Choral Journal Sept 2015

CONTENTS September 2015/ Volume 56, Number 2
F E AT U R E S
8 David Lang’s the little match girl passion –
A Conductor’s Guide by Johann Jacob Van Niekerk
22 A Symposium Brings Research to Life through

Choral Performance by Victor V. Bobetsky
32 Notes for Success: Advice for the First-Year Choral

Teacher, Part 3 Compiled by Amanda Bumgarner
ole J. Ott
A RT I C L E S
45 New Voices in Research
Leonhard Lechner’s Passion (1593): Origins, Importance, and
Dramatic Meaning by John C. Hughes
57 Repertoire & Standards

Raising a Family: A Guide to Recruiting for High School Choir
by Maura Underwood
Releasing the Spiritual: An Interview with Robert Russell

by Stan Scott
Student Chapter Update
65 Hallelujah!
A “High, Lonesome” Experience Challenges Musical Biases
On the Cover The cover image was inspired by Michelangelo’s by Lee G. Barrow
iconic marble statue, Pieta (1499). Here, instead of Mary
and Jesus, we see the little match girl in the ar ms of her 69 Rehearsal Break
grandmother. David Lang’s work combines the story of Christ’s
Selecting Sight-Singing Curricula for the Choral Rehearsal
crucifixion with a fairytale by Hans Christian Anderson about
a little girl who freezes to death on New Year’s Eve. by James Bowyer
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56 2016 Division Conferences
Since 1959, the Choral Journal has been the refereed, international journal of the
American Choral Directors Association. Each issue features: three scholarly articles, 64 Raymond Brock Student Composition Contest Information
anonymously peer-reviewed by the editorial board; refereed articles on pedagogical 72 Teaching & Conducting Priorities Profile Survey
or scientific issues for the choral conductor; refereed articles with practical advice
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NATIONAL OFFICERS
President
From the
Mary Hopper
Wheaton College
630-752-5828
EXECUTIVE 10 Reasons that Speak
to the “Why” of
DIRECTOR
mary.hopper@wheaton.edu
“Why Students Should Join ACDA”
Vice president
Karen Fulmer
253-927-6814
kpfulmer1@comcast.net
Joining the American Choral Directors Association
President-elect
as a student is a critically important professional move
Tom Shelton
Westminster Choir College
on the part of a future choral director. I was fortunate
609-921-7100 to attend both a college and a graduate school where
tshelton@rider.edu
the professors thoroughly understood this fundamental
NATIONAL TREASURER
Jo Ann Miller educational fact and mentored me into ACDA and into
North Dakota State University
jo.miller@ndsu.edu
this profession. Let me share with you the facts of the
Executive Director Tim Sharp matter:
Tim Sharp
405-232-8161
sharp@acda.org 1. A part of every student’s education should be to learn about professional
Central Division President citizenship and the proper way to enter into this citizenship.
Gayle Walker
Otterbein University
614-823-1508
gwalker@otterbein.edu 2. An important part of the student’s education takes place outside the
Eastern Division President classroom when students seek peer support for projects, collaborate between
David Fryling
Hofstra University
organizations, work to accomplish out-of-class learning opportunities using col-
516-463-5497 lege funding, and seek other ways to gain experiences around and in-between
david.n.fryling@hofstra.edu
specific course work and degree requirements. ACDA student membership
North Central Division President
Bob Demaree and chapters provide a structured way for student choral conductors to do this.
University of Wisconsin-Platteville
608-342-1446
demaree@uwplatt.edu
3. Conference attendance can be a solidifying experience for a student and
Northwestern Division President
Patrick ryan
a defining moment as students consider a career in vocal and choral music
Great Falls High School education, performance, administration, composition, and advocacy. Students
406-268-6370
patrickmatthewryan@gmail.com rarely if ever receive training in how to take advantage of a professional
Southern Division President conference in their academic coursework. ACDA student membership offers
Alicia Walker
University of South Carolina students that opportunity.
706-542-4752
aliciawalker1104@gmail.com
Southwestern Division President

4. Students need to know they are not alone after they leave the college or
Mark Lawley graduate school faculty and peer community. ACDA provides a lifelong com-
Drury University
mlawley01@drury.edu munity to the profession.
Western Division President
Anna Hamre
California State University-Fresno 5. Students often turn to the repertoire and other resources they learned or
559-278-2539
ahamre@csufresno.edu
performed in their college choir or classroom when they take their first profes-
Industry Associate Representative
sional positions. Those can, however, become dated or depleted quickly and do
Brad Matheson not always transfer well to their first professional positions. Conferences and
Harmony International
Brad@harmonyinternational.com published ACDA resources provide the ongoing resources and vetted recom-
Chair, Past Presidents’ Council mendations needed in the early years of the profession.
Jo-Michael Scheibe
University of Southern California
scheibe@thornton.usc.edu 6. Professional development continues or begins immediately after a student
graduates. Student membership in ACDA and ACDA student chapters pro-
National Past Presidents
† Archie Jones † Hugh Sanders vide direction for those “next steps” in the area of professional development.
† Elwood Keister David O. Thorsen
† Warner Imig Diana J. Leland
† J. Clark Rhodes
† Harold A. Decker
William B. Hatcher
John B. Haberlen
7. ACDA student membership and student chapters offer the opportunity for
† Theron Kirk
† Charles C. Hirt
† Lynn Whitten
James A. Moore
leadership skill development that can only happen in groups and through a
† Morris D. Hayes
† Russell Mathis
Milburn Price
David Stutzenberger
coalition of others motivated by professional standards.
† Walter S. Collins Mitzi Groom
H. Royce Saltzman Michele Holt
† Colleen Kirk Hilary Apfelstadt
Maurice T. Casey Jerry McCoy
The 12 Purposes EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S
8. Early experiences in writ- of ACDA LOG
ing, publishing, professional
presentation, and other schol- • To foster and promote choral What's on
arship areas are provided singing, which will provide Tim's daytimer?
through student chapters, stu- artistic, cultural, and spiritual
dent membership, and overall experiences for the participants.
Sep 5 - 6 GALA Chorus Leadership
ACDA membership.
• To foster and promote the finest Denver, CO
types of choral music to make
9. Organizations such as stu- Sep 10 -14 Swedish Choral Festival
these experiences possible.
dent ACDA chapters give the Örebro, Sweden
profession and the discipline • To foster and encourage Part of ACDA’s
more visibility on campus and rehearsal procedures conducive International Conductor
provide for advocacy oppor- to attaining the highest possible Exchange Program
level of musicianship and artistic
tunities on campus and in the Sep 24 - 27 Hawaii ACDA
performance.
community. Honolulu, Hawaii
• To foster and promote the
10. ACDA student chapters organization and development
What's on
help students and advisors of choral groups of all types in Tim's Ipad?
mobilize resources and energy schools and colleges.
that add value to the educa- The Energy Bus
• To foster and promote the
tion of future choral conduc- development of choral music in Jon Gordon
tors and teachers, such as the church and synagogue.
raising the funds to sponsor In the Hands of Providence
a workshop by a guest choral • To foster and promote the
Alice Rains Trulock
conductor. organization and development
of choral societies in cities and
communities. The Twentieth Maine
Membership in an ACDA John J. Pullen Elizabeth Sokolowski
student chapter can be the • To foster and promote the Andrew Keen
gateway to a long and fulfill- understanding of choral music What's Tim's
ing career in the choral field. as an important medium of
Latest App?
There are student chapters contemporary artistic expression.
in colleges and universities
•To foster and promote significant Mormon Tabernacle Choir
around the country, and these research in the field of choral
vibrant organizations support music. Elevate
ACDA’s core initiatives to
foster and promote excellence •To foster and encourage choral
in choral singing. For more in- composition of superior quality. What's Tim
Listening to?
formation about student chap-
• To cooperate with all
ters, visit acda.org or contact organizations dedicated to the
sflansburg@acda.org. development of musical culture Choral Concert:
in America. Wells Cathedral School Choralia
CHILCOTT, B. / MEALOR, P.
• To foster and promote
international exchange programs / HOLST, G. / MACMILLAN,
involving performing groups, J. / O'REGAN, T
conductors, and composers. (The Song of the Stars)
• To disseminate professional news DANIELPOUR, R.:

and information about choral
TimothySharp Ancient Voices 8.578311-12
music.
Darkness in the Ancient Valley /
American Choral Directors Association
Toward a Season of Peace
—ACDA Constitution
and Bylaws
National R&S Chairs
National Chair
Amy Johnston Blosser
From the
Bexley High School
614-579-9346
amy.blosser@bexleyschools.org
PRESIDENT Investing in the Future
Boychoirs Where will choral music be in

Craig Denison
Florida Singing Sons
fifty years? As schools cut arts programs, churches
954-529-8412 support fewer choirs, and professional music orga-
denisons4@me.com
nizations struggle with funding, it is more important
Children and Community Youth Choirs
Cheryl Dupont
than ever that we have a vision for the future of
New Orleans Children’s Chorus
504-833-0575
choral music. ACDA has recognized this need and
nocc787@bellsouth.net does have programs in place that will support our
College and University Choirs Mary Hopper young singers and young conductors. But to make
Joey Martin
Texas State University—San Marcos
these programs work, we need active involvement
joey.martin@txstate.edu from our membership. There are some very tangible ways you can be
Community Choirs invested in the future of choral music.
Ron Sayer
Marshall Community Chorus
660-831-5197
ronsay@aol.com
1. If you are an experienced conductor, sign up to be an ACDA mentor
to a young conductor. The mentoring program is easy to access, and
Ethnic and Multicultural Perspectives
JosÉ Rivera you can be involved in a way that works best for your schedule. Sharing
University of North Carolina
910-521-6290
your insight and encouraging a young conductor/teacher could change
jose.rivera@uncp.edu the career of a young person. http://mentoring.acda.org/
Junior High/Middle School Choirs
Jennifer Alarcon
Blalack Middle School 2. If you are a new teacher at any level (elementary through university),
972-968-3616
alarconj@cfbisd.edu
sign up to be a mentee. You will be able to connect with someone who
has experienced work in your situation and has survived! You may be
Male Choirs
Christopher Kiver the only music teacher in your school or the only choral conductor in
Penn State University
814-863-4400 your department, and your immediate colleagues may not be able to
cak27@psu.edu
help you the way a choral mentor can.
Music in Worship
Thomas Vozzella
St. Andrew's Episcopal church 3. Most of you have heard about the Fund for Tomorrow. Through
816-888-9033
vozzella.music@gmail.com this fund, ACDA will be supporting programs that provide choral
Senior High School Choirs
music opportunities to students in areas that are underfunded or
Daniel Bishop underprivileged. Beginning September 1, organizations and ACDA
Clovis East High School
559-478-1785 chapters can apply for a grant that will provide seed money for
dbishop007@comcast.net
projects to bring choral music to young people. Visit www.acda.org for
Show Choirs application materials.
Randi Carp
Phoenixville Area High School
484-927-5145
carp@pasd.com 4. Finally, you can support Fund for Tomorrow by giving financially.
Two-Year College Choirs
This is not an endowed fund but is dependent on giving by ACDA
Dianna Campbell members. Your contribution will certainly be an investment in
Seminole State College of Florida
407-708-2644 the future of choral music. Visit http://www.acda.org/page.
campbelld@seminolestate.edu
asp?page=Fund4Tomorrow for more information or to make a gift.
Vocal Jazz
Patrice Madura Ward-Steinman
Indiana University
812-855-7738
pwardste@indiana.edu
Women’s Choirs
Iris Levine
Vox Femina Los Angeles
ilevine@csupomona.edu
Youth and Student Activities

Amanda Quist
Westminster Choir College, Rider Univ.
616-901-3846
aquist@rider.edu
Editorial Board
From the Editor
EDITOR The cover for this September issue no doubt

Amanda Bumgarner
ACDA National Office
405-232-8161 (ex. 205)
brings to mind a familiar image. Michelangelo abumgarner@acda.org
carved the Pieta, the revered statue of Mary hold-
Managing Editor
ing Jesus, from a single block of marble when he
Ron Granger
was only twenty-four years old. At first glance, the ACDA National Office
use of this iconic statue might seem startling, but 405-232-8161
rgranger@acda.org
it perfectly fits with the theme of David Lang’s the
little match girl passion. Johann Jacob Van Niekerk Board Members
Hilary Apfelstadt
Amanda Bumgarner
provides readers with an introduction to this University of Toronto
composition, which combines Christ’s crucifixion 416-978-0827
Hilary.apfelstadt@utoronto.ca
with Hans Christian Anderson’s fairytale “The
Little Match Girl.” Lang’s work received its world premiere in 2007 and Terry Barham
University of Missouri - Kansas City
was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2008. This conductor’s guide is barhamte@gmail.com
designed to assist in the conductor’s preparation of this work while investi-

Kristina Boerger
gating textual and musical content along with suggestions for interpretation, University of Illinois
kboerger@illinois.edu
rehearsal, and performance.
Victor Bobetsky’s article on bringing research to life describes a sym- Philip Copeland
posium where music teachers and choral students from the elementary Samford University
205-588-4794
to college levels explored the origins and ancestry of the song “We Shall philip.copeland@gmail.com
Overcome.” As scholars of choral music, many Choral Journal readers are

J. Michele Edwards
involved in the process of writing and research, yet it can be difficult to find 651-699-1077
ways to take that research and put it into a setting where others can learn edwards@macalester.edu
from it. The process of collaboration and the implementation of aspects of

Steven Grives
the National Core Music Standards are examined. See also “The Complex Loras College
605-695-9812
Ancestry of ‘We Shall Overcome’” by the same author in the February 2014 smgrives@gmail.com
issue of Choral Journal (volume 54, no. 7).
Sharon A. Hansen
Finally, we find the conclusion of the three-part article series that was University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
introduced in the May issue, “Notes for Success: Advice for the First-Year Professor Emeritus
414-651-4009
Choral Teacher.” I would once again like to thank everyone who contributed sahansen@uwm.edu
to making this article a success, and it is my hope that choral educators in
Edward Lundergan
every stage of teaching will find some inspiration from these articles. Read SUNY-New Paltz
parts one and two in the May and August 2015 issues, respectively. Elsewhere 845-257-2715
lunderge@newpaltz.edu
in this issue are a number of regular columns and reviews. The Rehearsal
Break column features an interesting discussion of sight-singing curricula David Puderbaugh
that the author personally piloted over a period of three months. The pros University of Iowa
319-335-1627
and cons of each are explained, along with recommendations for selecting david-puderbaugh@uiowa.edu
reliable curricula and suggested resources for use in rehearsal.

Jason Paulk
Readers who are interested in submitting an article for a column are urged Eastern New Mexico University
to contact the appropriate editorial board member using the contact infor- 575-562-2798
jason.paulk@enmu.edu
mation on the last page of every Choral Journal. Feature article submissions are
accepted year-round, and anyone interested in submitting an article for blind Magen Solomon
San Francisco Choral Artists
review through the editorial board can email <abumgarner@acda.org>. 415-494-8149
magen.solomon@gmail.com
Richard Stanislaw
rstanislaw@comcast.net
Stephen Town
Northwest Missouri State University
660-562-1795
stown@nwmissouri.edu
From the As my plane touched down
in the middle of a summer rain-
FESTIVAL storm, Marc Cohn’s line from
“Walking in Memphis” kept
DEVELOPMENT looping in my head—except this
DIRECTOR time, instead of the “land of the

Delta blues” we were landing in
the heart of the Caribbean, and the soaring, coral-colored
towers of the Atlantis resort were visible in the distance.
As ACDA’s festival development director, my first major
task is to organize and facilitate America Cantat 8. This
international, noncompetitive choir festival will take place
in and around Nassau and the Atlantis Resort on Paradise
Island in August 2016. This past June, I flew into Nassau
Join Eden Badgett with other members of ACDA’s national leadership and
office staff for a series of rigorous planning sessions to make
sure the festival runs smoothly and is a chorally rich experience for all participants.
the International
We had a packed itinerary and an extensive to-do list, but with the help of some
Choir Festival welcoming locals and our partners at the Ministry of Tourism, we managed to
secure performance venues, finalize workshop and rehearsal space, and schedule
August 21-31, 2016 a local band for some midweek entertainment. Here are just some of the things
you have to look forward to at America Cantat 8:
To register or
for more information 1.) Performances in local venues ranging
visit from Parliament Square near Prince George
www.america-cantat.org Wharf to St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Kirk, a
beautiful white stone church with a 200-year
tradition of community outreach. Other ven-
ues where participating choirs will perform
include the National Stadium, the College
of the Bahamas Performing Arts Center, and
Christ Church Cathedral. Parliament Square
2.) Gala Concert events featuring some of the best choirs from all previous
America Cantat host countries, including Vocal Consonante from Argentina,
Orfeón Santiago from Cuba, and Coro Filarmónico Juvenil from Colombia.
Choirs from the Bahamas and the United States will also perform to represent
the partnership of the two countries for this festival.
3.) A beach party featuring Caribbean finger foods, ocean views, and music by
the Lukka Kairi house band. This steel drum and piano duo perform traditional
island grooves and cover music ranging from the Great American Songbook to Michael
Jackson. This will be a fête not to be missed.
America Cantat 8 is an exciting, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for ACDA

members. I hope you will join me next summer in the Bahamas, where we will
immerse ourselves in the music of the Americas. For more information, includ-
ing registration instructions, visit america-cantat.org or email badgett@acda.org.
The following commemorative gifts to the Fund for Tomorrow have been received since the first of the year:
In honor of In memory of
Lyrlene Cleveland by Patricia Hunt Fisher Elaine Brown by Janet M. Yamron
Robert DeCormier by Lindi L. Bortney Dr. Clarence J. Martin by R. John Specht
Dr. Rhonda Fleming by Jerry Cribbs Rudolph Saltzer by Charlene Archibeque
Blanche Williams by Everett Williams, Jr.
Help grow new choral singers and develop

new choral conductors with a gift to the
American Choral Directors Association’s
Fund for Tomorrow
Your donation to this new fund will help to encourage new children’s choirs,
support ACDA student members and chapters,
provide national conference scholarships to Honor Choir students,
and mentor talented youth into new choral conductors and teachers.
With a gift of $1,000 or more, you become a member of the Podium Society,
a very special group of people who invest significantly in our
programing for children and youth.
More information at:

www.acda.org/fund4tomorrow
Give online or mail your contribution to ACDA, 545 Couch Dr., Oklahoma City, OK 73102-2207.
The American Choral Directors Association is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. Your gift to this fund is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.
CHORAL JOURNAL Volume 56 Number 2 7

