught at the Paris Conservatoire - Performed and toured with his wife, fellow organist Marie-Madeleine Chevalier - Influenced by other French composers like Fauré and Poulenc. Considered relatively conservative and polished. - Used Gregorian chants and themes in his writing (mixed meter, unison, chantlike, direct quotes, paraphrasing, cantus firmus) - Composed only 14 works (6 for chorus) Works studied - Requiem

Samuel Barber

1910-1981, American (PA) - somewhat of a prodigy, entered Curtis at 14 and started composition very young - Studied early with his aunt and uncle Sidney Homer (whose death would inspire Prayers of Kirkegaard) - Met Menotti at Curtis and studied together in Italy on scholarship - 1939-42 taught composition at Curtis briefly before joining the Army and deciding to live off commissions afterward - 1943 lived and worked with Menotti for 30 years in a house in NY called Capricorn - Won two pulitzers: one for the opera "Vanessa" and one for his piano concerto Style: Began very Brahmsian (The Moon). Long dry spells. Thought of as too traditional and not traditional enough. Always tonally centered, brief ambiguity. Quartal harmonies. Flat seven melodies. Short figures, Moving bassline. Accessible. Kindred spirits with Poulenc. Not overtly American. Studied Reincarnations, Prayers of Kierkegaard

Benjamin Britten

1913-1976, England - Lots of unaccompanied vocal music, opera - Revived English opera genre - Focus on increasing national musical literacy, esp. in children - Given honor of Life Peerage Style: distinctive tonal language (basically tonal, but with enough ambiguity to make it interesting), often accessible but experimented with modern elements, liked writing for amateurs, imbued works with personal concerns (pacifism, writing for men/boys) Works we studied: A Hymn to the Virgin (SATB double choir, Chorus 2 is smaller) Hymn to St. Cecilia (SSATB) A Ceremony of Carols (SSA and harp, 20min multimvmt) "To Daffodils" from Five Flower Songs (SATB) 1950 War Requiem

Ariel Ramirez

1921-2020, Argentina - Interested in folk music, old traditions; transcribed over 400 folk melodies - lived/worked/studied in Buenos Aires - Spent four years in Rome - Best known for Missa Criolla (1964)

György Ligeti

1923-2006 - b. Transylvania/Romania, taught in Darmstadt, lived in Vienna, Hungary - Early choral works are a cappella settings of folk texts in modal harmonic language - 1950s/60s works: tone clusters, textures of slow-moving harmonies (micropolyphony) - Micropolyphony: dense weaves of canons at the unison, in which the lines works studied: Lux aeterna (16 voices a cappella) Requiem (SA solos, SATBB/SATBB chorus, orch) Magyar etüdök (double choir 16 voices) Éjszaka (Night) and Reggel (Morning) (SSAATTBB) Magány (Solitude) (SAB) Pápainé (Widow Pápai) (SATB div)

Éjszaka and Reggel

1955 / Éjszaka (Night) and Reggel (Morning) - SSAATTBB chorus a cappella - 5 minutes. - It contains passages of tone clusters - Funny rooster solo in Reggel (kikkeriki! slide)

Frank Martin

1980-1974, Geneva, Switzerland - Inspired by Bach SM Passion as a kid - Started studying math/physics but couldn't stand it, turned to music - Devoutly Christian; faith as private inner struggle - Composition = deeply personal act - Meticulous and self-critical, often locked up his own manuscripts for years before releasing - Variety of stylistic influences (Renaiss, Fr. Impressionists, 12-tone, Bach): old styles plus new creativity - Consonance and familiar tonal centers, but rarely within standard context of tonality Works studied: Mass for double choir, Songs of Ariel (SATB div unaccomp)

Claude Debussy

1862-1918, France - Studied at Paris Conservatoire - Turbulent love life that may have influenced some early compositions - Style: upper extensions of chords, bitonal chords, chromaticism, planing, influence from Javanese Gamelan, whole tones, pentatonicism, unprepared modulations/progressions - Associated with Impressionism but Debussy did not like the term, prefers linkage to poetry, not paintings Works studied: Nocturnes (orchestral, 3rd mvmt has women's chorus in wordless vocals, made from small musical building blocks, voices treated as another instrument) Trois Chansons de Charles d'Orleans (SATB unaccomp)

Ralph Vaughan Williams

1872 - 1958, England - Known for symphonies, chamber and choral music, and stage works including opera, ballet and film - Royal college of music (studied with Hubert Parry) and Trinity College (Cambridge) - Great English choral tradition: Parry, Tallis, Byrd, etc - Friends and influences: Charles Wood and Gustav Holst - Interest in English folk-songs - Took lessons with Ravel (impressionist influences) - Gradually became a leading composer and conductor, took several positions in organizations, served as lecturer and writer We studied: - Mass in Gm (SATB double chorus unaccomp, with SATB soli) - Dona nobis pacem (1936) - Three Shakespeare Songs (1951)

