Bruckner’s symphonic works are sufficiently covered in the literature. On the other hand, his a cappella choral works eke out a shadowy existence and are usually treated only as by-products. Very wrongly, as choral conductor Jan Schumacher finds, who – also in view of the Bruckner anniversary year 2024 – has dealt with this aspect of the Austrian composer’s oeuvre for his contribution.
It is rather unusual for a composer to publish his or her own work in three different versions. But that is exactly what Joseph Haydn did with his setting of Die Sieben letzten Worte unseres Erlösers am Kreuze (The Seven Last Words): The work exists in the original version for orchestra, then in an arrangement for string quartet, and – with the addition of voices and modified orchestration – in oratorio form. It would certainly not be wrong to interpret these three arrangements as a sign of the personal pride Haydn took in his composition.
Johann Sebastian Bach’s secular cantatas provide an exciting insight into his activities between city and court, between the beginning of the Enlightenment and absolutism. Activities which probably characterized a successful life back then, but seem slightly strange to us now, perhaps even disconcerting. Uwe Wolf has researched the circumstances surrounding the composition of Bach’s wonderful Hunting Cantata, and went on the trail of Bach in Weissenfels. Come along with us!
Brahms’s Deutsches Requiem (German Requiem): you only need to mention this work, and many choral singers spontaneously sigh with pleasure. It is one of those works in the magnificent canon of choral literature which everyone wants to sing at some point. At least once. But what about the many short, choral-symphonic works by Brahms, for example the Schicksalslied (Song of Destiny) or Nänie? These pieces are no less magnificent, but they present choral directors with the challenge of how to find suitable works to program with them. Tobias Brommann, Choral director at Berlin Cathedral, gives some tips.
Curtain up for Saint-Saëns, whose 100th anniversary of death is in December 2021! The composes’ oeuvre encompasses virtually all of the musical genres of his time. The Latin Oratorio de Noël in particular has taken a place among the canon of Christmas oratorios. But his choral output ranges from short choral pieces, often with organ accompaniment, to large-scale liturgical genres and oratorios – and large-scale means really large-scale. Learn more!
We have a suggestion for you right now how you and your choir can bridge the corona-enforced pause – and at the same time celebrate the Beethoven’s 250th birthday, which falls in mid-December, in fitting style. For if this event were to be cancelled completely, well, that really wouldn’t do!
Camille Saint-Saëns’ lavishly orchestrated setting of the Requiem calls for no fewer than four harps. This expressive work moves and fascinates listeners in equal measure, including our Chief Editor Uwe Wolf. It has long been a heartfelt desire of his to enable as many musicians as possible to perform this work – including groups with more limited resources at their disposal. For the Saint-Saëns anniversary in 2021, Carus is publishing an arrangement for strings, harp, and orchestra by Klaus Rothaupt.
Mendelssohn tried to put the romantic idea of letting choral songs sound outdoors into practice more than once. In a letter dated July 3, 1839, he described how he had sung with a choir deep in the forest. “How lovely the song sounded, how clearly the sopranos trilled in the air, and what a glow and charm enveloped all the pitches, everything so quiet and furtive and yet so clear – that I couldn’t have imagined … it was magical in the forest solitude, so that tears almost came to my eyes. It sounded like pure poetry.” Learn more about the still little known choral songs of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy in this article by Mendelssohn expert R. Larry Todd.
The “Moonlight Sonata” sung as a “Kyrie”, the slow movement from Beethoven’s 7th Symphony as a “Persian Nocturne” for choir – these vocal interpretations of Beethoven’s instrumental works may surprise you, but they will also convince. A tradition of arranging, incidentally, which was already well-established in Beethoven’s time. And every now and then, these arrangements for choir also reveal aspects of the compositions which were previously hidden.
The C Minor Mass KV 427 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is a fascinating work. But to speak of “the” Mass is inaccurate, for basically it is no more than a musical torso, with many puzzles and problems, yet full of magnificent music. We look into the intriguing history of its composition and transmission.