DAVID LANG’S
the little match girl passion
A CONDUCTOR’S GUIDE
JOHANN JACOB VAN NIEKERK
Johann Jacob Van Niekerk

Assistant Professor of Music
Centre College
johann.j.vanniekerk@gmail.com
8 CHORAL JOURNAL Volume 56 Number 2

David Lang’s the little match girl chorus version in 2008, published
passion is an unusual piece on many by Red Poppy Music and available
levels. Lang (b. 1957) combines the for rent from G. Schirmer Inc. It is
story of Christ’s crucifixion—based most suitable for professional choirs
on Bach’s treatment thereof in his and more experienced university and
St. Matthew Passion (1727) —with the community groups.
story of “The Little Match Girl,” a The passion genre is a genre that
fairytale by Hans Christian Ander- extends back more than seven cen-
sen that tells the harrowing tale of turies, and Lang reworks this format
a little girl who freezes to death on into a vehicle that allows the audience
a cold New Year’s Eve in Denmark. to not only witness the slow demise
The music for the little match girl pas- of the innocent girl but more impor-
sion is equally unusual. Lang’s use of tantly to feel as if they were somehow
minimalist cells, expanded over fifteen part of this injustice. It is this sense of
movements, is unlike any other stan- complicity that has largely contrib-
dard piece in the choral repertoire. uted to the work’s universal success.
The composition, while tricky at first Reactions have been astounding: on
sight, effortlessly weaves these cells a critical level it has been lauded since
into an approachable and relatable its premiere and was awarded the
idiom for singers and audiences alike. Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2008; both
Amateur, university, and professional critics and audiences have been af-
choirs have performed the little match fected by its stark, relentless narrative
girl passion all over the United States and otherworldly music. Reporting
since its world premiere in 2007. It on these performances tend toward
was originally written for four soloists, utter praise and astonishment at the
but the composer created an SATB impact of such an ambitious work
of art.
Critics have lauded the piece for
its originality, innovation, and “raw
emotionality.” 1 American choral
composer Joshua Shank accurately
states: “[W]hat is interesting to note
is that, despite the somewhat robotic
way in which Lang sets the text…
the reception of this work is almost
universally spoken about in viscerally
emotional terms… [T]he work has
obviously made a tremendous impact
on its audience.”2 In music reviews,
Jayson Green calls it “breathtakingly
spare…icily gorgeous…a haunting
and evocative hall of echoes”3; Molly

DAVID LANG’S the little match girl passion
Sheridan claims that “even reading just the poetry of the forms a metaphysical commentary on their role in the pro-
libretto…is chilling”4; while Reed Johnson mentions the tagonist’s demise. The format of the passion furthermore
work’s “sublime austerity.”5 Los Angeles Master Chorale encourages and facilitates retrospection and a call-to-
Conductor Grant Gershon confirms: “When I listen to action to learn from these events and apply it in daily life.
the recording, it’s impossible to get through the piece Lang is not the first composer to contextualize the pas-
without weeping.”6 The emotional impact of the piece sion genre in this way. Recent projects have highlighted
was largely responsible for its Pulitzer win, as confirmed the adaptability of the passion genre, such as the comPAS-
by juror Tim Page: “I don’t think I’ve ever been so moved SION project by Conspirare (2014), with passions by John
by a new, and largely unheralded, composition as I was Muehleisen, Robert Kyr, and the Balliett brothers; and
by David Lang’s the little match girl passion, which is unlike Helmuth Rilling’s Passion Project 2000 (2000), a commission
any music I know.”7 that tasked Tan Dun, Sofia Gubaidulina, Ernst Rihm,
The composition is a welcome addition to the choral and Osvaldo Golijov to compose passions reflecting on
repertoire that is bound to move those who perform and currently relevant social issues.
listen to its unique sound and grapple with its unusual Lang’s composition consists of recitative-like move-
protagonist and narrative. With a vast array of recent ments that advance the plot and chorale-like movements
and upcoming performances by ensembles such as the that engage audiences into the narrative while providing
Latvian Radio Choir, Netherlands Chamber Choir, Vir- a moment to reflect on its events. The combination of
ginia Chorale, The Crossing, PSU Choirs, and Seattle these two kinds of movements tells the story “while si-
Pro Musica, this increasingly popular piece may well multaneously commenting upon it.”10 It has the effect of
become a standard in the choral canon for years to come. “placing us in the middle of the action, and it gives the
This conductor's guide, designed to assist the conductor’s narrative a powerful inevitability.”11 Although Lang places
preparation, investigates the little match girl passion’s textual the emphasis on the death of a fragile little girl instead of
content, musical content, and contextualization of the the expected figure of Christ, the girl’s own experienced
passion genre and includes suggestions by the composer suffering and rejection resonates strongly with the mar-
related to interpretation, rehearsal, and performance. tyred messianic figure of Christ. In an interview with the
composer, he reflected on his choice of the passion: “The
reason the story works is because I was looking for some-
Context thing that would allow me to be an observer of what the
Lang’s work received its world premiere in 2007 at passion is traditionally, so I was looking for something that
Carnegie Hall by the vocal quartet Theatre of Voices, would highlight what to me seemed to be the paradox of
conducted by Paul Hillier. The National Chamber Choir the passion, which is that you are supposed to notice the
of Ireland, again conducted by Hillier, premiered the suffering of Jesus. But you know, we live in New York—
choral version one year later. David Lang had won several people are suffering all over the place—we live in a world
awards previously, but in the words of The New Yorker, it where if we actually noticed everyone’s suffering it would
was “with his winning of the Pulitzer Prize …[that] Lang, be impossible to live.”12
once a post-minimalist enfant terrible…solidified his stand-
ing as an American master.”8
Lang was drawn to the passion genre because it allowed Analysis
for interpolation from texts outside of the narrative. The As is to be expected, the main reason for the piece’s
texts serve as “guideposts for our own responses to the emotional impact on audiences lies in the use of “The
story,”9 elevating the audience from spectator to partici- Little Match Girl” narrative. Lang concurs: “My loyalty
pant. The passion genre thus represents multiple layers lies completely with the text… and if I have a choice
of performer, participant, and meaning. Traditionally, the between telling the story better and making a beautiful
passion narrative, that of the inevitable death of Christ, sound, I’m always going to choose telling the story bet-
places the audience in the middle of its development and ter.”13 It follows that closer inspection of the text could

elucidate some of the reasons for this reaction and the The chorale movements contrast the recitatives and are
piece’s international popularity. Furthermore, Lang more lyrical in nature. The first and last movements are
features a secular, disenfranchised protagonist, instantly unified through the use of the “Daughters of Zion” im-
relating the work to a wide audience while referencing agery and the use of a similar musical motif.
the concepts familiar to Christian audiences and those
familiar with other works in the passion genre. The even-
numbered movements feature Andersen’s prose, while Movement I
free translations of Picander’s poetry are employed in the The first movement of Lang’s passion setting is a play
odd-numbered movements. on the very first line of text in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion,
The little match girl passion is scored for SATB chorus “Come ye daughters of Zion.”
with soloists playing percussion instruments, including a
brake drum, sleigh bells, crotales, glockenspiel, bass drum, Come, daughter
and tubular bells. The piece is approximately thirty-five Help me, daughter
minutes long. Some choirs have opted to have an SATB Help me cry
quartet sing the recitative-like movements, with the entire Look, daughter
choir joining in on the chorale movements. Lang achieves Where, daughter
coherency throughout the piece through the intentional What, daughter
use of tonal centers and consistency in tempo (quarter Who, daughter
note = 72), form (alternating recitative and chorale Why, daughter
movements), and unifying musical motives and harmonic Guiltless daughter
relations. Patient daughter
Lang was adamant that he wanted to create a continu- Patient daughter
ous piece from start to end. He was inspired by fellow Gone
minimalist composer Arvo Pärt’s Passio, a continuous
seventy-five-minute passion setting: “Now THAT is a Whereas the Picander text asks the daughters of Zion
courageous composer, one who says that I don’t want you to behold the central figure—Jesus, also called bridegroom
dropping in; I don’t want you thinking which parts are or lamb—Lang’s adaptation omits those references.
your favorite. The point is not to make a series of move- Bach’s cori spezzati call-and-response passages (“see, who?”
ments that could be extracted, or a series of movements —the bridegroom; “see, how?” —as a lamb) turn into
that had their individual values, but to make something “look,” “where,” “what,” “who,” and “why” followed by
that goes from start to finish without stop.”14 This relent- the single word “daughter.” At first glance, these utter-
less forward motion combined with the dark subject ances are without object, as it is not specified what the
matter of its narrative might well explain the helplessness daughter should look at or ponder about, turning her into
audiences and critics experience when listening to the little both the subject and the object and compelling the listener
match girl passion: “helpless at metaphorically watching this to look at and ponder the “daughter,” the “guiltless one,”
little girl freeze to death…and not being able to do a thing the “patient” one, one who will soon be “gone.”
about it.”15 The first movement introduces one of the unifying
The form of the little match girl passion centers on alter- figures used throughout the piece: the so-called “shivering
nating chorale-like and recitative-like movements. Recita- motif ” that portrays the sense of urgency and desperation
tive movements see the alto as storyteller (Evangelist in that characterizes the passion from start to end. (Figure 1)
the traditional passion) with other voice groups singing As could be expected from a minimalist composer,
some of the text, often interrupted mid-word in repeated Lang uses a simple germinal cell consisting of four notes
rhythmic patterns. The recitatives are divided into two as the basis for his melodic writing. (Figure 2) The ger-
types: real-world recitatives consisting of six pitches and minal cell is first stated in the opening measures, albeit in
imagined-world recitatives with an added seventh pitch. lower transposition by a whole step. (Figure 3)

Movement II with bare head and naked feet, roamed through
In the second movement, the germinal cell (this time the streets. It is true she had on a pair of slippers
in F minor) is adapted to include a fourth and fifth when she left home, but they were not of much
pitch—most notably in the recurring motif set to the text use. They were very large, so large, indeed, that
“so the little girl went on”—another device that is used they had belonged to her mother, and the poor
throughout to propel and unify the piece. This germinal little creature had lost them in running across
cell is used in different modulations and permutations the street to avoid two carriages that were rolling
throughout the piece, most notably in the soprano line along at a terrible rate. One of the slippers she
but also in augmentation in the male voices. (Figure 4) could not find, and a boy seized upon the other
This second movement, the first recitative, describes and ran away with it, saying that he could use it
the utter poverty of the little match girl, a figure of rela- as a cradle, when he had children of his own. So
tive social insignificance in relation to her surroundings. the little girl went on with her little naked feet,
which were quite red and blue with the cold.
It was terribly cold and nearly dark on the last
evening of the old year, and the snow was falling The word little is repeated, reinforcing the concept
fast. In the cold and darkness, a poor little girl, of timidity and insignificance in her “title”—the little

match girl. The recitatives from this movement onward tener’s own “heart” or sense of conscience and morality, a
depict the narrative in a very non-emotional, subjective concept that develops throughout the piece. This concept
way, reminiscent of the neutral spitting out of news on a derives from the function of the chorale in the traditional
telegraph machine. The second movement introduces the passion as an opportunity for reflection on humankind’s
concept of injustice that prevails through the piece and own complicit part in the events and serving as a kind of
that will ultimately lead to the protagonist’s death. The “time warp” into the present time to draw the audience
first event describing this injustice is the theft of her left into the narrative as active participants.
shoe. The repeated words “so the little girl went on” draw
the audience further along in the narrative.
Movement IV
The fourth movement, the second recitative, continues
Movement III the depiction of the cycle of poverty and injustice that has
The third movement features a play on words from defined the girl’s life to this point.
Bach’s chorale Herzliebster Jesu, literally translated “heart-
dearest Jesus,” becoming “Dearest heart.” In an old apron she carried a number of
matches, and had a bundle of them in her hands.
Dearest heart No one had bought anything of her the whole
Dearest heart day, nor had any one given her even a penny.
What did you do that was so wrong? Shivering with cold and hunger, she crept along;
What was so wrong? poor little child, she looked the picture of misery.
Dearest heart The snowflakes fell on her long, fair hair, which
Dearest heart hung in curls on her shoulders, but she regarded
Why is your sentence so hard? them not.
The repetition of the word dearest establishes affection Her earnest attempts at making a living remain un-
and empathy toward the protagonist. Lang further plays rewarded, and she is largely ignored. The falling snow
with the succeeding text from the chorale, turning “what signifies a dramatic shift: the audience experiences the
have you done wrong” (already in the informal “du” case dramatic irony of knowing that the girl will perish (as in-
in the original German) into “what have you done that was dicated by the word gone at the end of the first movement
so wrong?” implying the unspoken sentiment “that you and the fact that protagonists in the passion narrative
deserved to die for it?” The text is ambiguous in terms inevitably die at the end); the vehicle for her forthcoming
of whom it is addressed to; “heart” could either be an death is introduced in the form of falling snowflakes.
endearing term for the little girl or a reference to the lis-

Movement V there was a savory smell of roast goose, for it
The fifth movement’s chorale, “Penance and remorse,” was new year’s eve—yes, she remembered that.
implicitly states the listener’s own role and guilt over the In a corner, between two houses, one of which
events in the narrative, as evidenced by the use of the projected beyond the other, she sank down and
pronoun “my.” huddled herself together. She had drawn her
little feet under her, but she could not keep off
Penance and remorse the cold; and she dared not go home, for she had
Tear my sinful heart in two sold no matches, and could not take home even
My teardrops a penny of money. Her father would certainly
May they fall like rain down upon your poor face beat her; besides, it was almost as cold at home
May they fall down like rain as here, for they had only the roof to cover them,
My teardrops through which the wind howled, although the
largest holes had been stopped up with straw
Here, daughter, here I am and rags.
I should be bound as you were bound
All that I deserve is Her little hands were almost frozen with the cold.
What you have endured Her little hands were almost frozen with the cold.
Penance and remorse The recitative focuses on the differences in prosperity

Tear my sinful heart in two and opportunity between the freezing, hard-working girl
My penance and the seemingly effortless, love-filled lives of those with
My remorse enough money for such relative luxuries as heat and food.
My penance She finds herself in a predicament, as she cannot return
home without the fear of punishment for not having
The imagery of falling snow from the previous move- sold enough matches. It is clear that the nature of this
ment is extended, and as the snow starts falling on the punishment is severe enough that the little girl prefers the
little girl, the observer’s tears start falling, linking the two pain and discomfort of the cold outside. Dramatic irony
settings together. The second stanza is a play on Chris- returns in the words “her little hands were almost frozen
tian ideology, also evident in Bach’s setting, wherein the with the cold.” The audience knows they will soon be
observer, moved by compassion and remorse, wishes to completely frozen, yet she does not.
take the place of martyred one. The vulnerability of the
girl also resonates with the Catholic intention in the Stabat
Mater, in which the speaker wishes to take the place of the Movement VII
weeping mother of the crucified Jesus. Lang expresses this The discomfort of watching the little girl’s demise is
in simple yet effective words: “All that I deserve is what you highlighted by the uncomfortable silence of the seventh
have endured.” Any remaining question as to the guilt of movement titled “Patience.” While it feels reminiscent
the observer is eradicated in the final lines: “my penance, of John Cage’s 4”33’ with its ultimate statement on the
my remorse, my penance.” nature of silence, the two repeated utterances of the word
patience brings the worlds of the little girl and the audi-
ence together. In a sense the audience is told to be patient
Movement VI in waiting for the little girl to die—an uncomfortable and
The theme of injustice returns in the sixth movement. incongruous feeling as the audience members are made
aware of their desire to hasten through this uncomfort-
Lights were shining from every window, and able process.