Arnold Schoenberg

1874 - 1951, b. Vienna, moved to USA, d. LA Style periods: - Late Romantic, tonal style (1895 - 1908 - Early works show influences of Brahms, Wagner, Wolf, Strauss. Large orchestration. - Dissolution of tonality (1909 - 1914) (expressionist phase "intensification of harmonic strangeness, formal complexity and contrapunctual density." Works tended to be short statements of an extreme musical state. Techniques: Sprechstimme, klangfarbenmelodie) - Twelve-tone period - Return to more tonality at the end of his life Works we studied Friede auf Erden (1907-1911, SATB div) Survivor from Warsaw

Charles Ives

1874-1954 - First American Composer - 1894 - Yale University (student of Horatio Parker) / Graduated in 1898 - Choose career in insurance, on the side he composed music and player organ - Lots of inst. works, won Pultizer for Symphony no. 3 Won the Pulitzer for his Symphony no 3 Works studied: - Three Harvest Home Chorales (1902, SATB chorus & org/pno or chamber ens) - Psalm 67 (SSAATTBB unaccomp) - Psalm 90

Maurice Ravel

1875 - 1937 - 1889 - piano at Paris Conservatoire. - Attended World Exposition, was impressed by Russian music conducted by Rimsky-Korsakov, Javanese Gamelan, etc -1909/12 - Daphnis et Cloé, ballet commissioned by Diaghilev of the Ballet Russes. Highly praised by Stravinsky. - Post-war jazz influences led to new compositions Stylistic features -Influenced by Debussy -Russian composers -Jazz harmonies -Ability to be simple in tune

R. Nathaniel Dett

1882 - 1943, American - 1908, at 16, he became the first African American to receive a bachelor's degree from Oberlin - teaching positions in four institutions (incl. Hampton Institute) - In 1932, he received a master's degree from Eastman School of Music - Authored the popular book The Emancipation of Negro Music Style - Early style (teens-young adult): Light salon music sound mixed with classical, reflecting ragtime and dance music popular at the time - Influenced by Dvorak (who challenged American comps to use their country's own folk materials), Samuel Coleridge-Taylor - Later style included Negro folk idioms - "conservative" - stayed diatonic and tonal - Wanted to preserve spirituals Works studied - Hiawatha's Wedding Feast (SATB orch) - Chariot Jubilee (SATB, tenor solo, orch. Based on Swing Low) - Ordering of Moses (oratorio, incl. fugue on Go Down Moses) - Ave Maria (SATB & B solo unaccomp) - America the Beautiful

Igor Stravinsky

1882-1971, b. Russia, acquired French and American citizenship Stylistic periods - Early/Russian period (to 1920s: influenced by Russian comps, used Russian tales and folk tunes, octatonicism, polytonality, rhythmic energy, driving pulsations - Middle/Neoclassical (to 1950s: Return to Classical and Baroque forms and techniques - Late/Serial: partially or wholly serial compositions, would experiment within tonal frameworks We studied: - Pater Noster (Otche Nash) (1926) - Ave Maria (Bogoroditse Devo) - Credo (Veruyu) (1932) - Symphony of Psalms (1930, rev. 1948)

Neue Sachlichkeit

"New Objectivity" - intellectual movement in Germany in the 1920s - reaction against expressionism - the value in artistic works is derived from its usefulness instead of its emotional depth - present in forms of art, theater, music, literature etc - important in Hindemith's story because it explains his move toward Gebrauchsmusik

Minimalism

- A compositional style characterized by an intentionally simplified rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic vocabulary. - Reduction of music to the "essentials" - Seen as an antidote to modernism/total serialism - Tonal/modal and accessible - Early pioneers in the 60s-70s: Terry Riley, Philip Glass, La Monte Young, Steve Reich. - Composers on this list who fit into this category: Pärt, Monk, Lang-ish

isorhythm

- A compositional technique using a repeating rhythmic pattern, called a talea, in at least one voice part throughout a composition. - Taleae are typically applied to one or more melodic patterns of pitches or colores, which may be of the same or a different length from the talea. - Grew from rhythmic modes of late medieval polyphony, and first appeared in 13th cen French motets. - 20th Cen relevance: Charles Ives's Psalm 90 (Isorhythm in the bell parts)

palindrome

- A melodic line that is first presented normally and then played backwards or "in retrograde." - Ives Psalm 90

12-tone technique

- AKA 12-tone serialism - Schoenberg developed his version in 1923 - Associated with Second Viennese School, primary users of technique when it first was used - All 12 notes of the chromatic scale are sounded the same number of times in a piece, and no one note is emphasized - Uses tone rows: unique orderings of 12 pitches - Schoenberg Survivor from Warsaw

Chacarera

- Binary form: A section (6-8 measures) is intro and interlude. ABABABB. - Hemiola syncopation: melody beginning in duple meter (6/8) and ending in triple meter (3/4) - Accomp. have constant compound meter of 6/8 and 3/4. Accents on second DQ and third quarter note, respectively. - "Credo" from Ariel Ramirez Missa Criolla is chacarera trunca.

