American Choral Review Archive

Tribute/biography of Dr. Ifor Jones upon his retirement as director...

Tribute/biography of Dr. Ifor Jones upon his retirement as director of Bach Choir of Bethlehem (PA), with history of the choir.

Masses play a minor role in the history of Venetian...

Masses play a minor role in the history of Venetian music of the late sixteenth century; not because Venetian composers did not write Masses, but because their settings of the Ordinary have been generally neglected by historians in favor of their motets. Despite waning interest in cyclic Masses during the closing decades of the Renaissance, most of the composers employed at St. Mark's wrote a few such works at least, and found a wide circulation for them in manuscript and in printed editions. To the twentieth-century musician and historian, these Masses are intriguing, for they convincingly show the Venetians' skill in employing their own distinctive idiom.

The title "madrigal" has made a provocative reappearance in twentieth-century...

The title "madrigal" has made a provocative reappearance in twentieth-century choral writing. An investigation guided by the usage of this title in contemporary choral works has proved that composers have shown much interest in reviving this intimate form of chamber music. The present article represents a first attempt to provide a basis for further study of the modern madrigal.

In I921, Siegfried Ochs (1858-1929), the distinguished conductor of the
Philharmonic...

In I921, Siegfried Ochs (1858-1929), the distinguished conductor of the
Philharmonic Chorus in Berlin, began publication of a four-volume work dealing with the history and repertoire of choral organizations in Germany (Der Deutsche Gesangverein, Berlin: Max Hesse Verlag, 1923-1928). Ochs assumed a position of unequalled authority among German choral conductors at the turn of the century and presented numerous standard works in first performances. His successor as conductor of the Philharmonic Chorus was Otto Klemperer. While much of his discussion is now dated, his observations on choral organization and discipline have retained interest for the present-day choral conductor. These form a portion of the first volume of his work and are presented here in English translation.

The first known "Glee Club" was founded in London in...

The first known "Glee Club" was founded in London in 1783 and consisted of thirteen laymen and eight professional musicians. Each member, according to seniority, named a certain piece of music which was to be performed following dinner. It was this tradition of "singing for the pleasure of singing" that continued throughout the British Isles and later became the foundation for so many of our university and college glee clubs. It is this tradition that is now in jeopardy. This study is intended to present a project which has assumed a central position in the work of the Colgate University Glee Club and which may suggest solutions for problems of men's chorus literature and performance to other glee clubs.