Movement VIII most emotional and moving moment of the passion. The
A flicker of hope is presented in the eighth movement, movement’s excruciatingly sad text is emphasized by the
the first of the three “imagined world recitatives.” In these musical setting of the repeated lulling “God have mercy”
recitatives, the girl sees fantastical visions and is eventually motif with the anguished “see my tears” countermelody,
introduced to the afterlife. all the while continuing the metaphorical imagery of the
never-ending falling of snow and tears.
Ah! Perhaps a burning match might be some
good, if she could draw it from the bundle and Have mercy, my God.
strike it against the wall, just to warm her fingers. Look here, my God.
She drew one out—“scratch!” how it sputtered See my tears fall. See my tears fall.
as it burnt! It gave a warm, bright light, like a Have mercy, my God. Have mercy.
little candle, as she held her hand over it. It was My eyes are crying.
really a wonderful light. It seemed to the little My heart is crying, my God.
girl that she was sitting by a large iron stove, See my tears fall.
with polished brass feet and a brass ornament. See my tears fall, my God.
How the fire burned! And seemed so beautifully
warm that the child stretched out her feet as The concept of begging for mercy is familiar to choral
if to warm them, when, lo! The flame of the audiences, e.g., the Kyrie Eleison movement in the liturgical
match went out, the stove vanished, and she had mass. “Have mercy, My God” focuses on the observer’s
only the remains of the half-burnt match in her own admission of guilt and participation, with the word
hand. She rubbed another match on the wall. It “my” repeated throughout for emphasis.
burst into flame, and where its light fell upon the
wall it became as transparent as a veil and she
could see into the room. The table was covered Movement X
with a snowy white tablecloth, on which stood The return in the tenth movement to the lighter, more
a splendid dinner service, and a steaming roast whimsical imagination of the girl is a welcome one. The
goose, stuffed with apples and dried plums. And second imagined world recitative contains imagery of
what was still more wonderful, the goose jumped aesthetically pleasing things such as toys, expectations,
down from the dish and across the floor, with a and the illusion of hope, in stark contrast to the sadness
knife and fork in its breast, to the little girl. Then of the preceding movement.
the match went out, and there remained nothing
but the thick, damp, cold wall before her. She lighted another match, and then she found
herself sitting under a beautiful Christmas tree.
In the first of these, the desire for comfort is combined It was larger and more beautifully decorated
with a humorous depiction only conceivable by the imagi- than the one which she had seen through the
nation of a child. The observer sees a glimpse inside the glass door at the rich merchant’s. Thousands of
imagination and memory world of the protagonist for the tapers were burning upon the green branches,
first time and experiences empathy for a little girl who is and colored pictures, like those she had seen in
using her imagination to dream up better alternatives than the show-windows, looked down upon it all. The
what reality is offering her. little one stretched out her hand towards them,
and the match went out. The Christmas lights
rose higher and higher, till they looked to her
Movement IX like the stars in the sky. Then she saw a star fall,
The ninth movement could arguably be seen as the leaving behind it a bright streak of fire. “Some

one is dying,” thought the little girl, for her old The imagery of the sixth hour from the traditional passion
grandmother, the only one who had ever loved narrative signals the inevitable impending death, and the
her, and who was now dead, had told her that soprano’s vulnerable cry of “Eli, eli,” the Hebrew word
when a star falls, a soul was going up to God. for “God,” immediately evokes the completed thought
from Jesus’s last words on the cross: “Why have you
Her deceased grandmother arrives at the end of forsaken me?” In this moment the girl is forsaken by the
the movement, and the girl unknowingly experiences a world, those who were meant to love and protect her; she
premonition of her own death, yet another instance of is about to transcend into the afterlife, and the audience
dramatic irony: she understands that the shooting star is powerless to prevent it.
signals someone’s death but does not realize it is referring
to her own.
An interesting musical relationship exists between the Movement XII
tenth and eleventh movements. As the narrative starts its The twelfth movement sees the girl’s final return to
relentless acceleration to an unhappy end, musical mo- her imagined world, and she finally meets death and
tives from the two respective movements are combined transcends into the light.
to create a larger five-note pattern—Ab-Bb-C in move-
ment ten, expanding to D and Eb in movement eleven. She again rubbed a match on the wall, and the
(Figures 5 and 6) light shone round her; in the brightness stood
her old grandmother, clear and shining, yet mild
and loving in her appearance. “Grandmother,”
Movement XI cried the little one, “O take me with you; I know
The eleventh movement is connected to the seventh, you will go away when the match burns out; you
as it also features spoken text: “In the sixth hour there will vanish like the warm stove, the roast goose,
was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And and the large, glorious Christmas-tree.” And
at the ninth hour she cried out: Eli, eli.” As the soprano she made haste to light the whole bundle of
sings “Eli, eli,” the spoken text immediately creates the matches, for she wished to keep her grandmother
expectation of something dramatic and different to follow. there. And the matches glowed with a light

that was brighter than the noon-day, and her her grandmother, on new-year’s day.
grandmother had never appeared so large or so
beautiful. She took the little girl in her arms, and This feels similar to the way news is divulged after
they both flew upwards in brightness and joy far the fact in tragic works for the stage, such as the closing
above the earth, where there was neither cold monologue from William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.
nor hunger nor pain, for they were with God. The narrative also comments on humankind’s inability at
large to recognize the full extent of the value of the pro-
In her final moments, she obtains apotheosis, becom- tagonist’s experiences and her contribution to the world.
ing godlike with the imagery of surrounding haloes and
ascends to be “with God.”
Movement XV
While the fourteenth movement shows that the people
Movement XIII in the little girl’s world might not fully understand the
The thirteenth movement expresses the sense of loss value of what has happened, the observer responds with
and death with the innovative use of juxtaposing ideas. clear, shell-shocked sadness in the fifteenth movement.
The imagery of the daughters of Zion returns (similar to
When it is time for me to go Bach) and brings the composition “full circle.”
Don’t go from me
When it is time for me to leave We sit and cry
Don’t leave me And call to you
When it is time for me to die Rest soft, daughter, rest soft
Stay with me Where is your grave, daughter?
When I am most scared Where is your tomb?
Stay with me Where is your resting place?
Rest soft, daughter, rest soft
In this movement, the observer is lamenting the pro- Rest soft
tagonist’s death and expressing the helpless vulnerability Rest soft
experienced thereafter. Rest soft
Rest soft
Rest soft
Movement XIV You closed your eyes.
The passion returns to the real world in the fourteenth I closed my eyes.
movement, a recitative that announces the girl’s death in Rest soft
a very informal way.
Picander’s original text “here we sit with tears” be-
In the dawn of morning there lay the poor little comes “we sit and cry.” The phrase “rest soft” is repeated
one, with pale cheeks and smiling mouth, leaning and serves as a universal phrase, devoid of religious
against the wall; she had been frozen to death on or social connotation. Similarly, the little girl does not
the last evening of the year; and the new-year’s have a final resting place: she could be anywhere, even,
sun rose and shone upon a little corpse! The metaphorically, in the listener’s own world. The universal-
child still sat, in the stiffness of death, holding the ized connection between the little girl and the listener is
matches in her hand, one bundle of which was achieved in the phrase “you closed your eyes… I closed
burnt. “She tried to warm herself,” said some. my eyes,” which could either imply that the listener re-
No one imagined what beautiful things she had fused to see the events and chose ignorance instead or
seen, nor into what glory she had entered with that the listener is finally able to fully empathize with her

and experience her pain with her—all differences have At the conclusion of this investigation of the little match
been eliminated and assimilation has been achieved. On girl, another genial aspect of the piece’s macrostructure
a musical level the “full circle” is achieved in two differ- becomes apparent. While the first movement sets off in
ent ways. First, the germinal cell is presented once more the tonal area of E, the piece actually centers on a tonal
in its most basic form, tying the first and last movements center of F, which expands through an ascending aeolian
together as a whole. (Figure 7) scale by an octave over the course of the successive move-
Lang comments: “It seemed that at the end we are ments. Two possible contours for tonal development can
back to observing her, she’s dead and her purification thus be suggested. (Figure 10)
is over, so that’s why I went back to the beginning, the The second contour, with a “false start” on E before
same way Bach did.”16 The musical units of the two last settling on F in the second movement, was unintentional
movements are also combined to create another expanded on the composer’s part: “I’m sure I tried to start it in the
five-note unit—similar to that in the tenth and eleventh ‘right’ key, and ended up transposing it to keep it in a
movements—with F-G-Ab-Bb in movement fourteen better range, depending on what it was I needed.”17 The
continuing into Bb and C in movement fifteen. (Figures scale continues its upward expansion to Db (movement
8 and 9) six), Eb (movement eight), and finally, after straining
More than a mere musical unifying device, the sense throughout the tenth movement to resolve to a high F,
of connection between the last two movements on a mu- resolves in movement eleven. The tension built by this
sical level signifies a much deeper connection between ascending scale is finally released in a rapidly descend-
the modern audience and the onlookers’ ambivalence in ing F minor scale in movement fifteen, m. 25. The final
the fourteenth movement. This amplifies Lang’s ultimate moments of the passion consist of the fading of the vo-
statement: that we are the same as these spectators staring cal parts, with the original germinal cell played by the
at the little girl and also complicit in allowing and accept- percussionists: “Just the skeletons of their voices…a kind
ing indifference to the plight of those classes of people of ghostly abstracted community…which I found a really
she represents. beautiful idea.”18

Conclusion enhanced by the use of dramatic irony and metaphorical
By investigating the text of the little match girl passion, it imagery, effectively linking the listener’s world to that of
becomes apparent why audiences have been moved to the protagonist.
such an extent by the narrative. First, the tale of the little Musically, the little match girl passion is an organic mar-
match girl and the depiction of her vulnerability—and riage of several components, all of which serve to provide
the sneak peeks into her mind and its deepest wishes for a unique and harrowing investigation of one relatively
a better life—build empathy and connection between insignificant and overlooked figure’s apotheosis and
the listener and the protagonist. Secondly, the interpola- passing from this world. The timbre of the piece is cold
tion of reflecting chorales—where the words have been and austere and unforgiving with short, interrupted, and
manipulated to imply the listener’s own participation and deconstructed motives accompanied by sparse instrumen-
guilt—truly bring home this message and highlight the tation—“cold and bleak” by the composer’s own admis-
sadness and injustice of the events. Finally, the forward sion.19 The expansion upward of an octave from F to F
propulsion of the narrative to its inevitable, sad climax is musically depicts this journey and transfiguration while

building dramatic tension before a final resolution back NOTES

to the lower F. The use of tempo and of these tonal cen-
1
ters to achieve coherency is largely successful, and Lang Lawrence Schenbeck, “Innovative new American sacred works:
creates a linear narrative that is relentless in its forward David Lang, the little match girl passion; Phil Kline, John
progression. His use of the germinal cell in the recitative the Revelator; Kile Smith, Vespers,” Choral Journal 50, no. 7
movements further serves to create this coherency and (February 2010): 76.
2
Joshua Shank, “David Lang’s the little match girl passion: Reportage
suggest a sense of timelessness.
and Emotionality” (paper presented at Contemporary Styles
In the chorales, Lang’s adaptation of Picander’s texts
and Techniques Class, University of Texas, 2012).
effectively draws the listener into the narrative while 3
Jayson Green, “David Lang—Little Match Girl Passion,” Pitchfork
stripping away the religiously specific terminology of the (January 15, 2010). Accessed October 28, 2014. http://
Christian faith. If Brahms strove to deliver a “Human pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/13775-the-little-match-girl-
Requiem,” Lang strives to deliver a “Human Passion” passion/
like so many others before him. The response from audi- 4
Molly Sheridan, “Sounds Heard: David Lang—The Little Match
ences and critics the world over would suggest that he has Girl Passion,” New Music Box (June 8, 2009). Accessed October
succeeded in this task. 28, 2014. http://www.newmusicbox.org/articles/Sounds-
Lang’s work most importantly confronts audiences Heard-David-Lang-the-little-match-girl-passion/
5
with difficult themes in a compelling way that renders Reed Johnson, “David Lang’s Divine Pursuit: ‘The Little Match
them impossible to look away. In the current societal and Girl Passion,’” Los Angeles Times (January 16, 2011). Accessed
political climate with its renewed emphasis on issues of October 28, 2014. http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jan/16/
entertainment/la-ca-little-match-girl-20110116/
inequality, inclusivity, and social justice, the little match girl 6
Ibid.
passion stands apart as a choral composition that effectively 7
Tom Huizenga, “David Lang wins Music Pulitzer,” NPR Music
addresses these issues in a thoughtful way. It might further
(April 7, 2008). Accessed October 28, 2014. http://www.npr.
inspire conductors to seek other ways to engage singers org/2011/01/24/89442735/david-lang-wins-music-pulitzer/
and audiences with these important themes, be it through 8
David Lang Music. Official website. Accessed October 28, 2014.
intentional pairing decisions with Lang’s composition or http://davidlangmusic.com/about/bio/.
other unrelated programming choices. Furthermore, the 9
David Lang, “program note: the little match girl passion (for
little match girl passion has a proven track record of moving chorus),” (2008). Accessed October 28, 2014. http://
those who encounter it—across various demograph- davidlangmusic.com/music/little-match-girl-passion-for-
ics—with its unique message. The increasing amount of chorus/
10
performances of the little match girl passion, nearly a decade Ibid.
11
after its premiere, might be an indication of its potential David Lang, CD liner notes, the little match girl passion, Harmonia
for prosperity and inclusion in the hallowed choral canon Mundi, HMU 807496, 2009.
12
David Lang, interview with the author, SoHo, New York City, NY,
in future years. In the meantime, it should certainly be
March 18, 2014.
recognized and celebrated as one of the twenty-first cen- 13
Ibid.
tury’s foremost choral works. 14
Ibid.
15
Joshua Shank, “David Lang’s the little match girl passion: Reportage
and Emotionality,” 5.
16
David Lang, “program note.”
17
Ibid.
18
David Lang, CD liner note.
19
Ibid.

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A SYMPOSIUM BRINGS
RESEARCH TO LIFE
THROUGH
CHORAL PERFORMANCE
V i c t o r V. B o b e t s k y
New York City Public School students and members of the

Nubian Conservatory of Music Concert Choir
Victor V. Bobetsky
Associate Professor of Music Education
Hunter College of the City
University of New York
victor.bobetsky@hunter.cuny.edu

T
he following
article describes a
symposium where
public school music teachers,
elementary and high school
choral students, college
music education students,
community singers, guest
speakers, and other college
students and faculty spent
a day on a college campus
learning about the origins
and ancestry of the song
“We Shall Overcome”
and performing some of
its antecedent songs. The
author will explain how and
why the origins and ancestry
of “We Shall Overcome”
were selected as the topic for
the symposium, summarize
the research and related
activities leading to the
creation and presentation of
the symposium, and describe
the process of collaboration
that took place. Finally, the
author will explain how this
event reflected educational
practices articulated by John
Dewey and Jerome Bruner
and how it provided a unique
opportunity to implement
aspects of the new National
Core Music Standards.

A SYMPOSIUM BRINGS RESEARCH TO
Selection of Topic notated later. Figure 1 lists all seven songs, summarizes
The idea for this project came from prior research con- what is known about their origin, and cites sources where
ducted through the Library of Congress. The coordinator the words and music have been found.
had been interested in creating a choral arrangement of After digesting the current scholarship regarding the
“We Shall Overcome” and wanted to identify any and origins of “We Shall Overcome,” examining the seven
all potential copyright holders. The Library of Congress potential antecedent songs, and learning more about the
conducted a certified search resulting in an official written composers and arrangers, the coordinator prepared the
report containing information about the recognized copy- necessary information for a visual display. With the help
right holder, the song’s history, and further details about of a student assistant, these ideas were transformed into
other published songs with similar titles. Learning more a colorful power point poster depicting the ancestry of
about these and other songs and their possible influence “We Shall Overcome” in the form of a family tree. One
on “We Shall Overcome” would make for an intriguing branch represented the music and another, the text. The
project that would heighten awareness of the history of left side of the poster contained excerpts from those songs
African American music in general and demonstrate the whose melodic, harmonic, or rhythmic ideas may have
influence of early freedom songs and gospel hymns on the influenced the music of “We Shall Overcome.” The right
“We Shall Overcome” that is sung today. side contained excerpts of lyrics from those songs whose
words bear a close resemblance. The poster became the
focus of a presentation delivered by the coordinator at
Research and Related Activities the 2013 Organization of American Kodály Educators
The research process included reviewing the literature National Conference.
to determine what is currently known about the potential
antecedent songs of “We Shall Overcome,” examining the
musical scores, learning about the composers and arrang- Preparing for and Creating the Symposium
ers associated with some of these songs, formulating an As the research progressed, the author thought about
interpretation of the ancestry of the song that connected how this material might be presented to as diverse an audi-
what is already known with additional information that ence as possible. One strategy might be to invite area high
has not been part of the traditional commentary, and school choruses to visit and perform arrangements of the
disseminating the results of this research. antecedent songs for an audience of college music majors.
A review of the literature revealed that scholars have However, that alone seemed too restrictive. It seemed best
identified seven antecedent songs, portions of whose to create and present a symposium based on the origins
words and/or music may have influenced “We Shall and ancestry of “We Shall Overcome.” A symposium
Overcome.” (For a more detailed description of the could feature visiting student choruses performing the
research, see “The Complex Ancestry of ‘We Shall antecedent songs and guest speakers who could contribute
Overcome,’” Choral Journal 54, no, 7.) The next step of their expertise to the topic. The interaction that could
the process involved locating and examining the musical take place between these groups, the involvement of the
scores. Two highlights of this phase of the research audience in group singing, and the use of a college recital
consisted of on-site visits to New York City’s General hall as the physical setting would constitute an experience
Theological Seminary in Chelsea and to the Special reflecting the educational philosophy of John Dewey, who
Collections Division of the Schomburg Center for believed that “educators should know how to utilize the
Research in Black Culture in Harlem. The coordinator surroundings, physical and social, that exist so as to extract
discovered that three of the seven antecedent songs from them all that they have to contribute to building up
were written by individual composers and arrangers. worthwhile experiences.”1
The remaining four are not attributed to any specific What groups of people would benefit from attend-
composers but were transmitted by oral tradition and ing this event? Certainly the college music majors and

LIFE THROUGH CHORAL PERFORMANCE
music education students would profit from seeing how a recording of the entire event. The coordinator also hired
topic such as this can be developed and presented. The a professional videographer.
music education students would learn a great deal from The program for the symposium would include two
watching and hearing local elementary and high school morning speakers, an hour for lunch for the attendees,
choruses perform the songs. The public school students choral performances from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., and
and their teachers would learn about the background of two afternoon speakers. It seemed wise to offer the lunch
a famous song and have the experience of performing to the attendees in one location on campus in order to
in a college auditorium for a new audience. In order to insure that everyone would be able to eat and return to
involve additional public school music teachers, the coor- the auditorium in time for the 1:00 performances. The on-
dinator contacted the school district’s director of music campus dining service could provide a box lunch; several
and arranged for a selected number of Pre-K through music education students escorted the participants to and
12 music teachers to attend the symposium in return for from the dining area.
professional development credit. It was determined that
the symposium would also be open to the general public,
and the event was advertised throughout the college and Identifying and Scheduling Guest Speakers
in the local media. With the cooperation of the music The task remained to identify potential guest speakers
department chair, the recital hall was reserved for the whose background and experience would intersect and
symposium on a weekday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The enrich the symposium’s topic in various ways. The coordi-
department’s sound engineer agreed to make an audio nator found a writer who had extensively interviewed the
Figure 1. “We Shall Overcome”: Seven Potential Antecedent Songs
Title Composer Date of Publication
O Sanctissima also known as the Unknown 1792 in The European Magazine and Review
Sicilian Mariners’ Hymn
No More Auction Block Unknown 1915 in Jubilee and Plantation Songs:

(Many Thousand Gone) Characteristic Favorites as sung by the Hampton
Students Jubilee Singers, Fisk University Students,
and Other Concert Companies
This World Is One Great Battlefield Rev. Charles Albert Tindley 1901 in New Songs of the Gospel
(I’ll Overcome Some Day)
I’ll Be Like Him Someday Roberta Evelyn Martin 1945 by Roberta Martin Music
(pseudonym Faye E. Brown)
I’ll Be All Right Unknown Transcription printed 1960 in A. Lomax,

Folksongs of North America
I Will Overcome Unknown Transcription printed 1960 in A. Lomax,

Folksongs of North America
I’ll Overcome Someday Words by Atron Twig, 1945 by Martin and Morris Studio of Music
Music by Kenneth Morris

late Pete Seeger and who was willing to give a presenta- symposium constituted significant community involve-
tion on Seeger’s role in the genesis of “We Shall Over- ment. The coordinator, teachers, and the conductor of
come.” Colleagues recommended a scholar with strong the conservatory choir worked together to plan the con-
research interests in African American music who gave cert program and assigned the various songs to different
a presentation about the music of Tindley, coached over combinations of performing groups. The coordinator
seventy choral students in a performance of Tindley’s visited the schools to speak with the students and moni-
“I’ll Overcome Some Day,” and taught the folk song,
“I’ll Be All Right”—another antecedent of “We Shall
Overcome”—to everyone on stage and in the audience.
The director of a community conservatory of music’s
Order of Activities at the Symposium
concert choir gave a lecture-demonstration emphasizing
authentic performance practice of African American
REGISTRATION (9:30-10:00 AM)
spirituals. Finally, a doctoral student gave a presenta-
tion focusing on the labor movement’s appropriation
INTRODUCTION AND WELCOME (10:00 AM)
and transmutation of African American characteristics
Professor Bobetsky
found in the gospel lineage of “We Shall Overcome.”
SESSION ONE (10:10-10:45 AM)

Student Assistants Folk Song in Flight: Pete Seeger and the Genesis of
The coordinator needed help in preparing for the “We Shall Overcome”
symposium and wanted to involve music education Presenter: Sam A. Rosenthal
students in the project. The music department hired
one student assistant to be paid through a department SESSION TWO (11:00-11:40 AM)
stipend. The assistant helped the coordinator print and Reverend Charles Albert Tindley and The Gospel Hymn
Presenter: Dr. Tyron Cooper
post flyers for the event, prepare the printed program,
coordinate details and logistics involving the lunch,
LUNCH BREAK (11:45-12:45 AM)
prepare a power point poster depicting the ancestry
and origins of “We Shall Overcome,” and assemble a
STUDENT PERFORMANCES (1:00-2:00 pm)
written CD of the proceedings after the symposium had
Featuring: The PS 124 Glee Club, Leadership and
concluded. Another student maintained an attendance
record of symposium attendees and served as a greeter Public Service High School Chorus, Talent Unlimited
for guests. Intermediate Mixed Chorus, and The Nubian

Conservatory of Music Concert Choir
Collaborating with the Schools, School District SESSION THREE (2:15-2:55 PM)
Offices, and Community Organizations The Spiritual
The coordinator spoke with music teachers who were Presenter: Edward Harrison Gordon
serving as cooperating teachers for the college to see who
might be interested in participating in the symposium. SESSION FOUR (2:55-3:30 PM)
Two of the high school cooperating teachers expressed The Missing Blue Note: Transmutation and
a desire to become involved. A recent graduate of Appropriation from the Gospel Lineage of
the music education program was invited to bring his ‘We Shall Overcome’
elementary school chorus to help open and close the Presenter: Andrew Aprile
program with an arrangement of “We Shall Overcome.”
A community conservatory choir’s participation in the

tor progress, worked with the district director of music to Assessing the Results of the Symposium
provide professional development credit for music teach- We can document the impact of this symposium using
ers attending the symposium, and made the community the model of an event study if we focus attention on each
aware of the event. The program for the concert portion distinct group of participants, summarize each group’s
of the symposium is displayed below. experience, identify what each group learned as a result of
their involvement in this event, and articulate the impact
Performances at the Symposium
We Shall Overcome (arr. Bobetsky)………………………………………….……. PS 124 Glee Club, Ryan Olsen, Conductor
O Sanctissima (traditional Italian)…………………………………Trio from Leadership and Public Service High School Chorus
Lord Dismiss Us with Thy Blessing (Fawcett)…………………………………Talent Unlimited Intermediate Mixed Chorus,
(English adaptation of O Sanctissima) Leadership and Public Service High School Chorus,
Edward Harrison Gordon, Conductor
No More Auction Block (traditional)…………………………………………… Nubian Conservatory of Music Concert Choir

Edward Harrison Gordon, Conductor
This World is One Great Battlefield (Rev. Charles Albert Tindley)……… Talent Unlimited Intermediate Mixed Chorus,
Leadership and Public Service High School Chorus,
Erin Young, Conductor
I’ll Be All Right (traditional)……..……………………………………………Taught to singers and audience by Dr. Tyron Cooper
I’ll Be Like Him (Roberta Martin)…………………………………………… Leadership and Public Service High School Chorus,
Nubian Conservatory of Music Concert Choir,
Jules Hollander, Conductor
I’ll Overcome Someday (Kenneth Morris/Atron Twig) ……………………Leadership and Public Service High School Chorus,
Nubian Conservatory of Music Concert Choir,
Sara Mitchell, Conductor
We Shall Overcome (Reprise)…………………………………………………………………………Combined Choirs and Audience

the symposium had on their personal and professional

lives. The methodologies employed included observation
of the attendees’ participation, interviews, and the audio
and video recordings of the event.
The Elementary Choral Students

and Their Music Teacher
The elementary school glee club learned and per-
formed an arrangement of “We Shall Overcome” as the
opening number in the concert, participated in learning
and singing the antecedent song “I’ll Be All Right,” and
returned to the stage to lead the audience in a reprise of
“We Shall Overcome” at the close of the event. According The Nubian Conservatory of Music Concert Choir;
to their director, many of these children had never seen Edward Harrison Gordon, Director
a college campus before, and this alone made their visit
a momentous experience. In addition, these fourth and ing the symposium, these same students participated in
fifth graders usually perform pop songs in unison. The a coaching session focusing on Tindley’s “I’ll Overcome
opportunity to learn and perform an arrangement of Some Day” given by one of the presenters, who reviewed
“We Shall Overcome” in two-part harmony on a college the social context of the words and explained how the
recital stage and to listen to other, older student perform- hymn would likely have been performed in its time with
ing groups enabled the director to motivate the children improvised solos on the verses and everyone joining in on
in a different way. As he taught the arrangement, the the chorus. Several student volunteers received opportu-
director also incorporated supplemental instruction about nities to bring this older performance practice to life by
the Civil Rights Movement, something that the students trying out the role of soloist with everyone else joining in
didn’t know that much about.2 The elementary students on the chorus.
also learned that performers need to be flexible. Many
things needed to be refined during the short rehearsal
prior to the concert. These young singers behaved like The Student Teachers
pros and received a spontaneous ovation from their older The student teachers assigned to two of the participat-
peers at one point in the rehearsal. ing high schools had the wonderful experience of learning
new repertoire, teaching it to their students, and serving as
featured conductors. While student teachers do ordinarily
The High School Students work with and conduct performing groups as part of their
Students from two high school choirs participated in duties, preparing for this symposium took extra effort and
performing four of the antecedent songs: “O Sanctissi- courage. The combined number of high school and adult
ma,” Tindley’s “I’ll Overcome Some Day,” Roberta Mar- singers on stage averaged seventy to eighty. In addition,
tin’s “I’ll Be Like Him Someday,” and Kenneth Morris’s although everyone had learned the material, the singers
“I’ll Overcome Someday.” The coordinator visited the were only able to rehearse as a combined group for an
schools, listened to the students rehearse the material, and hour before the concert. But the student teachers learned
provided them with background information about Tind- their material well, worked within the time constraints,
ley, Martin, and Morris. The students were interested in and made it look easy!
these composers’ lives and in how their hymns expressed One of the student teachers remembered doing re-
hopes of overcoming economic and social obstacles. Dur- search on the songs in order to communicate a sense

He felt that “putting the song in context allows for a more

personal understanding of how the song could be sung.”3
Another student teacher recalled how much her stu-
dents enjoyed singing with other high school students
and dedicated adult choristers and how “the spirit of this
music and its message inspired these very talented students
to produce such a beautiful sound.” She added, “The
students made a conscious choice to collectively elevate
their musical performance to match the scholarly tone of
the symposium.”4
Both of the student teachers found conducting a com-
Ryan Olsen and the PS 124 Glee Club lead the other singers in an bined choir of over seventy students to be an exciting
opening performance of “We Shall Overcome.” challenge and “a unique opportunity to see what worked,
how it worked, what didn’t work, and why.”5 The sym-
of their background and history to his students during posium provided these student teachers with a powerful
rehearsals. His goal was for the students to understand professional development experience.
what the songs meant to the people who first sang them.
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The Community Conservatory Concert Choir

The community conservatory’s concert choir per-
formed “No More Auction Block for Me,” led a lecture
demonstration on the authentic performance of African
American spirituals, and participated in singing all of the
other antecedent songs during the concert. Their director
recalls, “It was a wonderful opportunity for the members
of the concert choir to observe other choirs and interact
with students from other choirs. The students said that it
felt good to be appreciated by members of other choirs.”6
The Attendees
The attendees at the symposium consisted primarily Victor Bobetsky with music education
of New York City public school music teachers receiving student assistant Alena Schneider.
professional development credit, college students and
faculty, and other music educators. The teachers felt that
this was a particularly valuable professional development
experience that could have an immediate and practical
effect on their instructional style. One teacher said, “This
professional development was unique because you could
see the finished product on stage… By tracing the origins
of ‘We Shall Overcome,’ music educators can explore the
song’s rich musical and historical context.” She added
that “this approach can be applied to any music that we
teach.”7
The college students and faculty were equally enthused.
One music education student said, “I think the biggest Dr. Tyron Cooper (front) leads group singing.
takeaway was the sense of community that was present at
the event… It was a great experience to see everyone sing-
ing as a group and listening intently to the stories behind Summary
the music.”8 A performance faculty member recalls, “We “We Shall Overcome”: A Symposium resulted in en-
were called upon as a group to become an impromptu hanced learning on the part of all participants and attend-
choir,” and describes the group singing as “a remarkably ees and successfully applied elements of learning theories
effective and interactive way to personalize the topic.”9 articulated by two great educational thinkers: John Dewey
The college music librarian and bibliographer em- and Jerome Bruner. Dewey advocated an experiential ap-
phasized the effectiveness of using the college facilities proach to education; as part of the symposium, everyone
as a catalyst to bring all of these different groups of was actively learning by doing.11 Jerome Bruner believed
participants together. She added, “Since I know there’s a that it is possible to teach any topic to anyone as long as
lot of emphasis on getting urban public school students the teaching is tailored to the learners’ age, abilities, and
introduced to the academic environment in the hope that prior knowledge.12 Throughout this symposium, active
they will feel comfortable there, I was especially impressed learning took place at every level: public school students
at this creative way of bringing them to campus.”10 and their teachers, college student teachers and alumni,
the community conservatory of music’s concert choir,

ing musical ideas and works to varied contexts and daily

life in order to deepen understanding.14 Participants in the
symposium learned that “We Shall Overcome” has been
used throughout history in varied contexts: as a hymn, a
labor song, a protest song, and a civil rights anthem. Stu-
dents made connections between the message of the song,
their own daily lives, and our nation’s history. These con-
nections enriched the process of learning and performing
“We Shall Overcome” and its antecedent songs.
There is great potential for replicating this type of
Edward Harrison Gordon presents a lecture-demonstration event for many other topics of general interest. The
on African American spirituals. road to success lies in careful collaboration and planning
among the key institutions and individuals. The event can
be held at a college, a public school, a library, a museum,
or any other type of community cultural center. It is
tremendously rewarding to witness the learning that can
take place and the excitement it creates.
Author’s note: This article includes material excerpted

from Chapter 6, “The Making of a Symposium,” in We
Shall Overcome: Essays on a Great American Song, ed. Victor V.
Bobetsky (Latham MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2015),
and from Bobetsky, “The Complex Ancestry of We Shall
Overcome,” Choral Journal 54, no, 7.
Ryan Olsen and the PS 124 Glee Club lead the other singers in a
final reprise of “We Shall Overcome.”
NOTES
teachers from the school district and beyond attending
1
in order to earn professional development credit, session John Dewey, Experience and Education (New York: Macmillan, 1938),
presenters, college students and faculty, and the coordina- 35.
2
tor himself. Ryan Olsen, Personal Interview. June 17, 2014.
3
Jules Hollander, Personal Interview. June 18, 2014.
Participants in this symposium also engaged in activi- 4
Erin Young, Personal Interview. June 20, 2014.
ties that are strongly aligned with the new National Core 5
Hollander, Personal Interview.
Standards for Music. For example, Common Anchor #10 6
Edward Harrison Gordon, Personal Interview. June 23, 2014.
emphasizes the importance of synthesizing and relating 7
Joanne Lok, Personal Interview. June 22, 2014.
knowledge and personal experience to make music.13 8
Steven Salvatore, Personal Interview. June 20, 2014.
The origins and ancestry of “We Shall Overcome” is a 9
Sara Overholt, Personal Interview. June 18, 2014.
topic that has universal appeal. People are familiar with 10
Patricia Woodard, Personal Interview. June 20, 2014.
the song and can associate it with significant moments in 11
Dewey, Experience and Education.
American history such as the 1963 March on Washing- 12
Jerome Bruner, Toward a Theory of Instruction (Cambridge, MA:
ton. Drawing on this knowledge and experience made Harvard University Press, 1966), 44.
13
the study and performance activities of the symposium National Core Arts Standards: A Conceptual Framework for Arts Learning,
especially meaningful. 2014 (http//nccas.wikispaces.com/Conceptual+Framework).
14
Common Anchor #11 of the standards refers to relat- Ibid.

JENNIFER ALARCON
NOTES Years Teaching: 6

Southwest Division
Director of Choirs,
Blalack Middle School
FOR alarconj@cfbisd.edu
SUCCESS
(PART 3)
ELIZABETH BATEY
Years Teaching: 9
A DVICE FOR THE Northwestern Division
Director of Choral Activities,
F IRST -Y EAR Sawtooth Middle School
Idaho ACDA JH/MS R&S Chair
C HORAL T EACHER Batey.Elizabeth@westada.org
Compiled by
Amanda Bumgarner,
Choral Journal editor
DESIREE BONDLEY
Years Teaching: 11
North Central Division
Choir Director, Wachter Middle School
West Region Choral Representative,
North Dakota MEA
desiree_bondley@bismarckschools.org
“It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken

joy in creative expression and knowledge.”
—Albert Einstein

SETH BOYD JENNIFER SENGIN
Years Teaching: 9 Years Teaching: 5
North Central Division Eastern Division
Elementary School Teacher, Director of Choirs,
Minnetonka Public Schools East Brunswick High School
seth.boyd@minnetonka.k12.mn.us jennifersengin@gmail.com
DAVID BURTON PHILIP SILVEY

Northwestern Division Eastern Division
Choral Director, Boise High School Assistant Professor of Music Education,
Idaho Music Educators Eastman School of Music
District III Vice President philipesilvey@gmail.com
Idaho ACDA Ethnic &
Multicultural Choirs R&S Chair
david.burton@boiseschools.org
DARLA ESHELMAN JACOB TRUBY

Southwestern Division North Central Division
Oklahoma ACDA Vice President Vocal Music Teacher,
Professor of Music Education & Beloit Memorial High School
Coordinator for Vocal Music Education, jtruby@sdb.k12.wi.us
University of Central Oklahoma
deshelman@uco.edu
ELIZABETH MCFARLAND BRANDON WILLIAMS

Southwestern Division Central Division
Division R&S Chair for DMA Student in Choral Conducting,
Youth & Student Activities Michigan State University
Deputy Director, will2570@msu.edu
The St. Louis Children’s Choirs
PhD Candidate in Music Education,
The University of Missouri
elizabeth@slccsing.org

NOTES FOR SUCCESS (PART 3)
After years of school and at least one semester of stu- It is the editor’s hope that this article is encouraging,
dent teaching, choral education majors make the transi- inspiring, and most importantly helpful to Choral Journal
tion from student to full-time teacher of their own choral readers who are in their first few years of teaching. Of
classroom. As the excitement and anticipation of a new course, educators with a decade or more of experience
school year intersect with the fear of all the unknowns will likely still enjoy reading the comments of their col-
for the months ahead, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed. leagues and perhaps even be inspired and encouraged
This three-part article is a first for the Choral Journal: themselves.
eleven choral teachers with decades of teaching experi-
ence between them answer ten questions on topics geared
specifically to the concerns of a first-year teacher. Each QUESTION #7:
question has answers from at least four and no more than
six respondents, and answers are listed in alphabetical Organization
order by last name. Parts 1 and 2 (May and August 2015
issues, respectively) addressed: How do I stay organized when conducting
multiple choirs? How do I recruit students to
#1: Setting Expectations for the First Year my choral program?
#2: Classroom Management and Structuring

Rehearsals
Jennifer Alarcon
#3: Balancing a Successful Work and Home Life
Conducting multiple choirs can present
#4: Dealing with First-Year Surprises challenges because you always have to be
evaluating each group’s needs. It can be
#5: Relating Choir to Other Subjects/Activities valuable to make rehearsal plans and quickly write some
notes regarding the rehearsal as the students are leaving
#6: Assessment in the Classroom your classroom. The school day can be full of ups and
downs, but at the end of the day you have documented
This third and final part will answer the following ques- where you need to start the next day. Have short-term
tions: music and skills goals (weekly) and long-term music and
skills goals (grading period or concert unit). These goals
#7: Organization will help you make forward progress with your singers.
How do I stay organized when conducting multiple It is important for the choral program to have a positive
choirs? How do I recruit students to my choral program? and successful reputation in your school and community.
It is also true that building relationships with your students
#8: Repertoire can be what encourages them to stay in choir. Maya
Where can I find quality repertoire for the skill/size/bal- Angelou’s words of wisdom remind us that “people will
ance of my choir? never forget how you made them feel.” Light up when you
are greeting your students, get excited when they have a
#9: Voice Building singing break-through, and most importantly, and possibly
How do I build a strong choral sound in my choir? the most challenging, get out of your classroom and get
to know the students in your school.
#10: Resources for New Teachers
Where can I go for help?