Tintinnabuli

- Compositional style developed and employed by Arvo Pärt. Latin for "little bell" - Based on 2-pt homophonic texture - The melodic voice moves stepwise around a central pitch (usually the tonic) - The tintinnabuli voice sounds the notes of the tonic triad. - Very structured, "never haphazard." - The entire structure of the piece is predetermined either by a numeral pattern or by the syntax of the text. - Homophonic, homorhythmic - Not chromatic, no modulations - Short phrases, utilizing silence - Does not adhere to functional harmony but is tonal - Slow, unchanging tempo - Peaceful, introspective mood

Sarussophone

- Woodwind instrument used frequently around the turn of the 20th century. - Non-transposing range about equal to that of saxophone, fingering is also near identical to sax. - Included in Boulanger's Buddhist Prayer (1914-17)

Neo-Classicism

- evocation of music from an early period (usually the 18th century), but other earlier centuries were parodied - often associated with Stravinsky and Hindemith

Navidad Nuestra

Ariel Ramirez, 1964 - Solo, SATB (div.) chorus, piano (or harpsichord) - Chord names, standard guitar notation, percussion parts - Lyrics by Félix Luna, famous historian and journalist - Originally conceived as a set of villancicos composed to complete the B side of the "Missa Criolla" LP. - Félix Luna said to Ramírez that they should create a "creole altarpiece" instead of a set of villancicos - Like "Misa Criolla", based on folk genres - Christmas

Missa Criolla

Ariel Ramirez, 1964 - T solo, SATB chorus, percussion (including native Andean instruments), and keyboard - It is common practice that the solo is sung by an Alto - One of the first masses not in Latin shortly after the Second Vatican Council permitted use of the vernacular in Catholic churches - Based on folk genres such as chacarera, carnavalito, and estilo pampeano, with Andean influences and instruments - Uplifting, fast tempi, dance rhythms - Common practice to adapt it in performance, not hold precisely to score.

Mujeres Argentinas

Ariel Ramirez, 1969 - called Cantata "Mujeres Argentinas" - Lyrics by Félix Luna - It pays an homage to the Argentine women that played an active role in the continent's history

A Survivor from Warsaw

Arnold Schoenberg, 1947 - Narrator, men's chorus, orchestra - For the Koussevitzky Foundation - S's last composition for orchestra - Includes sprechstimme - Schoenberg's middle period, lots of 12-tone writing (evident even in first bar) - Lots of percussion - Concentration camp, survivor recalling roll call of prisoners - Klangfarbenmelodie: technique that involves splitting a musical line between several instruments, resulting in lots of different timbres for one melody

Friede auf Erden

Arnold Schoenberg, SATB div. - 1907 unaccompanied, 1911 with orchestra - Friede motive (descending 3rd, descending 5th, sounds like bells) appears throughout. - Lots of different textural effects: parallel thirds, cycle of fifths in bass but not moving as expected - Familiar-ish chords but in unexpected orders: not crunchy, just unexpected movement.

Missa syllabica

Arvo Pärt, 1977 - SATB or SATB quartet - "Variable instrumental ensemble" of strings or winds - Early tintinnabuli style - Mass ordinary in Latin - One note per syllable as the name suggests, that specifically distinguishes it from the Berliner Messe as well as it being strictly a cappella

Magnificat

Arvo Pärt, 1989 - SSATB + soprano solo a cappella - Stand alone ~6 minute piece Tintinnabuli style - Standard Latin Magnificat text - Comparatively longer phrases than the other tintinnabuli works listed here

Bogoroditse Djevo

Arvo Pärt, 1990 - SATB a cappella choir, Russian text - Very short, 1 min - Christmas song based on Church Slavonic text from the Orthodox Book of Prayers. - Not tintinnabuli, more influenced by the Russian Orthodox tradition

Berliner Messe

Arvo Pärt, 1990 - SATB choir or quartet and organ or string orchestra - Tintinnabuli style - Mass ordinary in Latin

The Deer's Cry

Arvo Pärt, 2007 - SATB a cappella - English text - Not strict tintinnabuli - "Deeply rooted in tonality" like the steadfast prayer it represents

Five Flower Songs

Benjamin Britten 1950 - 5 short SATB partsongs - Composed as a 25th wedding anniversary gift for a couple who had contributed to the funding of the English Opera Group - Paul Spicer: 'lovely, classic part-songs...which, while in a direct line of descent from the classic part-songs of Elgar, Stanford and Parry, are entirely original' - Set to English poetry by various poets We listened to: To Daffodils

