American Choral Review Archive

Comments on the passing of Ifor Jones (1900-1988), conductor of...

Comments on the passing of Ifor Jones (1900-1988), conductor of the Bach Choir of Bethlehem from 1939.

The development of Musgrave's choral writing reflects her compositional technique...

The development of Musgrave's choral writing reflects her compositional technique in the instrumental and operatic works. She has written fifteen choral works, spanning the thirty-five year period from 1953 to 1988. While they vary in difficulty, forces used, and length, they are all highly accessible and appealing to audience and performer. Lyricism and idiomatic handling of the voice are of basic importance to the composer.

In New York, on Wednesday, June 13, 1888, the following...

In New York, on Wednesday, June 13, 1888, the following notice appeared in The Musical Courier: "The Bethlehem Choral Union gave the Saint John Passion music of Bach, June 5, in that city, and, to the best of our knowledge, for the first time in America. Fred Wolle was the conductor."

It was twelve years before the first American performance of Bach's B Minor Mass, in 1900, by the then newly-formed Bach Choir of Bethlehem, that the first American performance of the St. John Passion was presented in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Whereas the young tenor voices must be the choral conductor's...

Whereas the young tenor voices must be the choral conductor's foremost concern, those of the young basses may be his least. Basses, like sopranos, reach mature vocal quality early. They, more than other sections of the choir, can feel free to "sing out." Two problems, however, must be taken into consideration: 1. "Hollering" high notes and "growling" low ones. 2. Singing "back in the throat" in an attempt to sound older, producing a dark, "hooty," sluggish, and often flat tone.