TURNER, KELLY J., DMA Balancing Chorus and Orchestra in Performance

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

TURNER, KELLY J., DMA Balancing Chorus and Orchestra in Performance TURNER, KELLY J., D.M.A. Balancing Chorus and Orchestra in Performance: Problems and Solutions for Conductors of the Nineteenth Century and Today. (2009) Directed by Dr. Welborn E. Young. 198 pp. The purpose of this document is to examine the origins of, evidence for, and solutions to choral/orchestral balance problems in performance. By consulting several primary sources, this study demonstrates that these balance issues rose to prominence during the early nineteenth century, and that conductors of that era addressed these problems in ways that are different from modern solutions. The performance of choral/orchestral works occurred less often during the early twentieth century, and because many conductors from this generation were not regularly working in the choral/orchestral medium, a knowledge gap resulted. Thus, a new generation of conductors needed to develop their own methodology as balance issues resurfaced following a revival of combined performances beginning in the 1940s. Selected studies published within the last fifty years offer possible solutions to choral/orchestral balance problems. Some authors contend that exaggerated enunciation and vocal resonance from the choristers are the keys to resolving imbalances. Others approach balance problems by controlling the volume of the orchestra. Still others choose to alter the relative positions of the performers on stage to affect balance problems. An online survey instrument through surveymonkey.com augments this study. Over two hundred conductors who frequently prepare choruses to sing with orchestras participated in the survey, offering wisdom from their experiences grappling with choral/orchestral balance problems. Utilizing the survey data, this study offers a categorized collection of practical ideas and rehearsal techniques that will serve as a reference for conductors as they address choral/orchestral imbalances. There are three principal outcomes of this study. First, it offers several reasons why choral/orchestral balance problems developed significantly during the nineteenth century and explain how conductors of that era addressed the problems. Second, it gives conductors a comprehensive overview of existing recent research on choral/orchestral balance. Third, the survey shows that present-day conductors consider acoustic imbalance between chorus and orchestra an issue with which they struggle, to what they attribute these imbalances, and how they address them. Ultimately, this document provides conductors with both a greater understanding of choral/orchestral imbalances and a variety of new methodologies for addressing them, both from the past and the present. BALANCING CHORUS AND ORCHESTRA IN PERFORMANCE: PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS FOR CONDUCTORS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY AND TODAY by Kelly J. Turner A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Musical Arts Greensboro 2009 Approved by Welborn E. Young Committee Chair © 2009 Kelly J. Turner To my wife, Amy, without whose loving support I could never have done this. ii APPROVAL PAGE This dissertation has been approved by the following committee of the Faculty of The Graduate School at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Committee Chair Welborn E. Young x Committee Members William P. Carroll x J. Kent Williams x Randy Kohlenberg x February 23, 2009 x Date of Acceptance by Committee February 23, 2009 x Date of Final Oral Examination iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am sincerely grateful to my primary professors, Dr. Welborn Young and Dr. William Carroll, for their continuous support throughout this project. I have learned so much from these two teachers during my graduate studies, and I am forever indebted to them. I am also grateful to the other members of my committee, Dr. Kent Williams and Dr. Randy Kohlenberg, for their insight and encouragement during the course of this study. Further, I am grateful to Dr. Elizabeth Keathley for providing exceptional wisdom and guidance during the early phases of this project. I extend earnest appreciation to the numerous conductors who took the time to participate in the survey. I am thankful for their willingness to share their insights and experiences dealing with choral/orchestral balance with me and, in turn, the entire profession. Finally, I would like to thank my family and friends for their constant love and support throughout this degree. I extend my deepest gratitude to my wife, Amy, for her emotional support, patience, and steadfast love throughout my doctoral degree program. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES............................................................................................................ vii LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION...............................................................................................1 II. THE PROBLEM OF CHORAL/ORCHESTRAL BALANCE: A LEGACY OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.........................................7 Identifying Balance Problems in the Nineteenth Century ...........................9 Understanding the Origins of Balance Problems.......................................13 Nineteenth-Century Strategies for Solving Balance Problems..................31 III. CHORAL/ORCHESTRAL BALANCE FROM THE TWENTIETH CENTURY TO THE PRESENT...................................................................40 The Early Twentieth Century.....................................................................40 Choral/Orchestral