War Requiem

Benjamin Britten's masterpiece, prem. 1962 - Commissioned for the consecration of the new Coventry Cathedral, which was built after the original fourteenth-century structure was destroyed in a World War II bombing raid. - Scored for three ensembles: 1. Mixed chorus and orchestra with soprano soloist 2. Tenor and baritone soloists with chamber orchestra 3. Boys' chorus with organ Ideally, these ensembles are separated spatially in performance. - Text of Latin Mass of Dead is sung by mixed chorus, orch, sop soloist. - Tenor and baritone soloists sing poems by Wilfred Owen. - Solos written for specific singers, each representing a different country engaged in WWII - Pacifist beliefs - Anchoring tritone We listened to Requiem aeternam, Libera Me

A Hymn to the Virgin

Benjamin Britten, 1930 - 3:30, SATB double choir, Chorus 2 to be sung by semichorus or quartet - Britten composed this at age 16 while ill - Texts by anonymous poets probably dating from about 1300. - Macaronic. Medieval-era texts in both English and Latin. - Chorus 1 English, C2 Latin. - Syllabic. Two choirs mostly alternate.

Hymn to St. Cecilia

Benjamin Britten, 1942 - 12 minutes, SSATB unaccompanied - Poem by W.H. Auden - Three sections: First has fauxbourdon-like passages of slower-moving cantus firmus in A and B. Second has fast moving imitative phrases over slow cantus firmus. Third has longer, imitative phrases over a faster ground bass. - At the end of each section, Britten sets the same text: "Blessed Cecilia, appear in visions to all musicians, appear and inspire..." - set slightly differently each time, but always declarative, clear

A Ceremony of Carols

Benjamin Britten, 1942 - SSA (children's choir) and harp, 20 mins total (each mvmt 1-4 min) - Written at the same time as Hymn to St. Cecilia - Sets nine Medieval and Renaissance-era Christmas poems - Framed by Gregorian chant "Hodie Christus natus est" (Today Christ is born) - Lots of canonic vocal effects and colorful harp sonorities - Happy medium between challenging and accessible for young singers - We listened to Procession (Hodie), Wolcum Yole, Balulalow, This Little Babe

Psalm 90

Charles Ives - SATB divisi, organ and bells - Palindromic: pitch and rhythmically. Example: at "Wrath" section, ascending whole tone scale in sop with descending whole tone scale in bass - Notice themes on top of score: The Eternity, Creation, "God's Wrath Against Sin," etc - Big contrasts between sections: unisons to hymnlike homophony, to 16pt divisi, to chant... - Verses are numbered, each receive their own unique treatment - At 16pt "God's Wrath Against Sin," all twelve tones in three bars before returning to unison - Some isorhythmic stuff in the second bell, with talea shifting a bit throughout

Psalm 67

Charles Ives - SSAATTBB unaccompanied - Bitonal (upper voices in C, lower voices G minor) - The result is that a lot of chords sound like extensions - Relatively accessible, surprisingly

Trois Chansons de Charles d'Orleans

Claude Debussy (1898 & 1908) - Debussy's only composition for unaccompanied choir - Unaccompanied chorus on texts by Charles, Duke of Orleans (1394 - 1465) - Renaissance elements in all three to pay homage to the text 1. Dieu! qu'il la fait bon regarder! 2. Quand j'ai ouy le tambourin sonner 3. Yver, vous n'estes qu'un villain

Litanies à la Vierge Noire

Francis Poulenc 1936 - SSA chorus and organ - Arranged for strings and timpani in 1947 - It is Poulenc's first piece of sacred music - "Rocamadour led me back to the faith of my childhood. This sanctuary, certainly the most ancient in France, had everything to subjugate me. Clinging in full sunlight to a vertiginous craggy rock, Rocamadour is a place of extraordinary peace, accentuated by the very limited number of tourists." - Poulenc heard the French text of the litany, beginning with the line "Seigneur, ayez pitié de nous" (Lord, have mercy on us), during his pilgrimage

Huit chansons francais

Francis Poulenc 1945-6 - SATB, SATBB, and TBB a cappella - They are a collection of eight settings of folk texts - "The musical rhythms are simpler and the textures are more Renaissance-like than the earlier collection of chansons" (Shrock) (that would be Sept chansons from 1936 btw)

Sept chansons

Francis Poulenc, 1936 - SATB (div.) a cappella - Poulenc's first major secular work for chorus - composed after Poulenc heard a performance of Monteverdi madrigals conducted by Nadia Boulanger - The texts are settings of five poems by Éluard and two poems by Apollinaire - According to Shrock "The music is somewhat Monteverdian, with rhythms that reflect natural speech inflection, but it is more in the style of the Parisian chanson of the Renaissance, with alternating passages of homophony and imitative polyphony."

