American Choral Review Archive

Palestrina's use of psalm tones is to be understood not...

Palestrina's use of psalm tones is to be understood not merely as a structural means but as an expression of his devotion and his adherence to church tradition. Seventy-nine of his one hundred and two Masses are based on Gregorian Chant. But the structural challenge is ever present, and it might be recognized in these works on the highest artistic plane: the use of psalm tones, and the many ways in which the composer deals with the limitations imposed by them, lend Palestrina's Magnificats a remarkably strong quality of unification.

According to the listing of works in his obituary, J.S....

According to the listing of works in his obituary, J.S. Bach composed five Passions. We are dealing here with the following works: (1) the St. John Passion, (2) the St. Luke Passion, (3) a Passion setting possibly composed on a text by Bach's Leipzig librettist Picander, (4) the St. Mark Passion, and (5) the St. Matthew Passion.

Amateur choruses, for many generations well established in Europe and...

Amateur choruses, for many generations well established in Europe and North America, have had to face particular organizational, social, and artistic problems in recent times, especially after World War II. International discussion of these problems is of obvious interest and benefit. Understandably, a certain quality of anachronism is character- istic of organizations originally instituted under political, sociological, and economic conditions totally different from those in which they operate today.