Latest Blog Posts
Choral Caffeine: Free Music
In the November issue of the Choral Journal (in your mailbox right now) ACDA’s Executive Director, Tim Sharp, says, “Choral composition is the oxygen, water, and nutrient of our life and work as a choral organism.” It’s absolutely true. We’re all on a continual quest – a hunt, really – for new music. Our […]
Choral Caffeine: Help Singers Count
One of the beauties of choral music is the incredible rhythmic flexibility allowed by the text in combination with the natural dexterity of the articulators. But what makes the art so special is also the cause of more than a few problems. Put simply, we singers just don’t count all that well. Thomas Wine […]
Scholarly Abstractions: The Function of Poetry in Choral Music
Collins, Drew S. Poetic Structural Devices as a Consideration When Analyzing and Interpreting Choral Scores. Doctor of Musical Arts dissertation. University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, 2011. This study focuses on the connection between poetry, choral composition, and choral performance, specifically how an understanding of the constructive elements of poetry can influence the interpretation […]
Scholarly Abstractions: Leopold Mozart
Yung, Sea Hua. A Conductor’s Guide to Representative Choral Music of Leopold Mozart (1719-87). Doctor of Musical Arts dissertation. University of Cincinnnati College-Conservatory of Music, 2012 Leopold Mozart (1719-87) was a well-known musician to his contemporaries and his music was widely circulated. Although he is now primarily known as a violin instructor and […]
CJ Replay: Orlando di Lasso
(From the Choral Journal article, “Polychoral Compositions of Orlando di lasso,” by Larry Cook) Orlando di Lasso is a well-known name as composer of motets, madrigals, Masses, Magnificats, chansons, and German lieder. Somehow he seems to have been largely overlooked as a composer of polychoral music. Perhaps he has been overshadowed by the […]
CJ Replay: Commissioning New Music
(From the Choral Journal article “Commissioning Works for Children’s Chors: One Conductor’s Story,” by Donna Thomasson) Have you ever noticed that one of the most common topics among choral directors is repertoire? A comment such as, “My children’s choir has commissioned a new work and we are premiering it next spring,” would definitely […]
Stick Time: Breaking Down the Breakdown
Watch as the a cappella ensemble Take 6 breaks down a fragment of their music. Granted, it was performed on a TV program and as such it appears to have been designed to be easily digested by the non-musician. However, it does serve as a primer for those who might not be conversant with the […]