Stick Time: Edifying or Ephemeral?

Among the greatest attributes of the choral art are the staggering historical depth and broad stylistic variety of the literature.  The “choral playground” on which we get to frolic is enormous, rich, and vibrant. However, a number of colleagues have courageously opined in the Choral Journal and here on ChoralNet that our own conferences do not necessarily provide a balanced showcase for the richness of the choral repertoire.

 

Bill McConnell, in his article “Examining Ourselves: Are We Living Up to Our Own Standards?” states that “80.69% of all selections performed by college and university choirs of mixed voicing were drawn from the period after 1900” (emphasis mine).  In “Broadside,” Bill Dehning says, “The literature performed at the last three national conventions disappointed me quite a bit. In San Diego, for example, we heard one piece by Monteverdi, only six by Brahms, one by Schütz, one by Bach, [yet] countless pieces of post-romantic, contemporary-cute, gimmicky fluff.”  This very day in a Guest Blog on ChoralNet titled, "If Not Us, Then WHO?" Elizabeth Waterbury addresses both the artistic considerations and those of an even more immediate nature, saying, "If we don't proudly sing Brahms and applaud one another for upholding our own traditions, then we can't blame administrators and others for pressuring us to serve their political agendas instead of the choral art that we love."

 

This discussion will doubtless continue, as well it should (we have commented about this on Stick Time before, and probably will again).  Around the country hundreds of choirs are diligently preparing to perform at the 2014 ACDA Divisional Conferences. One wonders what musical morsels they will serve for our edification and enjoyment. In the meantime, listen to a relatively rare example of early music from an ACDA national conference.