A DVICE FOR THE F IRST -Y EAR C HORAL T EACHER
Elizabeth Batey Do not be afraid to challenge your students. There are

days where they complain, but deep down they love that
Planning and organization are essential for the ensemble is becoming better. My choirs sight-sing
maintaining a choral program. However, a daily with hand signs. On Mondays we work on music
very wise and successful choral director once theory; Tuesdays, ear training; Wednesdays, music his-
told me, “Students don’t join choir for the music; they join tory; Thursdays, body percussion; and on Fridays, I quiz
it for the choir director.” I think it is a combination of them on everything they learned that week. Sometimes
both that has made my programs successful. My person- it’s written, sometimes it’s a game, but our overall music
ality is inviting and infectious to middle school students. literacy is through the roof for a middle school choir. I
I am weird, I am funny, I am warm, I am genuine, I am appreciate the time I don’t have to spend in class talking
unapologetic, and I am welcoming to every student who about how to read our parts.
walks into the choir room. Students who are not in choir
come in before school, after school, and on breaks to sing
with their friends. Most of the time, those students are in Jennifer Sengin
my class by the next semester. It is the environment of be-
ing welcome along with the permission to make mistakes Organization will be one of the keys to a suc-
and of being a part of something bigger than yourself cessful first year of teaching. It is challenging
that draws students into the classroom. to manage multiple choirs, large numbers of
Keeping your students interested and engaged while students, and various performance demands. Choir direc-
teaching them essential skills they will need for high school tors must be detail oriented and think through each aspect
is the more difficult task. This is where planning and orga- of the class, event, activity, and performance in order for
nization comes into play. I sit down at the beginning of the these experiences to be successful. Make lists of things
year and outline what I think my concerts will look like, you need to do in order to stay organized and carve out
including the music that I think my students will be able to time in your schedule to complete each task on the list.
sing—challenging but not too hard—based on their skill When you are planning a performance, think through all
level last year. I plan a variety of music from around the of the required materials. For example, create a concert
world from as many time periods as I can include, and I program that includes piece titles, composers/arrangers,
also incorporate cross-curricular elements. ensemble names, ensemble rosters, vocal soloists, pianists,
We must always consider the grade level at which we performers on any additional instruments, administrators
teach when we plan our repertoire. My middle school (both school and district), sound and lighting technicians,
choirs need to have something they consider fun to sing and music teacher colleagues. Allow enough time to work
at every concert. This does not mean that I find a song through all the details for the printed program and the
they like and waste time in class; in fact, it becomes the actual performance to avoid scrambling at the last minute.
opposite. Planning for fun songs that are musically worth- In the ensemble roster, make sure to acknowledge students
while challenges me as a music educator. On the other end who have been accepted to various honor choirs. Print
of the spectrum, it is important to make sure that your these rosters out several weeks in advance and ask students
students are singing quality repertoire that works for their to check spellings and initial by their names.
ensemble. The key is that it works for your ensemble. For Organize classroom materials in some sort of filing
the first couple of years of my teaching career, I made system so students can easily find their folders and other
the mistake of trying to do what I thought I was sup- class resources. Sort repertoire into student folders prior
posed to do. I watched my fellow choral directors, and I to the start of school. Although organizing student fold-
copied them. Unfortunately, I did not have their choirs, ers may be tedious, doing this ahead of time allows for
and what worked for them did not work for me. Learning instruction to begin immediately without the chaos of
from others is not a bad thing, but you ultimately need to music distribution. Set up the physical classroom before
find what works for you. students arrive. This will be challenging if you share a

space with another teacher, but an organized classroom have more freedom to institute changes. You will also
will allow for more efficient rehearsals since no time is have some work to do. Again, the history and culture can
wasted moving furniture. reveal why the program is not larger or more successful.
Another helpful tip is to create a hanging file system in Research this early by asking questions of your prede-
your classroom where you can store extra copies of hand- cessor (if possible), the other music teachers, non-music
outs, choral calendars, permission slips, discipline referral teachers, the principal, and parents. Tread carefully, since
forms, tardy slips, and any other materials you may need you will be building relationships of trust. Your curiosity
to access easily in the middle of class. Keep all of your should not come across as a desire to criticize or judge.
marked scores in one binder with dividers to separate You simply want to know how things have been done so
each choir. Study the repertoire for each ensemble prior that you can build on this history in an informed way.
to the start of the school year. It will be hard to find the You may be a gifted salesperson or recruiter, but the
time to do this detailed work once you are already involved quality of your work (public performances) and the cul-
in teaching. Score study ensures efficient and effective ture of your rehearsals (as perceived by students in your
rehearsals, so make the time to do it. classroom who will share their experiences with family,
As far as recruiting, take every opportunity to engage peers, and teachers) will speak loudly on your behalf and
students throughout the school. Greet everyone you see in attract students. You can also actively recruit students by
the hallway and travel to your feeder schools to talk about talking to them in the hallways, posting notices, or utilizing
choral opportunities in your school. Visit other classrooms school-wide announcements. To introduce a new choir
or the lunchroom to introduce yourself to students. You into the curriculum can be difficult, since it will impact
are the best advocate for your program. scheduling and your workload. Talk to the principal and
guidance counselors to find out the procedures for doing
this.
Philip Silvey My first year of full-time teaching, I taught in a Class
B public school that graduated around 230 students per
It may require some work to build the pro- year. When I arrived, the high school choir had been re-
gram at your first job. You may want to induced to one seventeen-member ensemble. The curricu-
crease enrollment, add choirs, introduce new lum had included three high school choirs in the recent
genres of repertoire, and raise the level of performances. past, but two had been eliminated as a way to consolidate
On the other hand, you may be replacing the director of a music positions in the district (my assignment included
strong, successful program. Each scenario has challenges, junior high and elementary teaching). In order to reinstate
but building a program from the ground up allows you these choirs, I had to demonstrate that students wanted
more freedom to structure the program you envision. If to join; however, because the classes were not listed as
you do take over a strong program (which in all likeli- options in the course catalog, no students could sign up
hood was set up by a strong leader), be sure to respect the to show their interest—a classic catch 22.
program and recognize the work it took to establish and In the fall, I used school records to collect the names
maintain it. Seek to understand the history and culture of and phone numbers of all high school students who had
the current practices and expectations. To alter these will participated in choir at any time during junior high. I
take time, patience, and diplomacy. As talented and as full obtained permission to start a choir “club” that would
of ideas as you may be, you are the outsider. Take time to meet one evening each week. I called and invited each
gather information and gain a firm understanding of why student on the list to consider joining and gathered
things are the way they are. You can more effectively steer enough students to make this happen. This group served
the ship in new directions if you win over the students, to demonstrate sufficient interest for the principal and
especially the underclassmen who will be around for ad- guidance counselors to agree to add one choir back into
ditional years as you phase in new policies and initiatives. the formal schedule for the spring. The following year, a
If you inherit an under-developed program, you will third choir was reinstated. In order for this to happen, I

had to teach without a planning period for a couple of Seth Boyd

years (for which I was compensated according to union re-
quirements). My story illustrates that sometimes you may Finding quality repertoire is very time con-
have to volunteer your time and services to demonstrate suming for me. My choirs are all extremely
a need for an additional choir. young, and there is not a lot of material out
Again, do quality work with what you have, look for there targeted at beginning singers. That said, there are
opportunities to showcase this work publicly (pep rallies, some real gems if you know where to look. Find a music
homecoming events), and the word will get out. If you do store that carries a lot of sheet music in its library and look
this, you will not need to “sell” your program—the quality through songs. Before each year, I go into JW Pepper’s
of your work will speak for itself. store in Minneapolis and pour through the songs in their
library. I can look at every page of every song, and be-
cause of this, I can find music that my choirs can perform,
QUESTION #8: some of which I might never have found by searching
specifically online. Many times, websites will not have full
Repertoire copies of songs available to peruse, which makes it hard
to know if your choir can handle a particular piece. Until
Where can I find quality repertoire for the publishers feel comfortable posting entire songs online, I
skill/size/balance of my choir? think looking at the songs in person is a much better op-
tion than trolling through websites with partial examples.
Music conventions run by ACDA and NAfME almost
always have choral reading sessions. These are fabulous,
Jennifer Alarcon because songs are usually selected by experienced choral
directors; sometimes they offer rehearsal tips, and you get
ACDA has an incredible amount of resourc- to sing through the music and experience what it feels like
es to help you select music for your choirs. to perform the song. Often you walk away with a free copy
Reach out to your divisional and national of the music too! This is a great way for younger directors
R&S chair regarding your needs. Additionally, make use to expose themselves to high-quality music.
of state contest lists such as the Texas Prescribed Music
List. These lists have been governed by committees and
the literature has been deemed valuable by experienced Philip Silvey
directors. Additionally, the Cambiata Institute has a
wealth of resources for the changing male voice. There are No decision you make as a choral music
even videos to help you classify boys’ voices and repertoire educator has greater ramifications than the
lists for various voicings. repertoire you choose for your ensembles.
Finally, think outside of the box and use your skills To determine the quality and appropriateness of your
from music theory. Is there a folk song or melody that choices, subject each piece you consider to rigorous re-
you can arrange to fit the voicing make-up of your choir? view. The book Shaping Sound Musicians (O’Toole, 2003)
Perhaps there is an SA piece that would be great but you lists nine criteria to gauge whether a composition has
need to arrange to add for some baritones. Be creative artistic merit: uniqueness, form, design, unpredictability,
and remember that you always want your singers to feel depth, consistency, orchestration/voicing, text, and tran-
comfortable and confident in what they sing. scendence. Goetze, Broeker, and Boshkoff (2009) offer six
criteria for examining potential repertoire for younger
choirs: text, singability, form, part-writing techniques,
accompaniment, and pedagogical implications. Use these
categories or create your own, but thoroughly examine all

aspects of any piece you consider programming. Concerts are the outwardly visible manifestation of
Second, know your singers and their abilities. Match your efforts—the public face of your program. Every de-
the compositions that pass your pre-screening process tail needs to demonstrate your commitment to excellence.
with the unique characteristics and particular needs of Plan carefully for advertising (posters), printed programs,
each choir. Many excellent pieces of music make unsuc- decorations, sound system, ushers, performance attire,
cessful choices if poorly matched to a choir insufficiently and keep students informed of expectations well in ad-
equipped to perform them. Consider this “goodness of vance. Speak to the audience intermittently during the
fit,” customizing each selection to a specific choir. Last, performance to make that connection, but keep it brief.
choose a set of pieces for each concert that provide variety
and balance. Consider style, tempo, and key to ensure
the collection of pieces works together as an appealing set Jacob Truby
for students and the audience. Short and varied programs
work best. Even with all the resources available to docu-
Once you have settled on your choices, remember that ment choral repertoire, I still find it to be a
your students might initially resist the new and unknown. challenge to program appropriate music for
You will artfully introduce them to these new experiences kids. Every summer before the school year begins, I put
and help them grow to value unfamiliar kinds of music. together a repertoire spreadsheet for the whole year, and
Your students will also have favorites, but these will vary every year I abandon it by the end of the first concert. It
across the individuals in the choir. Ultimately, choose can be difficult to anticipate the ability level of ensembles
music they will sound good singing. Inherent value arises you may have never heard before.
when students hear how good they sound, especially if it’s What I find comforting is how many different direc-
a piece they didn’t think they would like. tions one can go to get assistance in planning educational,
Discovering repertoire takes a lifetime. Never stop appropriate repertoire. I love seeing questions on the
“shopping” for new pieces. Every time you hear a choral ACDA Facebook page pop up in my newsfeed in regard
performance or listen to works online, make note of the to repertoire, classroom management, etc., and see a
compositions that succeed when sung by school-age sing- plethora of comments and responses for each question.
ers. Obtain single copies of these works to keep on file for The repertoire lists that ACDA posts online are a great
future reference even if you know you will not be able to place to start. I have printed many of these lists out and
program them right away. Like sales-rack clothes bought have often taken an hour to listen to some of these pieces
out of season, the day will come when you will break out on YouTube and write descriptions for them so I can re-
one of these selections and find it is just the right fit. call them quickly. The Teaching Music Through Performance
You will tend to choose pieces that appeal to you, but in Choir texts are also helpful, giving you not only a dif-
do not let personal preference blind you to the primary ficulty level for each piece but a description of the piece,
criteria of well-crafted works specifically suited to the background on the composer, and units that could be
particular makeup of your choir. Consult recommended discussed during the learning of each song.
or pre-selected lists to help you vary from your own What I do believe has been the best decision for me in
natural preferences. R&S-sponsored reading sessions at acquiring new repertoire has been the involvement in my
ACDA conferences constitute these kinds of lists and state chapter of ACDA. The Wisconsin Choral Directors
differ from a publisher-sponsored reading session. Many Association holds two wonderful conventions in January
published books on choral music include annotated lists and June—times where I often need both ideas for new
of recommended repertoire as appendices. Using such a repertoire and simply an opportunity to become rejuve-
list ensures that the music has already gone through one nated and refreshed! It is at these conventions that we
level of scrutiny. You can also obtain recommendations have reading sessions and “great idea” sessions to share
from colleagues or more experienced teachers you know pieces that have been successful in other programs and
and trust. ideas for the future.

In Wisconsin, our quarterly publication of The Voice step forward to help sing an ascending skip in tune, step
has many teachers’ recommendations for repertoire for all to the macro beat to help feel the “groove” or their unac-
levels of singing. Many teachers in Wisconsin are working companied piece, or simply tap the rhythm on the back
to place their concert programs on their school websites of their hand to aid in rhythmic clarity.
so all teachers would need to do is click on a previous Movement also helps keep the singers engaged and
concert to see what was performed at certain times of energized throughout the rehearsal. Additionally, since
previous years. Additionally, I am a part of closed music we cannot see our instrument, analogies can help students
education groups on Facebook and Group Me groups produce the desired tone. Examples include imagining
for music teachers where, when I find myself in a rut for that you are singing colors (dark violet verses bright yel-
finding repertoire, all I need to do is ask. You don’t need to low), imagine that your sound is filling up a tree trunk
reinvent the wheel when selecting appropriate repertoire! instead of a glass of water, or imagine a unicorn and send
your tone forward.
Finally, as you are modeling for your choir, leading
QUESTION #9: them through the movement, or offering an analogy to
help your singers attain a healthy tone, do your best to be
Voice Building present in the moment. When I'm teaching, it often feels
like my brain is going 100 miles a minute, so don't forget
How do I build a strong choral sound in to take a breath and listen.
my choirs?
Jennifer Sengin
Jennifer Alarcon For most students, choir directors are their

only source for vocal instruction. Use the
A healthy and vibrant choral tone is the warm-up time to develop healthy vocal
foundation upon which a director is able technique and apply these concepts to the repertoire. As
to layer musicality, dynamic contrast, text far as warm-ups, there are several schools of thought.
stress, and more. Thus, it is vital that this tone is fostered Some agree that warm-ups should be the same for each
and maintained at each choral rehearsal. Helpful tools for rehearsal, while others insist on changing warm-ups to
building choral tone are modeling, movement, and the encourage student engagement. I try to utilize similar
use of analogies. The quickest fix is when your students warm-ups at the beginning of each rehearsal to address
can hear you model exactly what you want to hear. If you vowels and vocal technique, which is then followed with a
are a male teaching a treble choir or a female teaching a variety of warm-ups that address ear-training and needs
cambiata/male choir, it can be helpful to have a student of the repertoire. I find that modifying the warm-ups
in your choir model as well. My seventh- and eighth-grade slightly encourages student engagement.
boys consider it a privilege when I ask them to be the ex- To develop a choral sound concept, listen to recordings
ample for the group. Another idea is to play a recording of the top choirs in the age range you are teaching. For
for them of a similarly aged choir producing the desired example, if you teach elementary school, listen to record-
tone. When students have an aural context of the proper ings of some of the best children’s choirs. Regardless of
tone production, they are more likely to be able to work the age of the group, the fundamentals of singing remain
to develop those healthy habits. the same. Be prepared to teach students to match pitch.
In my experience with adolescent singers, analogies As choral musicians, many of us have never experienced
and movement also aid a healthy tone production. Dur- challenges in matching pitch. This may not be true in
ing rehearsal, I will have my singers move their hands your teaching position. It is critical to develop strategies
through a pool of jello to help connect and energize tone, to teach pitch matching, and this is especially important