Performance Between 1900 and 1940..........................46 Revival of Choral/Orchestral Performance................................................51 Evidence of Present-Day Balance Issues...................................................56 IV. CONTEMPORARY EXISTING SOLUTIONS FOR CHORAL/ORCHESTRAL BALANCE PROBLEMS..................................60 Addressing the Chorus to Affect Balance..................................................61 Addressing the Instrumentalists to Affect Balance....................................68 Altering Spatial Arrangement to Affect Balance.......................................72 Acoustic Studies Related to Choral/Orchestral Balance............................79 V. CHORAL/ORCHESTRAL BALANCE SURVEY ..........................................83 Selection of Participants............................................................................83 Design and Dissemination of Survey.........................................................83 Survey Response........................................................................................84 Frequency of Preparing and/or Conducting Choral/Orchestral Works........................................................................85 Number of Combined Rehearsals..............................................................88 Frequency of Choral/Orchestral Balance Problems...................................91 v Causes of Choral/Orchestral Balance Problems ........................................93 Present-Day Methods for Addressing Choral/Orchestral Balance Problems..................................................................................107 Professional Experience of the Respondents...........................................124 VI. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION................................................................127 BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................................................................................137 APPENDIX A. SURVEY INVITATIONS .....................................................................144 APPENDIX B. CONSENT FORM .................................................................................147 APPENDIX C. SURVEY QUESTIONS.........................................................................149 APPENDIX D. SURVEY RAW DATA .........................................................................154 APPENDIX E. PERMISSIONS ......................................................................................196 vi LIST OF TABLES Page Table 3.1. Concert Review Excerpts..................................................................................56 Table 4.1. Vance George’s Recommendations for Consonant Projection.........................65 Table 4.2. Emmons and Chase’s Recommendations for More Resonance .......................67 Table 4.3. Moses, Demaree, and Ohmes’ Recommendations for Addressing the Orchestra..............................................................................70 Table 4.4. Lewis Gordon’s Recommendations for Stage Arrangement ............................73 Table 5.1. Question 1 Data Summary................................................................................86 Table 5.2. Question 2 Data Summary................................................................................87 Table 5.3. Question 3 Data Summary................................................................................89 Table 5.4. Question 4 Data Summary................................................................................90 Table 5.5. Question 5 Data Summary................................................................................91 Table 5.6. Question 6 Data Summary................................................................................92 Table 5.7. Question 7 Data Summary................................................................................93 Table
Recommended publications
  • (The Bells), Op. 35 Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873–1943) Written: 1913 Movements: Four Style: Romantic Duration: 35 Minutes
    Kolokola (The Bells), Op. 35 Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873–1943) Written: 1913 Movements: Four Style: Romantic Duration: 35 minutes Sometimes an anonymous tip pays off. Sergei Rachmaninoff’s friend Mikhail Buknik had a student who seemed particularly excited about something. She had read a Russian translation of Edgar Allen Poe’s The Bells and felt that it simply had to be set to music. Buknik recounted what happened next: She wrote anonymously to her idol [Rachmaninoff], suggesting that he read the poem and compose it as music. summer passed, and then in the autumn she came back to Moscow for her studies. What had now happened was that she read a newspaper item that Rachmaninoff had composed an outstanding choral symphony based on Poe's Bells and it was soon to be performed. Danilova was mad with joy. Edgar Allen Poe (1809–1849) wrote The Bells a year before he died. It is in four verses, each one highly onomatopoeic (a word sounds like what it means). In it Poe takes the reader on a journey from “the nimbleness of youth to the pain of age.” The Russian poet Konstantin Dmitriyevich Balmont (1867–1942) translated Poe’s The Bells and inserted lines here and there to reinforce his own interpretation. Rachmaninoff conceived of The Bells as a sort of four-movement “choral-symphony.” The first movement evokes the sound of silver bells on a sleigh, a symbol of birth and youth. Even in this joyous movement, Balmont’s verse has an ominous cloud: “Births and lives beyond all number/Waits a universal slumber—deep and sweet past all compare.” The golden bells in the slow second movement are about marriage.
