The Opera Aspirant ~ by Edward Palmer Opera students bring something special to the choral conductor: a deeper interestin dramatic values in a piece of music. Their instinct for the dynamics of language and emotion puts them in a more inquiring state of mind for things vocal. Their sound will add a special dimension […]
GUEST BLOG: “The Opera Aspirant” by Edward Palmer
Stick Time: Dynamics
Just as we did in last Friday's installment of "It's About the Phrase," let's examine dynamics. As you listen to this performance from the 2009 ACDA National Conference, consider how our colleague established the dynamic profile. As we would expect, some of the crescendos (and corresponding decrescendos) are subito, while others are quite gradual […]
Scholarly Abstractions: German Motets of Schütz
Garrepy, Stacey A. Toward A New Stylistic Ideal: The German Motets of Heinrich Schütz. Master of Music thesis. University of Oklahoma, 2011. This document analyzes the chronological style anomalies (viz. the presence of both late Renaissance and early Baroque influences) in the compositions of Heinrich Schütz as evidenced through his vernacular German motets. In […]
Stick Time: Remembering the Gems
It’s funny how we forget things. A couple years ago, my touring program included Dawson’s “Ezekiel Saw De Wheel.” After the concert a colleague who had been in the audience exclaimed, “Wow! I’d forgotten all about that piece. I’m going to program that!” Sure enough, the score was in her choir’s folders when I […]