with students whose voices have recently changed. Many it feels to use different locations of resonation, they will
students will be successful with a little extra attention to be able to reproduce that physical sensation in the future.
experiment with their voices. Take the time to meet with Third, focus on the basics. It is impossible to over stress
these students outside of the rehearsal to provide addi- the importance of posture, proper use of air, consistent
tional instruction regarding pitch-matching. To introduce vowel shapes, and control of the resonating space. Also,
the idea of extra help, I tell students who struggle with be cautious that you don’t push your singers to create a
matching pitch that I want to boost their self-confidence sound that is not natural according to their age. A junior
in rehearsal. I explain that if we spend a few minutes high choir should not sound like a collegiate choir. Make
working on some vocal exercises, they can become more sure that at whatever age and ability level, they sing with
secure in class. It is challenging for some students to take a relaxed and free tone. There is beauty to be found in the
vocal risks in a class full of their peers. I find the most sound of the human voice at every age. Finally, make sure
success when we meet for a few minutes outside of class. that the elements of voice building you use in your warm-
Students need to experience the physical and aural up are reinforced and applied in the choral literature. It
sensation of matching pitch. As far as developing pitch- is curious to me how quickly the beautiful tone I help
matching abilities, I start by asking the student to match them find in the warm-ups is forgotten when they begin
a pitch in a comfortable area of their voice. I then find working on concert literature. Be patient and consistent
the note they are singing on the piano and ask the stu- in making sure that at all times singing is done with solid
dent to move up or down from there. Once the student fundamental technique.
can match the initial pitch on the piano, we continue
moving from the original note. Throughout this process,
I encourage the student to self-assess whether or not he Seth Boyd
or she is matching the note. I celebrate each step of this
process to encourage continued progress. Another pitch- I was determined to create that beautiful bel
matching challenge occurs when students are asked to canto children’s choir sound in my groups
sing repertoire outside of their vocal range. It is critical to but never seemed to find the time to work on
sing SATB repertoire in middle school, because some boys it. Then, one day I was assigned by the director of music
will not be able to meet the demands of a single baritone at my church to have my children’s choir sing a unsion
part. Regardless of the number of boys in the program, “solo” line as part of a service. I really cared about how
the students will have a better experience, and you will this particular piece sounded and discovered that it was
have a better result if you provide music they can sing. possible and rewarding to spend just as much time teach-
ing the choir how to build a beautiful unison tone as it
was to teach them complex harmony. It was then that I
David Burton realized my problem: I was a harmony junkie. I was out
to prove that my groups could sing complex, challenging
I have a few thoughts in regard to voice music at a high level, and I looked with scorn at anything
building. First, I believe that students need that I thought was too easy as a waste of my time and
to understand the physiology of the voice. demeaning to my students. I still believe that making a
Don’t just use abstract imagery, which is necessary. majority of a concert program that way is musically un-
When you are teaching breathing, talk to them about satisfying, but I have discovered there is a place for music
how breathing works and what is being used to do it. If that does not stretch your choir to its limits.
they understand how the body works to create beautiful If you really want to develop your group’s tone, pick
singing, they will be better able to learn to control their at least one piece that is harmonically, melodically, and
instrument. Second, help students learn how it feels to sing rhythmically simple but that you believe has artistic value.
correctly. If they learn what their individual bodies feel You won’t need to spend nearly as much time teaching
like when they sing the perfectly formed vowel and how “the notes,” but if you spend an equal amount of time

on the “easy” piece as the challenging ones, you will have it is best to craft warm-ups that work toward a certain vo-
the opportunity to really develop their sound and will be cal coordination based on something challenging in the
pleased when that sound actually transfers to the hard music. The transition from technique to literature could
music when you need it to. be seamless and can help facilitate independent transfer
It is also important to note that your students do not of training. It is also helpful to designate some time to
believe you when you tell them they are singing it with explore vocal sounds and the anatomy and physiology of
bad tone or that it sounds ugly. Inside their head, it is the the voice. Design exercises so students can work in pairs
richest tone they’ve ever heard because it’s not coming or small groups, affording you the opportunity to provide
out of their resonating spaces. Also, sometimes they have more individualized attention.
a different aesthetic than you and do not hear that what Concerning the ensemble, I try to avoid a prescribed
works in one song does not work in another. Instead, ensemble sound that presumably represents any certain
play a recording of a choir that models the aesthetic you age. Such thinking can lead to an imposed sonic ideal,
are trying to create and follow that up by recording your as opposed to working organically from the premise that
choir. They will cringe when they hear the recording of every sung sound should be natural, free, and vibrant (as
themselves, but if you ask them what they want to fix much as possible with developing voices).
when you make the recording again in five minutes, they In the wake of technical considerations, it is important
will tell you all the things you have been telling them to to remember that each ensemble has different needs, and
fix. Of course, they won’t acknowledge that you already in some cases, the majority of any given rehearsal could be
told them all this, but they will hear what you’ve been spent empowering singers to be comfortable and confident
hearing. Then, in the face of overwhelming evidence that with what you are asking them to accomplish. This takes
they don’t sound as good as they thought, they will work a level of trust and an environment where students are
ferociously to improve. Eventually they will start to trust free to explore sounds and not feel ashamed. Sometimes
you when you say that there is something wrong with their the goal is simply to motivate a group, section, or singer to
sound and try to fix it. It’s kind of awesome. make enough energized sound so you can begin to apply
something technical. Therefore, the degree to which we
stress vocal technique or stress producing raw sound is in
Brandon Williams constant flux. Effective vocal music teachers recognize
when to be a technician and when to be a cheerleader.
First and foremost, it is important to regu- Whether operating in either role, teachers must be
larly teach basic vocal technique in the group relentless in the pursuit of unity. New teachers tend to
setting. Teachers must have a working knowl- give up too quickly because they fear they are doing
edge of the voice in its various stages. This means you can something wrong or their expectations are unattainable.
diagnose a problem and prescribe a variety of ways to Keep at it; repetition is necessary. Most students only rise
address it. Teachers should also understand the dangers of to the level that you expect of them, so expect the best
mass diagnostic and prescriptive techniques, particularly from your students.
when dealing with developing voices. Each student comes
to the ensemble with an individual set of abilities and chal-
lenges, and each will have specific needs. Investment in QUESTION #10:
personal study of the voice can help you become a more
effective model and technician and aid in identifying if Resources for New Teachers
individual student interventions are necessary.
The vocal warm-up is the most opportune time to ad- Where can I go for help?
dress vocal issues. Singing fast scales and arpeggios with
no deliberate vocal coordination in mind is not the most
effective way to teach vocal technique. I have discovered

Jacob Truby Darla Eshelman
It is very easy to feel like you are on an island First and foremost, talk with other music
your first year of teaching. Everyone who is educators. E-mail them, call them on the
in their first year of teaching is working sixty phone, visit with them at a convention, and
hours a week just to keep a program afloat while learning meet them for coffee or whatever your schedule allows.
so much every day; it makes sense that first-year teachers Whether they are in their second or thirtieth year of
struggle with asking for help. The irony is that so many teaching, excellent choral educators love to share ideas
people in your school, your district, your state, and your and experiences with new teachers. Further, think back to
country want you to be successful! Do not ever shy from your time as a choral student and utilize the knowledge of
asking questions on ChoralNet or Facebook pages, email former teachers whom you hold in high regard. Perhaps
old professors, or ask other music teachers in your confer- there is a teacher/conductor who was the motivation for
ence or district. your decision to enter the field of choral music. These
One thing I highly recommend is talking to teachers teachers have been or presently are in the “trenches” and
outside of music. Perhaps your science department has truly want to be contacted and asked for assistance, sug-
a great way to deal with classroom management. Maybe gestions, and sympathetic ears. Each conductor can offer
your English department knows a great way to explore a different perspective along with a wealth of important
poetry. If music, in fact, allows students to identify pat- insights and strategies for working and interacting with
terns, to observe, to hypothesize, to analyze, and to be your choral students. Along with contacting them and
physical, then surely our other partners in education collecting ideas and advice, ask them to visit your school
could benefit our musical goals as well! Additionally, the and clinic your choir. For many new teachers, watching a
more you work with other teachers in your building, the knowledgeable and successful choral teacher in action is
stronger the community becomes. A stronger community worth more than a thousand words. Write down phrases,
will build in student identity and will immediately assist in tips, and any methods they use to communicate with
establishing trust and safety in your classroom. students and refine the choral sound.
David Burton Philip Silvey
First, stay in contact with the professors and Workshops, conference interest sessions, and
mentors that you had during your under- summer/evening graduate classes can be a
graduate time. They will always be willing to source of motivation to explore important
continue to offer suggestions and help. The next resource topics or aspects of your teaching. I took a week-long con-
is active membership in ACDA and NAfME. The resourc- ducting class at a local university the summer after my first
es offered by these organizations at the national, state, year of full-time teaching. This came at a good time since
and local levels are tremendous. Get involved in these I had been using conducting regularly in my teaching and
professional organizations, and you will find amazing had a basic sense of my tendencies and abilities going into
colleagues who will provide you with a limitless amount that week of instruction. Do not be afraid to consult your
of knowledge. Reach out to your colleagues who teach in college professors and senior colleagues. On my request,
other schools in your district or in other nearby districts. my principal agreed to pay for a substitute to cover for me
If you are teaching in a rural school, don’t succumb to the so I could spend a day observing two teachers in highly
temptation of saying that there is no one close to reach sucessful programs in a nearby city. Find creative ways to
out to. With the technological resources we have, there is challenge your thinking and expand your repertoire of
a world of help only a keystroke away. teaching tools.

Compilation of Suggested Resources from Article Respondents
Websites
ACDA’s mentorship program: <http://mentoring.acda.org/>
ACDA Repertoire and Standards: <http://www.acda.org/page.asp?page=repertoire&rs=1>
Cambiata Institute (repertoire lists for MS/JH choirs, articles about the changing voice, videos of voice testing to
help you classify boys voices): <https://music.unt.edu/cambiata/>
ChoralNet: <http://choralnet.org/>
Missouri ACDA’s online New Teacher Handbook Blog: <http://moacda.org/student-handbook/>
National Association for Music Education Career Services (includes online mentoring network for new teachers,
job search help, and reading material): <http://musiced.nafme.org/careers/career-center/resources/>
Texas Prescribed Music List: <http://www.utexas.edu/uil/pml/>
Books
Demorest, S. M. (2001). Building Choral Excellence: Teaching Sight-Singing in the Choral Rehearsal.
New York: Oxford University Press.
Goetze, M., Broeker, A., & Boshkoff, R. (2009). Educating Young Singers: A Choral Resource for Teacher-Conductors.
New Palestine, IN: Mj Publishing.
Kohn, A. (1996). Beyond Discipline: From Compliance to Community. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and
Curriculum Development.
Nesheim, P. & Noble, W. (1995). Building Beautiful Voices. Dayton, OH: Roger Dean Publishing Company.
O’Toole, P. (2003). Shaping Sound Musicians: An Innovative Approach to Teaching Comprehensive Musicianship through Performance.
Chicago: GIA Publications, Inc.
Phillips, K. H. (2004). Directing the Choral Music Program. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
———— (2014). Teaching Kids to Sing, 2nd edition. New York, NY: Schirmer Books.

We Need Your Help Driving Membership Up!
From mid-September through mid-November, ACDA is holding a nationwide membership
campaign that aims to take us to new membership heights. We need your help!
Q Colleague Referral Program- Call (405-232-8161) or email (singup@acda.org)
us to receive your complimentary Referral Kit – there are thank you rewards for both
you and any new members who join based on your referral.
Q Student Membership Initiative- For participating states, our student membership
discounts are being renewed. That’s a dues price of only $5 for new student members,
with states and the national office covering the rest.
For more information, visit www.acda.org/singup.

Magen Solomon, Editor <magen.solomon@gmail.com>
Leonhard Lechner’s Passion (1593): Origins, Importance, and Dramatic Meaning
By John C. Hughes
Leonhard Lechner (c. 1553–1606) Passion, yet the author refers to the is considered today to be the only
composed a significant amount of work as “perhaps the finest of all the extant source of Lechner’s Passion.5
sacred and secular music during his surviving Motet Passions.”4 Without a Although Schütz’s three Passions are
lifetime, but his modern reputation careful and thorough analysis to sup- more influenced by Orlandus Lassus’s
rests primarily on his 1593 Passion port such claims, the work’s reputa- Passion settings than Lechner’s, his
setting, Historia der Passion und Leidens tion rests solely upon unsubstantiated Die Sieben Worte Jesu Christi am Kreuz
unsers einigen Erlösers und Seligmachers Jesu platitudes. (SWV 478) is “linked completely to
Christi. Composed in the Lutheran Upon deeper investigation, one this German motet branch,” typified
duchy of Württemberg (where Lech- finds Lechner’s Passion not only to by Lechner.6 The influence of Lech-
ner served from 1585 until his death, be a well-constructed work of art (as ner’s Passion even reaches into the
first as a tenor in the Hofkapelle and discussed below) but also a strong twentieth century. German composers
eventually as Kapellmeister), this five- influence upon later contributions to Hugo Distler (1908–1942) and Kurt
movement work for four-part mixed the Passion genre. It is conjectured Thomas (1904–1973) both admired
choir is characterized by its continu- that Schütz may have been familiar his music and integrated elements of
ous unaccompanied polyphony, simi- with Lechner’s works while singing his style into their own works, includ-
lar to that of an extended motet. The as a choirboy in the Kassel Hofka- ing Distler’s Choralpassion, op. 7 and
piece requires neither soloists nor in- pelle, which at the time owned what Totentanz, op. 12, no. 2, and Thomas’s
strumentalists, and its German text is
drawn from the four Gospels.1 Lech-
ner’s setting is one of the highlights of Elena Sharkova
the Passion idiom prior to the works Artistic Director
of Heinrich Schütz (1585–1672), yet

it is largely unknown today. Scholars
have frequently cited Lechner’s set- Cantabile Youth Singers is proud to announce
ting as the epitome of the motet Pas- the artistic faculty appointments of Laney
sion subgenre,2 however, only a few McClain Armstrong (DMA) as Associate
Conductor and Director of Musicianship
analyses of the work’s construction
Curriculum and Katherine Gerber (MM) Laney McClain
exist.3 Even in Basil Smallman’s highly as Training Division Director. Armstrong
Katherine Gerber
regarded The Background of Passion Mu-
sic: J.S. Bach and His Predecessors, only Please email or call for more information
seven sentences address Lechner’s info@cantabile.org | 650.424.1410

Passionsmusik nach dem Evangelisten appears to have employed various Gospel account was read; however,
Markus (1926). Lechner’s Passion de- textures to heighten his listener’s as Christianity continued to become
serves greater acclaim because of its understanding of and connection to established, the practice of reading
intricate technical construction and the Passion story. The relationship from Matthew on Palm Sunday, Luke
its influence on the development of between the texture and dramatic on Tuesday of Holy Week, Mark on
the Passion genre. narrative is discussed in reference to Wednesday of Holy Week, and John
The following discussion begins by several musical figures below. on Good Friday became standard-
placing Lechner’s setting within the ized.8 Using multiple readers became
historical development of the Passion common in order to distinguish
idiom. An examination of Lechner’s The Development of the between different characters (the
use of texture follows, in which it is Passion Genre and Lechner’s Evangelist, Christ, and the crowd),
argued that Lechner uses texture to Position within It leading to the codification of Passion-
convey dramatic meaning. Likely in- The liturgical reading of Passion tones (opening and cadential material
tended as a devotional work (the piece texts during Holy Week dates at least that grew out of the reciting tones
is too long to have been performed as far back as the fourth century of plainchant).9 Each Passiontone
in the context of worship7), Lechner in Jerusalem. Initially, only John’s was associated with one of the three
main roles in the Passion listed above.
In early settings, Passiontones were
incorporated in two ways: the words
of the Evangelist and Christ used the
Passiontones directly, whereas turba
choruses, those portraying crowd
scenes, used Passiontones as cantus
firmi.10
The motet Passion is the most
developed type of unaccompanied
Passion setting. Intricately composed,
these works bear more resemblance
to through-composed motets than
to earlier forms within the Passion
genre. For example, Lechner’s expres-
sive motet Passion differs vastly from
the more straightforward responsorial
settings of Orlandus Lassus (1532–
1594), Lechner’s lifelong teacher
and mentor.11 Lassus’s Passions are
quite sectionalized and rely upon the
Passiontones exclusively for Christ’s
utterances and the Evangelist’s narra-
tion. Lassus set the four Gospels using
two distinct approaches, reflective of
changes instituted by the religious
leadership. In his earlier settings,
St. Matthew (1574–75) and St. John