    [Show full text]
  • Treble Voices in Choral Music
    loft is shown by the absence of the con• gregation: Bach and Maria Barbara were Treble Voices In Choral Music: only practicing and church was not even in session! WOMEN, MEN, BOYS, OR CASTRATI? There were certain places where wo• men were allowed to perform reltgious TIMOTHY MOUNT in a "Gloria" and "Credo" by Guillaume music: these were the convents, cloisters, Legrant in 1426. Giant choir books, large and religious schools for girls. Nuns were 2147 South Mallul, #5 enough for an entire chorus to see, were permitted to sing choral music (obvious• Anaheim, California 92802 first made in Italy in the middle and the ly, for high voices only) among them• second half of the 15th century. In selves and even for invited audiences. England, choral music began about 1430 This practice was established in the with the English polyphonic carol. Middle Ages when the music was limited Born in Princeton, New Jersey, Timo• to plainsong. Later, however, polyphonic thy Mount recently received his MA in Polyphonic choral music took its works were also performed. __ On his musi• choral conducting at California State cue from and developed out of the cal tour of Italy in 1770 Burney describes University, Fullerton, where he was a stu• Gregorian unison chorus; this ex• several conservatorios or music schools dent of Howard Swan. Undergraduate plains why the first choral music in Venice for girls. These schools must work was at the University of Michigan. occurs in the church and why secular not be confused with the vocational con• compositions are slow in taking up He has sung professionally with the opera servatories of today.
    [Show full text]
  • District 63 for Mcdonalds
    Nues Pt"jlio Lirxy .6960 Cakton StréCt. --;i1e fl1.6Q6R Nues Village Board honors3-4 gallon blood donors . byDlrneMiIki : gift of .apprdcuatuon from the . .Wade, blood coordinator for the in depth 'which are Ùnder'coo- ...Board'appéovèd the rezooisg The NiIù Village Board on -village.. Village of Niles, orgenresidesis sideration. Kes Scheel, sillageof the'pròperty at 7457 Waukegan 1Qodoy evening honored a Nues . The. Village of Niles s a par- ., -. to call her at 967-6100 and sigoup manager, will seek options, rd. from B-2 to R.4 for fàthèr and Matwo Sons fòr a total ticipaot in the Michael Reese . a 3-flut for this mont worthwhilecaase. regarding thd re-sohdlvision and buuldiag. ' blood dodatioñ o 110 gallons. Blood Program and it was noted So other business considerahle. present fisem to the board-next. ...Okayed the.Plat of Sob- Commended by the hoard were 1.1101. apidoniñsately5% of the . discussion bob place among the mosth It. wan aléo'noted that' it. divlsioo_ for', Shiba's," First Ad- Pool Sehjntd, 1048 N. 0000dm,' ',illage,qdotacoveringils i. board members regarding the re- would cost $2,000,,,to ss000 for ' for donating Çgalloos of blood .''ditionätß74flStolting,rd. residents add their immediate,oobdiyldiog of the property heI- ssrveylng' the propertiésand'ut' ' ...Dis'caus iso' 'wes'held 'amoog .. and his two noon Robert and Jobo fandilies has been donated. The ween Washington and Prospect would also he' oecessary to gelhoard memhers"regardiogthe . who have doijated 3 gallons each. nent -blood drawing will be held._from Oaktos lo Mesroe. There permission from the homeowners'request for 'remosarsf the .
    [Show full text]
  • Keyboard Playing and the Mechanization of Polyphony in Italian Music, Circa 1600
    Keyboard Playing and the Mechanization of Polyphony in Italian Music, Circa 1600 By Leon Chisholm A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Music in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Kate van Orden, Co-Chair Professor James Q. Davies, Co-Chair Professor Mary Ann Smart Professor Massimo Mazzotti Summer 2015 Keyboard Playing and the Mechanization of Polyphony in Italian Music, Circa 1600 Copyright 2015 by Leon Chisholm Abstract Keyboard Playing and the Mechanization of Polyphony in Italian Music, Circa 1600 by Leon Chisholm Doctor of Philosophy in Music University of California, Berkeley Professor Kate van Orden, Co-Chair Professor James Q. Davies, Co-Chair Keyboard instruments are ubiquitous in the history of European music. Despite the centrality of keyboards to everyday music making, their influence over the ways in which musicians have conceptualized music and, consequently, the music that they have created has received little attention. This dissertation explores how keyboard playing fits into revolutionary developments in music around 1600 – a period which roughly coincided with the emergence of the keyboard as the multipurpose instrument that has served musicians ever since. During the sixteenth century, keyboard playing became an increasingly common mode of experiencing polyphonic music, challenging the longstanding status of ensemble singing as the paradigmatic vehicle for the art of counterpoint – and ultimately replacing it in the eighteenth century. The competing paradigms differed radically: whereas ensemble singing comprised a group of musicians using their bodies as instruments, keyboard playing involved a lone musician operating a machine with her hands.
