Choral Monuments

Table of Contents Acknowledgements Introduction 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 TWO Giovanni 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 FIVE Joseph 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 Perspective The Text of the Requiem Formal 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 Summary Selected 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