Messe en Sol Majeur

Francis Poulenc, 1937 - SATB (divisi) a cappella - It was composed one year after the Litanies à la vierge noire - The mass is dedicated to the memory of Poulenc's father - It consists of the traditional portions of the Roman Mass Ordinary except the Credo

Quatre motets pour un temps de penitence

Francis Poulenc, 1938-1939 - SATB div a cappella

Five Ariel Songs

Frank Martin, 1950 - SATB divisi unaccompanied - Lyrics from Shakespeare's "The Tempest" - Exploration of twelve-tone technique - Fun, evocative text painting (rooster, "bow wow!" of the watchdogs, rich eerie harmonies at "rich and strange," "ding dong" of the bell) - we listened to numbers 1 (Come unto these yellow sands) and 2 (Full fathom five)

Mass for Double Choir

Frank Martin, comp. 1922 (Agnus added 1926, prem. 1963) - SATB/SATB chorus (double choir!) a cappella - 26 minutes - Includes the traditional five portions of Roman Mass Ordinary: Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Agnus Dei. - The completed work not released for performance or published for 40 years because Martin felt the mass was "between God and myself" Style - Flowing rhythmic and melodic vitality, always subservient to words - Juxtaposition of austere, restrained music with rich, passionate harmonic writing - Rhythmically and harmonically flexible (shifting meters and tonal centers) - No actual plainsong in the work, but the influence is strong Kyrie (Chant influence, varied textures) Gloria (voices layering in antiphonal stretto, starts calm and quiet, subdued "Cum Sancto," traces of Bach, open fifths recalling Renaissance) Credo (Pentatonicism, variety of composition techniques (Stretto/canon/planing), text painting)

Requiem

Herbert Howells, 1930s - Written in the 30s but not performed until 1980. - A Cappella SATB, occasionally SSAATTBB. Scattered small solos - Both English and Latin text, taken from psalms and the Introit text (Requiem aeternam) - Music was taken directly from this requiem to make his larger more celebrated work Hymnus Paradis (1952) - Thought to be written for his dead son, but that's just a rumor. - Opens in D Phrygian (mode with representations of death in music) and ends in D Major - Interesting to see a requiem start with Salvator Mundi

Collegium regale

Herbert Howells, 1944-45 - SATB with organ - A setting of the Anglican evensong canticles, Magnificat (song of Mary) and Nunc Dimittis (song of Simeon) - Influence from Stanford's Evening Service in G - Unique in the sensitivity to the text. "Only the 'Gloria' should raise its voice," having trebles be the voice of Mary, tenor be the voice of Simeon, etc.

Gebrauchsmusik

Hindemith's musical participation in Neue Sachlichkeit - "music for use," or music composed for a purpose - void of emotional impact - characterized by his procedural approach to composition that made it possible for him to compose so much so quickly - the best example is Sing und Spielmusik: composed just for the fun of playing and nothing deeper or more entertaining for the audience - the mechanical feel permeates much of Hindemith's catalogue

Pater Noster (Otche Nash)

Igor Stravinsky (1926, revised 1949) - SATB unaccompanied - Homophonic - No dynamic markings, loud performance - Feels like it could be based on a chant or psalm tone - Repetitive, psalmodic - Follows text stress with shifting meters - First version written in Church Slavonic (Russian Orthodox), to celebrate his reentry to the church. Intended for this liturgy, with syllabic intonation.

Credo (Veruyu)

Igor Stravinsky (1932, rev. 1964) - SATB unaccompanied - Homophonic, syllabic - Versions in Church Slavonic and Latin; Stravinsky preferred the Slavonic

Symphony of Psalms

Igor Stravinsky, 1930 (rev. 1948) - Written for the 50th anniversary of the Boston Symphony Orchestra (same foundation that supported Poulenc's Gloria) - Singing of psalms symphonized - SATB, orch (FU: 5 flutes incl. pc, NO upper strings) - In three movements to be performed without a break, attaca - Psalm 38, 39, and 150 - Mvt 1: Punctuation of the Em chord throughout, short cells of 4 notes throughout (almost like an ostinato), half-whole octatonic scale - Mvt 2: Begins with a woodwind intervallic fugue. The choir then has a different fugue for the choir (very slow and sometimes chromatic), then stretto of the orchestral & choral. - Mvt 3: Longest movement. Based on the "Laudate" text. Begins and ends with "Alleluia," exciting middle section a lot of rhythmic instrumental energy against longer connected vocal lines, prolonged soft calm repetitive ending section. - Neoclassical

Ave Maria (Bogoroditse Devo)

Igor Stravinsky, 1934, rev. 1949 - SATB unaccompaied, only 1'00" - Written for Russian Orthodox Church: Mostly homophonic, shifting meters -> text stress - Based in Phrygian mode

Neo-Renaissance

Invoking Renaissance styles in modern compositions? - Debussy Trois Chansons de Charles d'Orleans (homage to Ren. texts) - Vaughan Williams Mass in Gm (modal, Ren style entrances) - Frank Martin Mass for Double Choir (fifths) - Poulenc Sept chansons (Parisian chanson style), Huit chansons francais (Ren textures) - Thompson Alleluia

Pápainé (Widow Pápai)

Ligeti 1953 Arrangement of Hungary traditional song SATB (div.)