    [Show full text]
  • The Status and the Problem of Western Vocal Music Teaching in Myanmar
    Journal of Advanced Research in Social Sciences and Humanities Volume 1, Issue 1 (9-17) DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.26500/JARSSH-01-2016-0102 The status and the problem of Western vocal music teaching in Myanmar MAI NAY CHI HNIN PWINT OO∗ Department of Music Education, College of Music, Mahidol University, Salaya, Thailand Abstract Aim: The aim of this study is to identify and recommend solutions to the problems not only in teaching but also in learning Western classical vocal music. The research will also consider the benefits of solving these problems. The primary objective of this study was to infer the status and the problems of Western vocal music teaching in Myanmar and to explore the appropriate methods for the solution of the problems in the environment of the government school system. Method: This research used qualitative methods, formal and informal interviews and observation. There were six vocal music teachers from a variety of Music Centers in Yangon, one vocal music teacher from The Myanmar Institute of Theology (Liberal Arts program), Music Department in Myanmar and one vocal instructor from an independent unit who are currently working in that area with at least 2 years’ experience in western vocal teaching as full-time and part-time teachers. Findings: The researcher found through the interviews that most of the vocal music teachers did not study in voice much and most of them did not have the opportunity to study music since they were young. Most of them taught voice to students based on only their experience and what they learnt from experienced teachers.
    [Show full text]
  • Unit 7 Romantic Era Notes.Pdf
    The Romantic Era 1820-1900 1 Historical Themes Science Nationalism Art 2 Science Increased role of science in defining how people saw life Charles Darwin-The Origin of the Species Freud 3 Nationalism Rise of European nationalism Napoleonic ideas created patriotic fervor Many revolutions and attempts at revolutions. Many areas of Europe (especially Italy and Central Europe) struggled to free themselves from foreign control 4 Art Art came to be appreciated for its aesthetic worth Program-music that serves an extra-musical purpose Absolute-music for the sake and beauty of the music itself 5 Musical Context Increased interest in nature and the supernatural The natural world was considered a source of mysterious powers. Romantic composers gravitated toward supernatural texts and stories 6 Listening #1 Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique (4th mvmt) Pg 323-325 CD 5/30 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwCuFaq2L3U 7 The Rise of Program Music Music began to be used to tell stories, or to imply meaning beyond the purely musical. Composers found ways to make their musical ideas represent people, things, and dramatic situations as well as emotional states and even philosophical ideas. 8 Art Forms Close relationship Literature among all the art Shakespeare forms Poe Bronte Composers drew Drama inspiration from other Schiller fine arts Hugo Art Goya Constable Delacroix 9 Nationalism and Exoticism Composers used music as a tool for highlighting national identity. Instrumental composers (such as Bedrich Smetana) made reference to folk music and national images Operatic composers (such as Giuseppe Verdi) set stories with strong patriotic undercurrents. Composers took an interest in the music of various ethnic groups and incorporated it into their own music.
    [Show full text]
  • Why Do Singers Sing in the Way They
    Why do singers sing in the way they do? Why, for example, is western classical singing so different from pop singing? How is it that Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballe could sing together? These are the kinds of questions which John Potter, a singer of international repute and himself the master of many styles, poses in this fascinating book, which is effectively a history of singing style. He finds the reasons to be primarily ideological rather than specifically musical. His book identifies particular historical 'moments of change' in singing technique and style, and relates these to a three-stage theory of style based on the relationship of singing to text. There is a substantial section on meaning in singing, and a discussion of how the transmission of meaning is enabled or inhibited by different varieties of style or technique. VOCAL AUTHORITY VOCAL AUTHORITY Singing style and ideology JOHN POTTER CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS PUBLISHED BY THE PRESS SYNDICATE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 IRP, United Kingdom CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 2RU, United Kingdom 40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011-4211, USA 10 Stamford Road, Oakleigh, Melbourne 3166, Australia © Cambridge University Press 1998 This book is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 1998 Typeset in Baskerville 11 /12^ pt [ c E] A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library library of Congress cataloguing in publication data Potter, John, tenor.
