The latest issue of Choral Journal is available online! ACDA members can log in with their username and password to view and download the newest edition. You can also read our electronic version. Below is a preview of the articles you will find in this issue. If you are not already a member of ACDA, join today to start receiving your monthly Choral Journal! Associate members can join for only $45 a year.
Missa Brevis: An Ancient Genre Revitalized by Anthony Bernarducci
“During the course of the musical periods preceding the twentieth century, there was an evolution of the Missa Brevis genre amidst an overarching composition style of the Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, and Romantic periods. In the twentieth century, however, music diverged onto many different paths of musical style and became, in a sense, both a compendium of the past and an innovating force for new areas of composition… This article will outline how Contemporary composers have revitalized this ancient genre.”
A Reconsideration of the Performance of the Chorales in J. S. Bach’s Passio secundum Johannem, BWV 245 by Heather Mitchell
In contemporary recordings and performances, the chorales of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) seem to be often performed in a predictably straightforward and homogenous manner: similar tempi, similar phrase shapes, similar delivery… However, the evidence suggests that the congregation would not have sung the chorales of the Passion. They instead were performed only by Bach’s musicians, thus being more than capable of indulging in unique and dramatic delivery for each chorale. While this argument is perhaps now more generally accepted than it used to be, recordings and performances of Bach’s chorales still say something very different.”
Striking the Balance: Creating and Nurturing Positive Relationships between Voice Teacher and Choral Conductor by Miguel Felipe and Maya Hoover
“Since the dawn of our modern vocal tradition, there have been singers, choirs, and the mentors who guide them. Somewhere along the way, many of these professionals have become convinced that their goals, and the processes involved in reaching them, led them down separate and conflicting paths. In 2017, we conductors and voice teachers have reached a point of evolved pedagogy, yet our philosophical misunderstandings and lack of strong professional relationships continue to impair our ability to move forward. Stepping away from insular perspectives to recognize a larger picture and committing ourselves to cultivating positive relationships will help us to better understand how to set up both ourselves and our singers for success.”
[…] published in the American Choral Directors Association Choral Journal. The article was titled “Missa Brevis: An Ancient Genre Revitalized.” The research described modern composers’ treatment of form, text, harmony and rhythm of the […]