Magány (Solitude)

Ligeti, 1945 SAB a cappella Approx. 3:30

Requiem (Ligeti)

Ligeti, 1963 - 1965 - SA solos, SATBB/SATBB chorus, and orchestra - Including triple winds, celesta, harp, harpsichord, and numerous percussion instruments - 27 minutes - Extravagant vocal behavior (i.e. wordless sequence of quasi-operatic situations) in the Dies - Other sections are composed in choral-orchestral micropolyphony - In the finale, the Lacrimosa, hazy clusters are sometimes and suddenly replaced by the clear light of simple intervals, including octaves and tritones

Magyar etüdök

Ligeti, 1983 - 16 voices. Set of 3 pieces. It uses elements from the folk music of Hungary and the Balkans. First composition on Hungarian poems in 30 years. - It uses poems by his favourite Hungarian poet, Sándor Weöres - This work is more sophisticated than anything he could have produced 30 or 40 years before - is is texturally complex and elaborately constructed - but their modal and rhythmic roots are in the Hungarian choral tradition

Lux Aeterna

Ligtei, 1966 - SSSSAAAATTTTBBBB chorus a cappella - Approx. 8:30 minutes - Micropolyphony / Soundscapes - Ligeti pursued the possibilities of harmonic centres in Lux aeterna [...] This was not a return to conventional tonality - Ligeti preferred chords with no clear diatonic sense, but, together with the principle of canon, it allowed him access to the continuity of conventional tonal music (Grove) - it became famous when it was used in the 1968 movie 2001: A Space Odyssey

Vieille prière bouddhique

Lili Boulanger, 1914, "An Old Buddhist Prayer" - SATB, tenor solo, orchestra - Characterized by signature descending 4-note whole tone pattern - Written as a prayer to peace in the midst of WWI

Psalm 24

Lili Boulanger, 1916 - SATB, organ, brass ensemble, timpani, and 2 harps - Sung in French - Opening is built from two notes per part - Chantlike moment for the tenor - At first only tenor and bass for an extended passage; trebles come in later

Hymne au Soleil

Lili Boulanger, ca. 1912 - SATB, Piano, Mezzo/Alto solo - Fairly accessible - Powerful, affirming text - Lots of planing - Modal

Requiem (Duruflé)

Maurice Durufle, 1941-1947, Op. 9 - SATB chorus, SB solos, and orchestra including piccolo, English horn, bass clarinet, cymbals, bass drum, tam-tam, celesta, harp and organ - Accompaniment also available as just chorus and organ, done by Duruflé himself (w/ optional cello). - You'd need a really good organist. - Solos may also be sung by the choral sections. - Sung in latin. Nearly all movements draw from the original Gregorian chant material - Approx 40 min

Quatre motets sur des thèmes grégoriens

Maurice Duruflé, Op. 10 1960 - Four movement set of SATB divisi a cappella motets - 3/4 are for SATB - "Tota Pulchra Es" is SSA divisi - Ubi caritas: "Where charity and love are, there God is" - Tota Pulchra es: "You are completely beautiful" (referring to the Virgin Mary) - Tantum Ergo based on the Pange Lingua (Corpus Christi) chant. "Therefore so great"

Trois Chansons (NOT Orleans)

Maurice Ravel, 1914-1915, SATB unaccomp - Perhaps a musical response to the horrors of WWI - Asserted French culture as it had been in another era - Ravel's own text - Pastoral atmosphere, simple tunefulness - Middle piece is an accompanied song, with soloist and wordless choral acccomp - Short phrases, often the same motive with shifted tonal center

Panda Chant II

Meredith Monk, 1983 - SATB a cappella, 1'30" - From The Games, a science fiction opera - Comes in the middle of the opera. - It is an energetic ritual performed by the whole community as preparation for the third game, Memory. -Performance requires coordinating the vocal material with rhythmic stomps and claps.

Astronaut Anthem

Meredith Monk, 1983 - SATTB 5'00" - From The Games: a science fiction opera - Celebrates the colonization of the imaginary planet on which the opera is set, "the spirit of exploration" - Sparse textures - Repeated theme begins alone. Its accompaniment becomes gradually more complex. - Lots of drones. - Extended vocal techniques later in the piece (glissandi) - Wordless sounds

Things Heaven and Hell

Meredith Monk, 1992, rev. 2007 - SSAA 5'40" - From Three Heavens and Hells (1992) (mvmt. 3 of 7, originally for adult treble soloist, reworked for SSAA choir) - Text from Electric Chocolate by Tennessee Reed, age 11. - This is Monk's first composition using words. Before, she had only worked with the voice without text. - Consonants (especially in "things") are extended, exaggerated for sonic effects. - Built off of two main recurring motives: "thinnnnnngs," "heaven/hell swoop"

Dawn

Meredith Monk, 1995 SATB 5'00" Recording - Video - Score From A Celebration Service Based on a slow-moving four-chord progression. Gradually expanding ranges, opening vowels, and denser textures invoke the rising of the sun.