    [Show full text]
  • CL2 Notes Bartók Concerto for Orchestra/Beethoven Symphony No
    Notes for Classics 5: Dvořák & Rachmaninoff Saturday, January 19 and Sunday, January 20 Eckart Preu, conductor — Mateusz Wolski, violin — Spokane Symphony Chorale • Miguel del Águila – Chautauquan Summer Overture • Antonin Dvořák – Violin Concerto in A minor, Op. 53 • Sergei Rachmaninoff – The Bells, Op. 35 Miguel del Águila Chautauquan Summer Overture THE VITAL STATS Composer: born September 5, 1957, Montevideo, Uruguay Work composed: commissioned by the Chautauqua Institution in celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra. World premiere: Uriel Segal led the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra on July 3, 2004, at the Chautauqua Institution Summer Festival in Chautauqua, New York Instrumentation: 3 flutes, 3 oboes, 3 clarinets, 3 bassoons, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, bird whistle filled with water, crash cymbals, cuckoo whistle, glockenspiel, gun shot, metal wind chimes, police whistle, snare drum, suspended cymbals, tambourine, tam-tam, triangle, wind machine, harp, and strings. Estimated duration: 13 minutes Three-time Grammy nominated American composer Miguel del Águila has established himself as one of the most distinctive composers of his generation. del Águila’s music, hailed by the New York Times as “elegant and affectionate … with genuine wit,” combines drama and propulsive rhythms with nostalgic nods to his South American roots. Numerous orchestras, ensembles, and soloists around the world have performed del Águila’s music, which has been featured on more than 30 CDs from several different recording labels, including Naxos, Telarc, and Albany. “Chautauquan Summer, a work that portrays the moods and changing landscape around Chautauqua Lake, NY, from autumn to summer, was conceived as a short concert opener (or closer),” del Águila writes.
    [Show full text]
  • Bach's St. Matthew Passion
    “It was an actor and a Jew who restored this great Christian work to the people.” - Felix Mendelssohn Bach’s Great Passion: A Reintroduction In 1829, a young Jewish musician (already on the path to create his own compositional legacy) reintroduced Berlin to Johann Sebastian Bach’s masterpiece, the Passio Domini Nostri Jesu Christi secundum Evangelistam Matthæum, also known as the Matthäus-Passion, The Passion According to St. Matthew, or simply, The St. Matthew Passion. Ten years earlier, that musician - Felix Mendelssohn - began taking composition lessons from the director of the Berlin Singakademie, Carl Friedrich Zelter. Through this relationship, Mendelssohn would learn to love the music of Bach. Zelter himself had conducted quiet performances of a handful of the German master’s choral works at the Singakademie: a motet here, some cantata movements there. Even some of the choruses from the Passion were read at his rooms at the Singakademie. He was, however, of the opinion that these larger works were not suitable for public performance in their entirety. Still, running against the predominant tastes of the day, that Bach’s music was, according to one early 20th-century scholar, as “dry as a lesson in arithmetic,” the self-taught Zelter (he was a mason by trade), infused his love of Bach in his favorite student. In 1820, Mendelssohn joined the Singakademie as a choral singer and accompanist. His father, Abraham, had given a collection of Bach scores to its library and had been an earlier supporter of the Berlin musical institution. Earlier, Felix’s grand-aunt, Sarah Levy (who studied with J.
    [Show full text]
  • Baroque and Classical Style in Selected Organ Works of The
    BAROQUE AND CLASSICAL STYLE IN SELECTED ORGAN WORKS OF THE BACHSCHULE by DEAN B. McINTYRE, B.A., M.M. A DISSERTATION IN FINE ARTS Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Approved Chairperson of the Committee Accepted Dearri of the Graduate jSchool December, 1998 © Copyright 1998 Dean B. Mclntyre ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am grateful for the general guidance and specific suggestions offered by members of my dissertation advisory committee: Dr. Paul Cutter and Dr. Thomas Hughes (Music), Dr. John Stinespring (Art), and Dr. Daniel Nathan (Philosophy). Each offered assistance and insight from his own specific area as well as the general field of Fine Arts. I offer special thanks and appreciation to my committee chairperson Dr. Wayne Hobbs (Music), whose oversight and direction were invaluable. I must also acknowledge those individuals and publishers who have granted permission to include copyrighted musical materials in whole or in part: Concordia Publishing House, Lorenz Corporation, C. F. Peters Corporation, Oliver Ditson/Theodore Presser Company, Oxford University Press, Breitkopf & Hartel, and Dr. David Mulbury of the University of Cincinnati. A final offering of thanks goes to my wife, Karen, and our daughter, Noelle. Their unfailing patience and understanding were equalled by their continual spirit of encouragement. 11 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ii ABSTRACT ix LIST OF TABLES xi LIST OF FIGURES xii LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES xiii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xvi CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION 1 11. BAROQUE STYLE 12 Greneral Style Characteristics of the Late Baroque 13 Melody 15 Harmony 15 Rhythm 16 Form 17 Texture 18 Dynamics 19 J.
