Choral Monuments

Choral Monuments provides extensive material about eleven epoch-making choral masterworks that span the history of Western culture. Included are: Missa Pange lingua (Josquin Desprez); Missa Papae Marcelli (G. P. da Palestrina); B Minor Mass (J. S. Bach); Messiah (G. F. Handel); The Creation (Joseph Haydn); Symphony #9 (Ludwig van Beethoven); St. Paul (Felix Mendelssohn); Ein deutsches Requiem (Johannes Brahms); Messa da Requiem (Giuseppe Verdi); Mass (Igor Stravinsky); and War Requiem (Benjamin Britten). The works are presented in separate chapters, with each chapter divided into three basic sections-history, analysis, and performance practice. Discussions of history are focused on relevancies-the genesis of the designated work in reference to the composer's total choral output, the work's place within the musical environment and social climate of its time, and essential features of the work that make it noteworthy. In addition, the compositional history addresses three other factors: the work's public reception and critical response, both at the time of its composition and in ensuing years; the history of score publications, detailing the various differences between editions; and the texts of the composition. The material regarding textual treatment, which often includes the complete texts of the works being discussed, concentrates on primary concerns of the text's usage; also included in the discussion are noteworthy aspects of texts separate from the music as well as biographical details of librettists and poets, if appropriate. The analysis section of each chapter outlines and describes musical forms and other types of compositional organization, including parody technique, mirror structures, and motto repetitions, as well as salient compositional characteristics that directly relate and contribute to the work's artistic stature. Numerous charts and musical examples illustrate the discussions. The discussion of performance practices includes primary source quotations about a wide range of topics, from performing forces, tempo, and phrasing of each work to specific issues such as tactus, text underlay, musica ficta, metric accentuation, and ornamentation.

Dennis Shrock is widely acclaimed as a master teacher, scholar, and performer of choral music, being noted for his commitment to performance practices and being hailed for performances characterized for their technical precision, stylistic faithfulness, and musical expression. He has held numerous university residencies and is author of several books on choral music and performance practice, including Choral Repertoire (OUP 2009) and Choral Scores (OUP 2015).

Table of Contents
AcknowledgementsIntroduction
CHAPTER ONE Josquin Desprez - Missa Pange Lingua
Biographical and Compositional Overview Salient Compositional Characteristics Imitation Ostinatos The Missa Pange lingua Structure and Parody Technique Performance Practice Considerations Performing Forces Meter, Tactus, and Tempo Text Underlay Musica Ficta and Musica Recta Summary Selected Bibliography
CHAPTER TWOGiovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina - Missa Papae Marcelli Biographical and Compositional Overview The Papacy and the Counter-Reformation The Missa Papae Marcelli Musical Characteristics Legacy Performance Practice Considerations Pitch and Performing Forces Meter and Tactus Oratorical Phrasing Tempo Musica Ficta Summary Selected Bibliography
CHAPTER THREE Johann Sebastian Bach - B Minor Mass
Biographical and Compositional Overview Bach's Lutheran Masses Parody Technique The B Minor Mass Parodies Compositional Rationale Manuscripts, Editions, and Performances Formal and Musical Structures Kyrie Gloria Credo Sanctus Agnus Dei Summary Performance Practice Considerations Performing Forces Meter and Tempo Rhythmic Alteration Ornamentation Summary Selected Bibliography
CHAPTER FOUR George Frideric Handel - Messiah
Genesis and Historical Perspective Handel's Compositional Process Speed of Writing, Parody Technique, and Revision of Works The Libretto of Messiah Formal and Musical Structures Instrumental Movements Recitatives Solo Vocal Movements Choruses Performance Practice Considerations Performing Forces and Stage Setup Volume, Timbre, Pitch, and Vibrato Metric Accentuation Rhythmic Alteration Recitative Ornamentation Summary Selected Bibliography
CHAPTER FIVEJoseph Haydn - The Creation Introduction Genesis and Historical Perspective The Text of The Creation Musical Expression Formal and Musical Structures Performance Practice Considerations Editions Performing Forces and Stage Setup Meter and Tempo Metric Accentuation Recitative Ornamentation Summary Selected Bibliography
CHAPTER SIX Ludwig van Beethoven - Symphony #9
Introduction Genesis and Historical Perspective Schiller's An die Freude Formal and Musical Structures Expression Performance Practice Considerations Tempo Metric Accentuation Orchestration Stage Setup Selected Bibliography
CHAPTER SEVEN Felix Mendelssohn - St. Paul Genesis and Historical Perspective Reception of St. Paul Compositional Historicism The Text of St. Paul Formal and Musical Structures Recitatives Turba Choruses Arias Choruses Performance Practice Considerations Introduction Performance in German or English Performing Forces and Stage Setup Fermatas Recitatives Recommendations Selected Bibliography
CHAPTER EIGHT Johannes Brahms - Ein deutsches Requiem
Genesis and Historical Perspective Reception of the Requiem Texts Set by Brahms Related to Those of the Requiem The Texts Brahms Chose for the Requiem Musical and Formal Structures Performance Practice Considerations Instrumentation, Timbre, and Vibrato Metric Accentuation Stage Setup Tempo Fluctuation Selected Bibliography
CHAPTER NINE Giuseppe Verdi - Messa da Requiem
Introduction Genesis and Historical PerspectiveThe Text of the RequiemFormal and Musical Structures Structures Exhibited in Scoring Structures of Individual Movements Structures Related to Melodic Design
Performance Practice Considerations Rhythm and Expressive Markings Tempo Performing Forces and Stage Setup SummarySelected Bibliography
CHAPTER TEN Igor Stravinsky - Mass
Genesis and Historical Perspective Masses Based on Historic Models The Nineteenth Century The Twentieth Century Stravinsky and Musical Styles of the Past Oedipus rex and Babel Symphony of Psalms and Canticum sacrum Mass and Cantata Formal and Musical Structures of the Mass Kyrie and Agnus Dei Gloria and Sanctus Credo Summary Performance Practice Considerations Text Setting Performing Forces and Stage Setup Summary Selected Bibliography
CHAPTER ELEVEN Benjamin Britten - War Requiem
Introduction Genesis and Historical Perspective Wilfred Owen and his Poetry in the War Requiem Musical Symbolism Structural Symbolism Movement 1 - Requiem Aeternam Movement 2 - Dies Irae Movement 3 - Offertorium Movement 6 - Libera Me Supplementary Structures Performance Practice Considerations Performing Forces Stage Setup Nationalities of the Vocal Soloists and Their Vocal Timbres Acoustics Addendum Selected Bibliography
Appendix Score Data