A colleague of mine recently said: "I make it a point to do a German motet every year." That statement sort of blew me away, and changed the way I program for my top college choir. I thought, “Well, of course,” but it wasn’t a thing I actually did. Since then I’ve changed, and every year I’ve made it a point to program at least one, and sometimes two, German motets in my season. There are a lot of great reasons why this is an excellent approach that we should all ascribe to.
First, it is essential that we sing in German. End of message. That doesn't need to be defended really. Second, the German motet is an essential genre in the choral idiom, and it can be easily to skipped over in favor of more modern, student-friendly, music. Third, the German composers of the Baroque and Romantic wrote uncommonly well for the voice (especially Mendelssohn). And while they wrote well for the voice, they also wrote challenging music that one must understand how to sing in order to be a great chorister or conductor (Bach and Brahms). Last, the thing about German motets is that there are so many of them. And most of them are great. I guarantee that you can find a really cool Brahms, Bruckner, Mendelssohn, Reger, Rheinberger motet that you’ve either never heard of before (if you find a Bach motet no one has ever heard of, please give me a call first, btw). Or maybe you have heard of the piece, but have dismissed it as not that interesting. But when you sit down and give it careful consideration you realize how interesting or truly great it really is. There's way more out there than just Singet and Richte and Christus Factus Est.
Edit: I missed another major reason: students really love singing this repertoire. It is often their favorite piece on the program, even if there is a lot of more immdiately gratifying repertoire on that concert.
I'm sure others have opinions on this subject. And certainly a case could be made about other Style/Periods. Is there a particular rule that you adhere to in your programing, such as this?
Joshua Bronfman says
Shawn Cody Miller says
Marie Grass Amenta says