    [Show full text]
  • American Choral Review
    AMERICAN CHORAL REVIEW JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHORAL FOUNDATION, INC. VOLUME XXVIII • NUMBER 2 • APRIL, 1986 AMERICAN CHORAL REVIEW ALFRED MANN, Editor ALFREDA HAYS, Assistant Editor Associate Editon EDWARD TATNALL CANBY ANDREW C. MINOR RICHARD JACKSON MARTIN PICKER WESLEY S. COFFMAN The AMERICAN CHORAL REVIEW is published quarterly as the official journal of The American Choral Foundation, Inc. The Foundation also publishes a supplementary Research Memorandum Series. Membership in The American Choral Foundation is available for an annual contribution of $27.50 and includes subscriptions to the AMERICAN CHORAL REVIEW and the Research Memorandum Series and use of the Foundation's advisory services. All contributions are tax deductible. Multiple back issues of the AMERICAN CHORAL REVIEW and Research Memorandum Series are housed and maintained at the Temple University Boyer College of Music, Philadelphia, Department of Choral Activities, Alan Harler, Chairman. A computerized, annotated listing of the contents of back issues by author, title, subject, and period has been assembled as a joint project of Temple University and the American Choral Foundation. Back issues of the AMERICAN CHORAL REVIEW are available to members at $5.00; back issues of the Research Memorandum Series at $2.00. Bulk prices will be quoted on request. Through affiliation with the American Choral Directors Association the Foundation offers membership to American Choral Directors Association members at a reduced contribution amount. Please consult the boxed announcement on the inside back cover for details. THE AMERICAN CHORAL FOUNDATION, INC. Administered by the Association of Professional Vocal Ensembles Janice F. Kestler, Executive Director 251 South 18th Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103 (215) 545-4444 Material for publication should be submitted in duplicate.
    [Show full text]
  • Beethoven 9 FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2019 • 7:30 P.M
    CLASSICAL TWO Beethoven 9 FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2019 • 7:30 p.m. • MARK C. SMITH CONCERT HALL, VON BRAUN CENTER Tiffany Bostic-Brown, soprano • Abigail Nims, mezzo-soprano Daniel Weeks, tenor • Terrance Brown, baritone Huntsville Community Chorus • Ian Loeppky, Artistic Director Huntsville Symphony Orchestra • GREGORY VAJDA, Music Director & Conductor CELEBRATING ALABAMA’S BICENTENNIAL Dmitri Shostakovich Symphony No. 9 in E-flat major, op. 70 INFORMATION PACKET (1906–1975) I. Allegro II. Moderato III. Presto IV. Largo 2017 V. Allegretto—Allegro INTERMISSION Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No. 9 in D minor, op. 125 (1770–1827) I. Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso II. Molto vivace III. Adagio molto e cantabile IV. Finale: Presto—Allegro assai—Alla marcia—Allegro assai vivace— Andante maestoso—Allegro energico—Allegro ma non tanto— Prestissimo Tiffany Bostic-Brown, soprano • Abigail Nims, mezzo-soprano Daniel Weeks, tenor • Terrance Brown, baritone Huntsville Community Chorus • Ian Loeppky, Artistic Director Davidson Classical Series Concert Sponsor: KATHY AND C. H. “TONY” CHAN Guest Artists Sponsor: JODI STEPHENS Chorus Sponsor: RENASANT BANK 48 • HSO SEASON 65 • FALL kovich was lambasted by the state press and those who curried its favor, and the Symphony No. 9 was Program Notes explicitly banned for a time, rejoining the sactioned repertoire only after Stalin’s death. Even American critics were unkind, with one commentator marveling aloud at the impropriety of this noncommital response to the horrors of the war. SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 9 in E-flat Though structured in five movements (the last three usually proceeding without pause) rather than the major, op. 70 more customary four, Shostakovich’s “joyful little piece” is of brief duration.
    [Show full text]