Six chansons

Paul Hindemith, 1939 SATB a capella - French text by Rainer Maria Rilke - Quartal and Quintal harmonies - nearly every cadence ends in a major triad - building of diatonic harmonic tension through contrary motion - Hindemith at his most melodious - melodies are primarily second, fourth, and fifth leaps 1. O la biche (The Doe) 2. Un cygne (A Swan) 3. Puisque tout passe (Since all is passing) 4. Printemps (Springtime) 5. En hiver (In Winter) 6. Verger (Orchard)

When lilac last in the dooryard bloom'd

Paul Hindemith, 1946 - Commissioned by Robert Shaw for the death of FDR - Text is from the poem of Walt Whitman by the same name - Prime example of Hindemith's austere techniques - The text is undeniably the forethought over the music - Orch with lots of percussion, organ, MS solo, Bar solo, SATB chorus (notable: offstage bugle) - Initially panned as "corny" by the NY Times

Apparebit repentia dies

Paul Hindemith, 1947 - SATB Chorus, 4hn, 2tpt, 3tbn, 1tba - composed for a music criticism symposium at Harvard while he was teaching composition at Yale - Anonymous Latin text focused on "Judgement Day" possesses his characteristic janky melodies and emphatically wandering harmony

Mass

Paul Hindemith, 1963 - SATB div a cappella - the last major work Hindemith composed before his death - incorporated techniques of early music like isorhythm and fauxbourdon - lots of fourth and fifth jumping in melodies - pandiatonicism (using diatonic scale without limitations of functional tonality) - cadences usually on an open fifth or other non-triadic harmony

Micropolyphony

Polyphonic musical texture developed by György Ligeti. Consisting of dense weaves of canons at the unison, in which the lines move at different speeds and are not separately identifiable. Used in Ligeti Requiem and Lux Aeterna

Ave Maria

R. Nathaniel Dett, 1930 - SATB, B solo, A cappella - Latin or English - English text: Frederick H. Martens - Ave maria text set to chant sung by tenor at end - "extended cadences"

The Ordering of Moses

R. Nathaniel Dett, 1932 - Composed 1932 at Eastman; premiered at the Cincinnati Festival in 1937 - about 50 minutes - SATBB soli, mixed chorus, orchestra (w/ organ) - Text: Exodus 2, 4, 14, 15; Lamentations 1, 2, 3 - A "Biblical Folk Scene"; syllabic - Big old fugue based on "Go down Moses" We listened to Introduction, All Israel's Children, And From a Burning Bush

Mass in Gm

Ralph Vaughan Williams - Written in 1921, published 1922 - Dedicated to Holst - Unaccompanied double choir with SATB soli. Optional organ part. - Renaissance influences, modal - Kyrie especially has clear Renaissance influences - Gloria sounds like Holst Nunc Dimittis

Dona Nobis Pacem

Ralph Vaughan Williams, 1936 - SB soli, SATB, orchestra - Anti-war cantata written to mark centenary of Huddersfield Choral Society - 5 Mov., continuous flow (no pauses), some editions separate out the last movement - Texts from the Mass, poems by Whitman, excerpt from speech by John Bright (British orator) and part of the bible - Impressionist influence (planing)

Three Shakespeare Songs

Ralph Vaughan Williams, 1951 - Three movements for a cappella SATB divisi choir. ' - "Part song" - Text from Shakespeare plays: The Tempest and A Midsummer Night's Dream

Testament of Freedom

Randall Thompson, prem. 1943 - In honor of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Thomas Jefferson. - Texts from 1770s, Jefferson - First performance at Cabell Hall, University of VA, on Founder's Day, April 13, 1943 - TTBB with piano, band, or orchestra The God who gave us life We have counted the cost We fight not for glory or for conquest I shall not die without a hope that life and liberty are no steady advance

Prayers of Kierkegaard

Samuel Barber, prem. 1954 - Impending death of his uncle and teacher Sidney Homer, and a questioning of faith - Commissioned by the Koussevitsky Music Foundation in 1942, but delayed by WWII - Premiered in 1954 by Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Charles Munch - Leontyne Price - Soprano, Cecilia Society Chorus - Four distinct sections but one continuous movement - Begins with chant. Modalism. Russian choral prayer writing with Barber harmony. Dodecaphony, theme augmentation, double chorus, chattering instrumental gigue, triple chorus.... Ends with chorale.