(1580), Lassus portrays different dramatic potential of more modern “Ich bins” (“I am he”).17 Stunned by
characters through two- and three- techniques such as continuo, recita- his forthrightness, the mob falls to the
part polyphony, and all turba choruses tive, and solo writing, which offered ground in shock (Figure 1). Overlap-
are set polyphonically for five voices. greater expressive variety.16 How- ping voices and repeated text create
His later settings of the St. Mark and ever, motet Passion settings such as a chaotic soundscape, perhaps evok-
St. Luke accounts (1582) contain Lechner’s are certainly not devoid ing the crowd’s bewilderment and
little dramatic embellishment, as evi- of expressiveness. In his own way, surprise. In addition to the texture,
denced in his predominantly homo- Lechner elevates the text’s drama and text painting highlights this scene
rhythmic and syllabic settings of turba highlights theologically important further. Specifically, the descending
choruses.12 Lassus’s straightforward, moments through musical language, motive, which is imitated in all voices,
almost pedestrian, settings of the particularly texture. aurally portrays the text: “und fielen
Passion accounts demonstrate that zu Boden” (“and [they] fell to the
he, like many other composers of the ground”).
time, “almost never used his Passions Lechner’s Expressive Initially, Lechner’s efforts to por-
as a place for experimentation.”13 Use of Texture tray the confusion of this scene may
In contrast to Lassus’s dependence An examination of Lechner’s use simply appear to demonstrate his cre-
on Passiontones, what distinguishes of texture reveals that he appears ativity; however, when one considers
Lechner’s Passion is the tremendous to have chosen specific textures to the possible theological implications
compositional skill with which the draw attention to dramatic elements. of Christ’s straightforward acknowl-
existing Passiontones are woven Polyphony suggests confusion and edgement of his identity, Lechner’s
into polyphonic textures. The Pas- chaos, as well as the actions of char- musical language appears to contain
siontones are moved between voices, acters. Homophony portrays the additional layers of symbolism. The
treated imitatively, and, at times, over- crowd’s agreement and characters texture and text painting within this
lapped.14 Lechner’s incorporation reflecting on events. At times, the passage not only suggest the scene’s
of Passiontones is uncommon for a texture oscillates quickly between chaos but may also show the crowd
motet Passion because this type fre- polyphony and homophony to help falling to their knees at the thought
quently did not contain any borrowed the listener better follow the Passion of Christ’s selfless surrender.
material. Although Passiontones narrative. Lechner’s use of texture Overlapping text and musical fig-
were becoming outdated by the time transcends compositional inventive- ures also portray the unruly crowd’s
Lechner composed this work, he uses ness and appears to be an attempt to taunting of Christ on the cross (Fig-
the device in service to his artistic and help the listener understand both the ure 2). Beginning in m. 28, the lower
dramatic goal: helping the listener Passion story’s literal events and those three parts are set against the highest
identify with Christ’s suffering. events’ theological significance. voice, which fiercely declaims the
After Lechner’s setting, only two In several instances, polyphonic text.18 The shrillness of the repeated
“extremely expressive and dramatic textures, overlapping musical fig- F5 for five measures further conveys
masterworks [within the motet Pas- ures, and repeated texts portray the viciousness of the crowd’s taunts.
sion subgenre] were produced,” each confusion and chaos. For example, In contrast to polyphonic textures,
for six voices, by Johannes Herold upon Judas’s betrayal in the Garden predominantly homophonic textures
(Graz, 1594) and Christoph Dem- of Gethsemane, chief priests and occur when either the crowd is in
antius (Freiberg, 1631).15 Excepting Pharisees approach Christ. He asks complete agreement or when char-
these works, the motet Passion sub- whom they are seeking, and the mob acters are reflecting on transpired
genre quickly declined. Most scholars replies, “Jesum von Nazareth” (“Jesus events. An example of homophony
argue that this decline was caused by of Nazareth”). Rather than fleeing or showing characters’ consensus is
musicians’ eagerness to explore the denying his identity, Christ responds, shown in Figure 3. When Christ is

about to be arrested in the Garden of answer, “Wir haben keinen König, tion that Lechner’s musical language
Gethsemane, he twice asks the crowd allein den Kaiser!” (“We have no king emphasizes the dramatic narrative.
for whom they are looking. The first but only the emperor!”) (Figure 4).19 Although some scholars point to
time, the crowd falls to the ground in Similar to the passage shown in Fig- Passion settings’ depictions of the
shock (Figure 1). The second time, ure 3, their answer is set with a mostly crowd’s condemnation of Christ
however, they answer, “Jesum von homophonic texture, implying the as perpetuating an inherent anti-
Nazareth” (“Jesus of Nazareth”) in crowd’s unified conviction. The shift Semitism running throughout Chris-
accord (Figure 3). In this excerpt, to triple meter again highlights their tianity, these unanimous declarations
the change to a more homophonic response. (Excepting the measures can also be interpreted as reflecting
texture at m. 91 suggests the mob’s shown in Figures 3 and 4, only the a universal rejection of Christ rather
strongly unified position. The use of first five measures of the Conclusio are than the motives of a specific group
triple meter in mm. 91–93 further in triple meter; in total, only fifteen of of people.20
demarcates the crowd’s response. the piece’s 584 measures are in triple.) Homophonic textures also appear
In the fourth movement, when In Figure 4, the textural and metri- to suggest characters reflecting on
Pilate asks the crowd if he should cal shifts combine to highlight this events that have occurred, as for ex-
crucify their “king,” the chief priests passage, reinforcing the interpreta- ample, in Figure 5. Following Peter’s

denial of Christ, all four voices align what he has done and might also At times, the texture quickly shifts
at the end of the phrase “Und Petrus emphasize the importance of Christ’s between homophony and polyphony
gedacht der Wort Jesu” (“And Peter words. The cadence can be seen as in order to reinforce the dramatic
reflected on the word of Jesus”).21 allowing the listener time to reflect narrative. In Figure 6, for example,
The long note values at the cadence on this crucial moment in the Pas- the texture is polyphonic in mm.
might portray Peter slowly realizing sion story. 46–49 to convey the mob rushing

toward Christ in the Garden of the Passiontones used throughout welch ein Mensch!” (“Behold, such a
Gethsemane. In m. 50, the texture the work. Not only does this passage man!”).23 The voices converge on the
abruptly becomes homophonic, as demonstrate the manner in which words “ein Mensch” (m. 40), adding
if to depict Christ’s calmness. As Lechner incorporates Passiontones, finality to Pilate’s declaration. The
the action resumes in m. 55 when but it also shows the composer’s dedi- subsequent contrasting polyphonic
Christ approaches the crowd, the cation to using texture to convey the section depicts the crowd’s vehement
polyphonic texture returns featuring dramatic action. cries for Christ’s crucifixion through
imitative writing.22 The motive, which Another example of texture il- high vocal ranges and melismata.
the upper voices introduce in thirds luminating the dramatic narrative This textural shift helps the listener
and is then imitated by the bass and is when Pilate hands Christ over follow the dramatic arc of the Passion
tenor voices, is derived from one of to the crowd and declares, “Sehet, story (Figure 7).

The Devotional Practice of Lechner’s style of unaccompanied und Komponist, um 1553–1606,” in
Reflecting on Christ’s Passion polyphony was quickly outmoded; Lebensbilder aus Schwaben und Franken 7
Reflection on Christ’s suffering however, the intricate technical (1960): 85; Friedrich Blume, Protestant
construction and expressivity found Church Music: A History (New York:
during his final days has long been a
within this work are noteworthy. It is W.W. Norton, 1974), 181; and Basil
part of Christian devotional practice
hoped that this analysis spurs deeper Smallman, The Background of Passion
and of Reformation-era German Music: J.S. Bach and His Predecessors, 2nd
piety in particular.24 Across various interest not only in Lechner’s com-
revised and enlarged ed. (New York:
time periods and locations, compos- position but also in performing and
Dover Publications, 1970), 27.
ers have sought to enliven the Pas- recording the work. 3
Two doctoral dissertations, including
sion story through musical language. that of this article’s author, examine
The dramatization and theological John C. Hughes is assistant professor Lechner’s Passion in depth: James
emphasis found in Lechner’s Pas- of music and director of choral activi- Morgan Sides, “The Historia der
sion demonstrates the existing value ties at Ripon College in Wisconsin. Passion und Leidens unsers einigen
placed on the Passion as a devotional Erlösers und Seligmachers Jesu
exercise. Far from morbid, the focus Christi, 1593 and the Sacrarum
NOTES Cantionum, Quinque et Sex
on the pain Christ endured in hu-
Vocum Liber Secundus, 1581 by
manity’s stead was meant to enliven 1
It is thought that Lechner worked with Leonhard Lechner (c. 1553–1606): A
the believer’s hope and trust in God. Lucas Osiander (1534–1604), Comparative Analysis” (DMA diss.,
The use of texture in Lechner’s Württemberg’s court preacher, to select Southwestern Baptist Theological
work seems to be in service of pro- the texts for his Passion. Konrad Ameln, Seminary, 1982) and John C. Hughes,
moting an “existential participation “Begleitwort” to Leonhard Lechner Werke, “Leonhard Lechner’s Passion (1593):
in Christ’s suffering.”25 It not only vol. 12, Historia der Passion und Leidens Cultural Contexts, Musical Analysis,
depicts the Passion’s literal events unsers einigen Erlösers und Seligmachers Jesu and Historical Implications” (DMA
but also connects the listener more Christi, ed. Konrad Ameln (Kassel: diss., The University of Iowa, 2014).
intimately to the story. Bärenreiter, 1960), viii. Readers interested in seeing a score
2
Fo r ex a m p l e s o f s ch o l a r s c i t i n g can purchase either the twelfth volume
Lechner’s work as a quintessential of Lechner’s collected works, BA2968,
Conclusion motet Passion, see Konrad Ameln, or a choral score, BA2968-91, through
Lechner’s Passion is frequently “Leonhard Lechner, Kapellmeister Bärenreiter.
argued to be the apex of the motet
Passion genre. However, adequate
reasons for Lechner’s work being
so described are rarely offered. An I magine …
singing in the venues
of the great
Sing Where Inspiration Was Born.
examination of Lechner’s use of tex- composers, in awe
inspiring cathedrals and
ture reveals his deep concern for the charming village churches,
for appreciative audiences
portrayal of the Passion’s dramatic around the world.
narrative. Although Lechner’s Passion Let us take you there.
may not be as overtly dramatic as the

passion-oratorios of the seventeenth
and eighteenth centuries, its expres-
sivity points toward the greatness CULTURA
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settings. With the rise of continuo,

4
Smallman, 27. cantus firmus technique within the and location of the Passiontones
5
The Neuen-Schütz Gesellschaft recognized Passion idiom varies depending on time throughout the entire work. See
the connection between Schütz period, geographic location, and the Hughes, 144–152.
15
and Lechner when it commissioned individual composer. Blume, 182.
11 16
Konrad Ameln to make a collected- As a choirboy, Lechner sang in the Ameln, “Leonhard Lechner in His Time,”
wo rk s e d i t i o n o f L e ch n e r ’s Landshut Hofkapelle, one of two 85.
17
o u t p u t . F u r t h e r m o re, L e ch n e r operated by the Bavarian duchy. At the John 18:5.
18
was commemorated at the Ninth time, Lassus led the primary Bavarian “Hilf dir selbst! Bist du Gottes Sohn, so
International Heinrich Schütz Festival Hofkapelle at Munich. It is unclear how steig herab vom Kreuze!” (“Help
in Dresden in 1956. Konrad Ameln, closely Lassus and Lechner worked yourself ! If you are the Son of God,
“Leonhard Lechner,” Musik und Kirche together during this time; however, then come down off the cross!”) Mark
26, no. 5 (September–October 1956): the two had a close relationship 15:29–30.
19
229–230; Joachim Moser, Heinrich throughout their lives as evidenced by John 19:15.
20
Schütz: His Life and Work, 2nd rev. ed., their extensive correspondence. Konrad Certainly, Christ’s Passion has been
trans. Carl F. Pfatteicher (St. Louis, Ameln, Leonhard Lechner (um 1553–1606) misappropriated for anti-Semitic
MO: Concordia Publishing House, (Lüdenscheid: Volkshochschule, purposes at various points throughout
1959), 243; Konrad Ameln, “Vorwort” 1957), 7; Ameln, “Leonhard Lechner, history. For more information, consult
to Leonhard Lechner Werke, vol. 12, Historia K apellmeister und Komponist, James Caroll, Constantine’s Sword: the
der Passion und Leidens unsers einigen Erlösers um 1553–1606,” 73; and Ameln, Church and the Jews: a History (Boston:
und Seligmachers Jesu Christi, ed. Konrad “Leonhard Lechner in His Time,” in Houghton Mifflin, 2001) and Reimund
Ameln (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1960), v; Cantors at the Crossroads: Essays on Church Bieringer, Didier Pollefeyt, and
and Hughes, 107. Music in Honor of Walter E. Buszin, ed. Frederique Vandecasteele-Vanneuville,
6
Moser, 662. Johannes Riedel (St. Louis: Concordia ed., Anti-Judaism and the Fourth Gospel
7
Blume, 183. Publishing House, 1967), 79. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John
8 12 Knox Press, 2001).
Kurt von Fischer, “The Passion from Its Jerome Roche, Lassus (Oxford: Oxford
21
Beginnings until the 16th Century,” University Press, 1982), 29 and Matthew 26:75.
22
in Essays in Musicology, trans. Carl N i ch o l a s D e a n Jo h n s o n , “ T h e The text of Figure 6 is “mit Fakkeln,
Skoggard, ed. Tamara S. Evans (New Influence of the Jesuits on the Passion Lampen und mit Waffen. Als nun Jesus
York: City University of New York, Music of Orlando di Lasso” (M.A. wußte alles, was ihm begegnen sollte,
1989), 11–12. thesis, University of Maryland, College ging er hinaus und sprach zu ihnen:”
9
Although there was initially some variation Park, 2006), 3. (“…with torches, lamps, and weapons.
13 Then Jesus, knowing all that would
in use depending on time period and Johnson, 20.
14 happen to him, went out and spoke to
location, a definitive collection of Lechner’s incorporation of Passiontones
Passiontones was eventually published is fascinating but beyond the scope of them:”). John 18:3–4.
23
in Rome in 1586 by Guidetti at the this article. The reader is encouraged John 19:5.
24
request of Pope Sixtus V. Smallman, to consult Irmlind Capelle’s article See Owen Chadwick, The Early Reformation
23 and H.M. Adams, “Passion Music on the subject: Irmlind Capelle, “Zur on the Continent (Oxford: Oxford
Before 1724,” Music & Letters 7, no. 3 Verwendung des Passionstons in den University Press, 2001), 80–81 and
(July 1926): 258. durchkomponierten Passionen des Berndt Hamm, The Reformation of Faith
10
Examples of this type of Passion include 16. Jahrhunderts, insbesondere in der in the Context of Late Medieval Theology and
settings by Johann Walther, Francisco Johannes-Passion Leonhard Lechners,” Piety, ed. Robert J. Bast (Leiden: Brill,
Guerrero (St. Matthew and St. John), in Festschrift für Arno Forchert, ed. Gerhard 2004), 15.
25
Tomás Luis de Victoria (St. Matthew Allroggen (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1986), Hamm, 15.
and St. John), William Byrd, and 61–76. Additionally, readers should
Orlandus Lassus (St. Mark and St. note that Appendix B of this article’s
Luke). Smallman, 132. The use of author’s dissertation traces the types

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Repertoire & STandards
tor. Then, during the day of gown Step 3:

Senior High School and tuxedo fitting, when students Big Brothers and Big Sisters
Daniel Bishop might have some down time, I assign as Scheduling Mentors
National R&S Chair my students a little brother or little sis- In my district, the students are ab-
<dbishop007@comcast.net> ter from the middle school and have solutely overwhelmed during schedul-
them write a welcoming letter stating ing time. As if it weren’t frightening
what they have been doing recently in enough to move from one building
choir, what it is like to be a part of a to another, we expect them to know
Raising a Family: large ensemble, and how great their how to manipulate a schedule to fit
A Six-Step Guide to Recruiting choir director is. (Okay, maybe that every class they desire. For several
for High School Choir last one is optional.) students, we’re trying to squeeze nine
classes into an eight-period day. Many
By Maura Underwood students want to take band and Con-
Step 2: cert Choir, or orchestra and Concert
How many different strategies A Concert Invitation Choir, or they are in the gifted pro-
have you used to recruit students into The middle school chorus has gram and must take certain classes at
your choir? Let me guess: you’ve vis- traditionally performed with my high certain times because that’s the only
ited the middle school, sent students school Concert Choir for the winter time they are offered. It can be an
to talk about the program, held a concert, but that doesn’t stop us from absolute mess.
side-by-side rehearsal day, joined sending a warm and welcoming in- Why wouldn’t the average student
forces and sung concerts together, and vitation! This invitation doesn’t just just write down what they’re told by
maybe even hosted a meet-and-greet. invite them to the concert; it invites the guidance counselors? “You need
Allow me to offer another suggestion: them to perform at their highest level, an English, math, science, social stud-
treat your choir as if it were a family show their best facial expressions, and ies, phys ed, health, technology, and
tree and extend the branches at the finally, shares that the high school elective. The elective may be a study
very beginning of the year. students cannot wait for the middle hall.” At that point, they are just try-
What’s the point in teaching school students to join the family ing to keep up, making sure they have
solfège, rhythm, time, and key signa- of the Concert Choir. If my color all of the requirements, not knowing
tures if there is not a choir to apply it? printer is working, I have one of my that they are able to take half-credits
photographically inclined students of Concert Choir if they still need a
take headshots of each choir member, study hall or that band and Concert
Step 1: and I print their faces on the invita- Choir are offered opposite of each
The Big Brother/ tions to their little brothers or sisters other so that they can both be taken.
Big Sister Initiative so that the middle school students We don’t expect our two guidance
At the very beginning of the year, have someone for whom to look. counselors for 800+ students to re-
I acquire a list of the seventh and Additional invitations will follow for member all of that either.
eighth graders at the middle school future concerts. So, here it is. The Big Brother/
from the middle school choral direc- Sister is the mentor. In February or

March (or one to two weeks before Step 4: wants them to experience the daily
scheduling begins at the middle Remembering the Forgotten joy of singing.
school), my Concert Choir students There are several musical students
will write another note. This time, it who have, for one reason or another,
will include attachments of possible slipped through the cracks and are Step 5:
schedules for all types of high school not in a music class! Their classmates Invite. Invite. Invite.
students: the music academy student, and friends know they are musical, The next concert is the Music in
the multi-musician, the gifted stu- though. Before scheduling begins Our Schools Month Concert in late
dent, the student who needs a study for the high school students, I send March, followed by a Spring Concert
hall here and there, and the general a plain legal pad around the class- in May. We send out another round
education student. Finally, if my stu- room and ask my students to list any of invitations for each concert with
dents are comfortable with it, there names of friends or acquaintances the basic information, since they are
is a place to list their email and cell they would like to nominate to be not required to perform in them.
phone in case their “Little” needs in Concert Choir. Then, I plug the Depending on how much ink I have
more advice. names into a nomination letter and left, I will print them in color, along
deliver it to all of the recommended with the headshots of the high school
students. It’s just a reminder that students. What better way to build the
Concert Choir is still there and still audience of the future than to have
the future choir members and their
parents regularly attending the high
school concerts?
Step 6:
Let your music It’s Party Time

