American Choral Review Archive

The object of this and a subsequent article is to...

The object of this and a subsequent article is to consider Byrd's church music in the light of records and comments on performing style set out in contemporary writings and present-day literary criticism and attempt to apply these to two completely different categories of his musical output: first, the anthems, motets, and services that were composed for, or would at least be acceptable in, the worship of the Anglican Church, and second, the Ordinaries and Propers of the Mass as exemplified in his settings of the Mass for four, three, and five voices and the two books of Gradualia.

The name of Hugo Distler, the young German composer who...

The name of Hugo Distler, the young German composer who died by his own hand in war-dominated Berlin in 1942, appears with increasing frequency in articles and programs this side of the Atlantic. The continuing influence of his music in Germany and its growing popularity in America make the study of his unique and beautiful output a worthwhile objective for the choral musician, for by far the largest part of Distler's total creative effort was intended for choral ensembles.

In critically describing the choral music of Kirke Mechem, our...

In critically describing the choral music of Kirke Mechem, our first inclination was to pursue a conventional method through analytical classification of material. From a thorough acquaintance with the composer's works, however, it becomes apparent that here indeed is a musician who denies contrivance and "mocking sophisms" and seeks truth. Kirke Mechem is conversant with all styles; a number of his works reflect Renaissance and Baroque principles. Yet this by no means implies that he is conventional - rather he is a composer "of his own time."

Scholars who have transcribed into modern notation music written more...

Scholars who have transcribed into modern notation music written more than a few years before the seventeenth century are aware of the fact that metric patterns in Renaissance music can be rather complicated. It is no coincidence that music without bar-lines contained an almost limitless variety of metric combinations.

Who are these Mr. Fixits? Invariably they are the "Hymnologists"...

Who are these Mr. Fixits? Invariably they are the "Hymnologists" in the publication business, those who are not wholly (and that might be spelt the other way) composers, the "Editors" who reduce words and music to a common denominator of supposed practicability. The result has often been a lifeless musical sameness throughout the western liturgies in which prayers of praise, as well as those of petition or contrition, are sometimes barely distinguishable one from the other. The settings emerge sounding bland and treacly, frequently crowned by the halo-heading of Andante Religioso.