Postminimalism

Term coined 1970s; flourished in 1980s. Counter-movement against excessive simplicity of minimalist works. Wanted to achieve more flexibility. - Reaction against serialism - Steady pulse, evenness of dynamics (without strong climaxes, diatonic pitch language (but avoids trad. functional tonality)

And they lynched him on a tree

William Grant Still, 1940 - sometimes described as a "choral ballad." -White chorus, Black chorus, Orchestra, contralto solo, narrator, some stage direction and sound effects - Text by Katharine Garrison Chapin (a white woman) to protest the lynching of Black Americans in the 1930s. - Premiered by the NYPhil. - Distinct use of motives to represent each character group. The "Black Chorus motive" has mournful blues elements, the "wounding power of prejudice motive" representing the Lynch Mob has tritones and three note "stabbing" motifs. The White Chorus has a blend of those two motifs. - Only choral-orchestral work to this day written as a lynching protest song - Has only been performed 25ish times since 1940. It's difficult to assemble the white/black chorus (although there is room for flexibility there as stated by the composer), people are intimidated by the subject matter, and the added stage directions make it a huge musical undertaking

Arvo Pärt

b. 1936, Estonian - Studied in Tallinn with Veljo Tormis, Harri Otsa, and Heino Eller. - Worked as a recording engineer, with Estonian radio, and as a film score composer early in his career - Won a first prize at the All-Union Young Composers' Competition for his children's cantata Meie aed (Our Garden) - Described as a "mystic minimalist" but is overall tonal - does not practice serialism though he experimented with it early on - Composes almost entirely sacred music - Creator of his signature tintinnabuli style. All of the pieces studied for this class (except Bogoroditse) were composed within the tintinnabuli style. - Has studied Gregorian chant and the Notre Dame School extensively - Member of the Orthodox Church Works studied: Magnificat (SSATB and sop) Missa Syllabica (mixed chorus or SATB qtet with "Variable instrumental ensemble" of strings or winds" Berlinermesse (SATB and orch) Bogoroditse Djevo

Meredith Monk

b. 1942, American (NYC) - Sarah Lawrence Coll, NYC experimental music scene, composes lots of vocal works and operas, pro vocal ensemble - Non-Western and other unusual vocal techniques - minimalist but she dislikes the term - Style: Repetition, ostinatos, multi-disciplinary, extended vocal technique, wordless sounds/writing for voice without text Works Studied Things Heaven and Hell (SSAA) Astronaut Anthem (SATTBB, from The Games) Dawn (SATB, from Celebration Service) Panda Chant II (from The Games)

David Lang

b. 1957, American (LA/New Haven) - co-founded Bang on a Can Festival with Julia Wolfe - "Pop-infused, sunny-harmonied, propulsively clangy post-minimalism" - Composition faculty at Yale - Rome Prize, Pulitzer Prize - Music fits into 2 categories: 1. static works with post-minimalist flat form, 2. developmental works - Numerical patterns derived from Fibonnaci - syllabic, short phrases, quick repeated rhythms - postminimalism: 1980s, countermovement against excessive simplicity of minimal music, wanting more flexibility. Steady pulse, evenness of dynamics (without strong climaxes, diatonic pitch language (but avoids trad. functional tonality) Works studied: - just (after song of songs) - SSA , perc/vla/vc - Little Match Girl Passion (chamber choir, and SATB, simple perc) - Evening Morning Day (Treble chorus or tenor/bass chorus) - Again (after Ecclesiastes) - I lie - SSA - Statement to the Court

James MacMillan

b. 1959, Scotland - University of Edinburgh - attended Catholic school, wrote a Missa Brevis in high school, music in worship - BBC Phil composer/conductor - visited by Pope Benedict - 2018: first work to be livestreamed from the Vatican was his Stabat Mater with The Sixteen Style 70s-80s: - influence of Penderecki, Schnittke - punchy dissonant or spoken vocal lines - tonal or modal voices, with extreme dissonance in instruments 90s (nationalism, religious galvanization) - Scottish folk music influence - Close imitation, canon - Complex rhythms - Grace notes and filigree - moments of dissonance in voices 2000-pres: - Focus on religious music - More accessibility - Angular melodies - Soloistic vocal demands - languid orchestration - aleatory We studied Early: Beatus Vir (1983, almost pointillist) Middle: Cantus Sagrados (his first major work, SATB and organ, about suppression in Latin American countries) Seven Last Words from the Cross (SATB, soli, and divided strings, made him popular in the choral world. Ornamented textures) The Gallant Weaver (SSAATTBB unaccompanied, nationalistic (ornaments), canons) Late: St Luke Passion Strathclyde Motets (2005-2010): motets for Stratchclyde U Chamber Singers, good for strong amateurs, include unaccompanied works: Data est mihi omnis potentes (unaccompanied) O Radiant Dawn (unaccompanied) O Virgo Prudentissima (unaccompanied)