American Choral Review Archive

In the field of sacred music, only a handful of...

In the field of sacred music, only a handful of Ruggieri's works have been preserved, all of them in manuscript. The most extensive of these is the Gloria per due chori ("9 Sett. 1708 Venezia" appears on the title page). With regard to this extraordinary work - one of the most original examples of its kind - Ruggieri should be described as an experimenter.

On the first of his Italian journeys [Mozart] received a...

On the first of his Italian journeys [Mozart] received a commission that presented him with an initial opportunity to deal with the form of the Italian oratorio. The work, based on a text by Metastasio, tells the heroic Old Testament story (from the Apocrypha) of the liberation of Bethulia, the fortress in southern Galilee, through Judith. While the libretto follows the typical operatic pattern that ruled the form of the Italian oratorio - essentially a sequence of arias - it contains several choral scenes that provided a particular challenge to the young composer.

Krzysztof Penderecki, who was born in 1933, has contributed significant...

Krzysztof Penderecki, who was born in 1933, has contributed significant works to the choral repertoire for close to thirty years. Thirteen of a total of fifteen choral works from this period are major pieces for chorus and orchestra. He has shown a preference for large forms and for sacred texts. The Polish Requiem is representative of this pattern.