When April comes around, the
be heard… Spring Musical and March Concert
are over, and there is a month of stan-
in Germany dardized testing to get through before
& Austria! it’s field trip time (aka, May). It’s time
for the official meet-and-greet of the
“The USD Chamber Bigs and Littles. I organize a two-
Singers had a wonderful hour event at the high school, which
experience. The tour was well includes two to three ice breakers,
organized, we had wonderful karaoke, and pizza. It’s quick, it’s easy,
performances, and our
and it’s a lot of fun!
guide was fantastic.”
In reflection, I realize that the
– Dr. David Holdhusen family element is what successfully
Director of Choral Activities
University of South Dakota recruits students, keeps students, and
Germany & Austria Tour, 2015 positively influences them to make the
right decisions. For today’s student
Historical Salzburg, Austria
who is pulled in fifty different direc-
Witte has been arranging exceptional
concert tours through Germany, Austria
800 GO WITTE tions—attempting to get as many ex-
wittept.com tra things on their resumes as possible
and the rest of the world since 1975. for college, fighting the social battles

of popularity, feelings of inadequacy, a man who was likely his most im- to find in any of the arts. Everybody
inferiority, and awkwardness, and just portant mentor, Robert Shaw. “I am has a way of getting into the deepest
trying to fit in—at least they have a amazed time and again how attention recesses of their humanity. For me
welcoming, musical room they can to minute mechanical details of pitch, it’s music. That which makes us truly
call home, with a family whom they rhythm, text, and dynamics releases human, the ability to be spiritually
have helped to raise. floods of spiritual understanding.” alive, is addressed in music.
Years earlier, in a comment about
Maura Underwood is the choral Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, Shaw Scott: How do you define “spiritual”
director and director of the music had written,“In every vocal convul- as applied to music? What did Shaw
academy at Blackhawk High School sion some truth is struggling to be mean by it?
in Chippewa, PA. <percmuse@ born. In every avoidance or diversion
gmail.com> of the ‘natural’ (which downgrades so Russell: Each person’s definition
quickly from the ‘familiar’ through is unique. For me, the spirit world
the ‘easy’ to the ‘ho-hum’) the super- is the world beyond the five senses
Community Choirs natural finds a voice. At every in- and beyond what you can analyze in
Ron Sayer stance wherein we achieve this exact a test tube. It’s real for sure, but it’s
National R&S Chair balance, or that unequivocal intona- subjective and it’s the reason many of
<ronsay@aol.com> tion, or yea rhythmic meshing, or an us devote so much energy to choral
absolute precision of enunciation, singing.
or an unassailable propriety of vocal
Releasing the Spiritual: color, the miracle happens—the Flesh Scott: Is complexity the thing in
An Interview with is made Word, and dwells among music that touches the deeper levels
Robert Russell us. We put in muscle and blood and of the heart?
brains and breath—and out comes
by Stan Scott holy Spirit.” (Concerning Missa Russell: It does for me. As the saying
Solemnis, May 16, 1972) goes, if it sounds good, it is good.
On March 5, 2013, prior to a Scott: Why music? Scott: Why does complexity sound
performance of Haydn’s oratorio, good to us?
The Creation, Robert Russell, Music Russell: Because for me, it makes
Director of the Choral Art Society sense of history. When I studied histo- Russell: It’s like anything you get
(CAS), spoke to the assembled mem- ry in college, it seemed like a flat chro- deeply attached to. If you’re deeply
bers of the Masterworks Chorus in nology of facts and events. But when attached to bicycling, a Schwinn
the Rehearsal Hall at Merrill Audito- I took music history, all of history be- isn’t going to do it for you. You’re
rium in Portland, Maine. He thanked came alive to me. I do music because going to be drawn to more complex
us for the hours of work required I enjoy the mechanical puzzle, figur- machinery. Same with being a wine
in preparing this performance. But ing out what the composer had in connoisseur. To an experienced ear,
it is only by this work, he said, this mind and translating it to the medium a more complex musical structure
gathering of attention to detail, that of the human voice. And I do music is of greater interest. The reason we
the difference between a good and a because I get an “aha!” experience like more complex music is because
great performance is realized, releas- from it. I just get transported! I think the experience that results from be-
ing some unexpected energy in both that’s what Robert Shaw meant by ing in touch with that music is more
performers and audience.To make his “floods of spiritual understanding.” complex, richer.
point, Russell quoted from memory Music offers a direct path to the hu-
a line spoken many years earlier by man heart, something that’s possible

Scott: Which composers do that more creative music directors I’ve stand out like that to you?
for you? worked with have been able to create
techniques that get me to rise above Russell: Well, start at the top:
Russell: My desert island guy is myself, to sing in a different way. Portland Symphony director Robert
Bach. There’s a richness in his mu- That’s the creative part. Everybody’s Moody. He knew that score so well
sic that would take me a lifetime to got the score, but some conductors that he conducted a ninety-minute
comprehend. bring the score to a better, more sat- piece from memory. Kind of like a
isfying realization. trapeze artist without a net, he put
Scott: How do you prepare for a the score away. You’re totally un-
rehearsal? Scott: Do you know every detail? clothed and connected to the music
in the most elemental way. Music is
Russell: I practice conducting by Russell: You never know every de- about the song the mother sings to
studying the score. In preparing for a tail. The conductor’s job is to know the child in the cradle. Why does she
concert, my first job is to understand every element of everyone’s part, to sing? Because it’s in her soul and in
what the composer has done. The know everything that’s happening. the child’s soul. It’s part of the psyche
creative part comes in following his And that, except for genius-level of growing up.
directives and finding vital lessons, conductors, is virtually impossible.
the spiritual core of the work.The Robert Shaw used to say about Bach’s Scott: How do you, as a music direc-
B-minor Mass on tour, it wasn’t until tor and conductor, elicit from your
the thirtieth performance that the singers that spirituality that Shaw
singers felt like they were getting it talks about?
right.
Russell: It’s all in the score, and the
Scott: Could we say, paraphrasing challenge for the music director is to
Robert Shaw again, that mastering lead the singers to uncover everything
technical details of a piece is the key that’s in the score. You don’t get mag-
to understanding it? Is that your key ic in concert by espousing lofty ideals.
to success in performing? You get magic by singing in tune and
on time—and by understanding the
Russell: It’s about hard work and essence of the message that you seek
inspiration. You’ve got to do the hard to share with the audience.
work to get yourself ready. Inspiration
is not something you can define. It’s Scott: On your curriculum vitae you list
like love. It’s either there or not there. titles of articles you have written such
No amount of pushing will bring it as “Musical Persuasion in Bach’s B-
out, but if you are really prepared you minor Mass” and “Musical Rhetoric.”
open the possibility for it to be there. What is musical rhetoric?
Scott: After the performance of Russell: Rhetoric implies the notion

Mahler’s second symphony at Merrill that an argument is valid because of
Auditorium in 2009, someone asked its logical construction. It makes sense
you if you’d had other peak experi- intellectually. But rhetoric is out of
ences like that in your career. Your fashion today. Why? The way masses
answer was, “Not like this.” What was of people are persuaded today is by
it about that experience that made it emotion. Bach’s B-minor Mass makes

tremendous sense intellectually, but work. I took four years of Latin in Scott: What makes choral music
that’s not why we listen to it. It’s be- high school. Why? That’s what you unique among other genres?
cause of the emotion. He merges the did, take seven classes a day. Mama
two [logic and emotion]. The work is said you don’t need study hall, so take Russell: What I love about choral
as intellectually satisfying as anything classes all seven periods a day. Now music is that folks with pretty good
you want to study, and it touches the I use Latin all the time as a choral voices can unite and produce a re-
soul. That’s partly what I meant ear- musician. Texts are often in Latin. I markable product. It’s stunning to me
lier by complexity. thought I wanted to be a math major what amateur singers can accomplish
at one time, so I took calculus. What with attention to detail. You need
Scott: Are there parts of your edu- good is calculus to me now? The good voices (and it helps to have good
cation that prepared you more than structures of music are every bit as musicians as well), but you don’t need
others for being a performer? intricate as calculus. Do I use calculus great voices, just folks who are willing
in a direct way? Probably not. But I to listen and work hard.
Russell: In any given year I’m prob- think the discipline that was required
ably involved in thirty to forty-five to undertake a calculus course was Scott: Have you always been inclined
concerts. As a conductor, virtually one that translates to a musical score. to religious music in the choral area?
everything I’ve ever done informs my
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Russell: The great works in the we did—a lot of one-and-two-and-

choral arts have sacred texts. I’m not tee-and—lit a fire in their hearts. I Student Chapter
looking for sacred music per se. I’m have also had deeply moving experi- Update
looking for great music. What are the ences with the University of South-
greatest pieces composed by Verdi? ern Maine Chamber Singers on our
Requiem. Bach? B-minor Mass. Mozart? European Tours. About the sixth This month we are pleased to
Requiem. Beethoven? Missa Solemnis. day into the tour, the program is on present some excerpts from ACDA
Brahms? Requiem. Stravinsky? Sym- automatic, in the best sense of that Student Chapter reports.
phony of Psalms. Britten? War Requiem. word. We don’t have to think about
The secular choral music just doesn’t technique or tuning or ensemble. It’s Black River Technical College
stand as tall as the pieces with sacred there. Then it’s the space: the acous- (Arkansas)
texts. All these great works stand on tics of the best European churches The Black River Technical College
their musical merits, but curiously and cathedrals allow us to shape the chapter organized fundraisers that in-
they all happen to have sacred texts. phrases in ways we could not begin to cluded Sing-a-Grams and a Rock ‘n’
imagine at home in rehearsal. Roll Music Festival. With the monies
Scott: What have been some of the earned, we took a trip to the Arkansas
spiritual, mountain-top performances Stan Scott serves as a historian and State Fowler Performing Arts Center.
that you have participated in? a member of the Choral Art Society Also, the chapter went to see The
of Portland, Maine.<stan.scott@ Phantom of the Opera in St. Louis and a
Russell: I sang Haydn’s Creation with maine.ecu> rehearsal with the University of Mis-
Shaw in Avery Fisher Hall, and the souri under the direction of James
roar from the audience (for the cho- Henry. (17 members)
rus!) told me that all of the work that
California State University –

Learn and grow professionally through ACDAʼs mentoring program. Fullerton
The California State University
ACDA chapter has participated in
numerous group activities to involve
our members and to spread our mes-
sage into the community. We have
assisted in both the fall and the spring
chorus festivals at the university.
In the spring, we were able to send
four of our members to the Choral
Leadership Academy as collegiate
members. We were also able to
host various lecturers and speakers,
including Matthew Oltman, Barry
Green, and Brandon Elliott. One of
our biggest projects has been to put
on a benefit concert to raise money
Open to all undergraduate and graduate students and beginning to established choral directors. for music education scholarships,
More information is available at: http://mentoring.acda.org which this year raised $800 in dona-
tions. Our membership has grown

over the past year, and we have been students with a resource for tutoring, students. Three students attended the
more active at our school. One of curriculum questions, and guidance 2015 National Conference in Utah,
our biggest accomplishments was as they transition into life as a music and the entire chapter attended New
donating $1,000 for two $500 music major. We also had several study ses- Mexico MEA to further their educa-
education scholarships, which were sions for the ACDA Undergraduate tion outside of the normal academic
awarded to two of our ACDA mem- Conducting Competition during setting. Chapter fundraisers included
bers. (15 members) which students worked together in “The Stages of Life Relay” (our
crafting their skills using peer evalu- largest) and selling flowers at choir
ation and feedback. CNU ACDA concerts. Finally, ENMU ACDA is
Central Washington University has also been working closely with actively involved in community ser-
The officers ran a sight-singing the CNU NAfME student chapter, vice, giving time to a local nursing
choir every week, where the first fif- attending and co-organizing guest home. (12 members)
teen minutes were spent on business lectures at CNU and participating in
items or theory practice and the next volunteering opportunities on and off
forty-five minutes used sight-singing campus. (21 members) Oklahoma City University
music based on a theme planned for In addition to meetings at which
the week. Some of the themes were we discussed our teaching experi-
gospel, women composers, multicul- Eastern Michigan University ences and logistics for attending a
tural, and high school. All of those Eastern Michigan University’s conference, we spent one hour every
themes were inspired by the 2015 ACDA student chapter attended the Friday throughout both semesters
ACDA National Conference experi- 2014 ACDA state conference, orga- leading music classes at Positive
ence. Other activities included a holi- nized a question-and-answer session Tomorrows, the Oklahoma City
day fundraiser held at a local church. with a current student teacher to elementary school for homeless chil-
Members formed large, small, or prepare our members for the future, dren. (10 members)
solo acts, and we put on a program and hosted Heather Shouldice for a
open to all. During the program, we presentation on using music learning
Is your student chapter
collected funds to help support our theory in the choral classroom. Our
doing interesting activities?
organization. (35 members) chapter has been focused on rebuild-
Email news updates and
ing itself on campus after recently
photos to sflansburg@acda.
being recognized as an on-campus or-
org. Updates should be 250
Christopher Newport ganization. We have been in contact
words or fewer. Include a
University (Virginia) with the Ithaca student chapter for
contact name and email
In the fall of 2014, the Christopher ideas for creating and maintaining an
address, the name of your
Newport University (CNU) student organization that positively services
college or university, and
chapter increased our membership its members. (10 members)
the city and state in which
through the inclusion of not only
you are located. Space is
music education majors but also
limited, but we will publish
performance and composition ma- Eastern New Mexico University
as much as possible,
jors; this has been a fantastic growth Eastern New Mexico University
with a preference given
opportunity for our chapter. We also (ENMU) meets bimonthly for stu-
to submissions that are
established our first mentorship pro- dent-led rehearsals, practicum, sight
interesting, creative, and
gram within the chapter, connecting reading, vocabulary development,
relevant to other student
new members to upperclassmen and observation and discussion of profes-
chapters and the wider
executive board members. The goal sional ensembles, and beginning ges-
ACDA.
of the program is to provide new tural technique to include all levels of

The RAYMOND W.
A contest created in an effort to promote
BROCK
Memorial Student Composition Contest
choral music and ensure its future
by showcasing the talent of young
composers across the country
Many young composers have responded to this opportunity motivated by the $1,000 cash award and the prospect
of having their work premiered at an ACDA National or Division Conference.
Previous Winners include:
1998 Paul A. Aiken Flanders Field 2007 Kristen Walker In Monte Oliveti
1999 Daniel Pinkston Nunc Dimittis 2008 Benjamin Paul May Absalon, fili mi
2000 Aaron Garber Stabat Mater 2009 Derek Myler Psalm 100
2001 Michael Conti Choric Song 2010 Michael Mills Crossing the Bar
2002 Joshua Shank Musica Anima Tangens 201 1 Joshua Fishbein Oseh Shalom
2003 Brian Schmidt Lux Aeterna 201 2 Julian Bryson Redemption Mass
2004 Kentaro Sato Kyrie 201 3 Matthew Emery Unto Young Eternity
2005 Dan Forrest Selah 201 4 Andrew Steffen Spells of Herrick
2006 Dominick DiOrio The Soul’s Passing
The application and contest guidelines are available at <www.acda.org/brock>.

Application Deadline October 1, 2015.

Richard Stanislaw, Editor <rstanislaw@comcast.net>
A “High, Lonesome” Experience Challenges Musical Biases

Lee G. Barrow
Bluegrass! In the sanctuary! This be- Remember Me.” What a clever juxta-
longed in the fellowship hall, not during position! While it had a gospel feel, it
Sunday traditional worship! also exhibited a strong sense of qual-
ity musical structure. Soon the band
I grew up with the Beatles and joined in, and the music took off in
Beach Boys but gradually began to full gospel style but with well-crafted
prefer Bach and Brahms. Extensive divisi choral parts.
analytical work in graduate school Taking the place of the usual
completely corrupted me, making “Gloria Patri,” the next movement
popular forms less appealing, so with opened with a joyous fanfare-like
the announcement of a bluegrass choral exclamation in six parts alter-
mass I did not expect musical or nating between the traditional Latin
religious fulfillment. and modern English versions of the
The pipe organ was not even on, “Gloria in excelsis” text, followed by
its console shoved aside like some a simpler but spirited setting using the
unwanted piece of furniture to shape-note tune “Holy Manna.” The
make room for the band. Instead of fanfare returned, then the hymn tune
reverently listening to some classic Hinrich Muller. Used by permission. with its traditional words, “Brethren,
organ prelude, I fidgeted as the band nied and quite well constructed, it we have met to worship.” The music
played “Gathering Music”—not a had an immediate appeal both musi- became more complex, with descants,
part of the High, Lonesome Mass being cally and spiritually. But the band had layered entrances, and independent
presented that day but a set of old not played during this movement. vocal parts. Then something com-
gospel songs. The players were highly Could the rest of the work be this eloquent? pletely unexpected happened: the
talented musicians and the music was Subsequent parts of the Mass were band stopped and the choir sang
enjoyable as entertainment but not interspersed throughout the service. a slower, unaccompanied passage
traditional worship preparation. I am After the Prayer of Confession, a so- sounding more like a motet than a
not going to like this, I thought. loist sang an unaccompanied incipit gospel song. The choir clearly took
The choir rose to sing the opening, reminiscent of an improvisatory ver- the central role.
a Charles Wesley text “Come Away sion of “Amazing Grace” declaiming The next movement, “We Be-
to the Skies” set over an ostinato to the traditional Latin Kyrie text. The lieve,” replaced the spoken Apostle’s
its traditional Southern Harmony hymn choir responded with a slow, newly Creed. While similar in style to the
tune, “Middlebury.” Unaccompa- harmonized rendition of “Do Lord, earlier movements, this music was

newly composed with no distinguish- imitative vocal lines, leading to a dra- elements of popular music into the
able cantus firmus hymn tune. It was matic conclusion. I wondered if my service music of the church.
unmistakably bluegrass, but the text analytical ears were deceiving me. Ite missa est. As the service ended,
expressed the very same principles Polyphonic imitation and motivic develop- the band began another set of gos-
found in the ancient creeds, even us- ment in a bluegrass mass? pel tunes. The formal acolytes in
ing some of the same wording. During communion, the choir their flowing robes initially seemed
The usual congregational “Holy, reverently sang the final movement, strangely out of place as they recessed
Holy, Holy” was replaced by the “Agnus Dei,” which beautifully incor- with their ornate Celtic cross and gold
equivalent movement from the Mass. porated the Southern Harmony hymn candle lighter to the sound of “I’ll
It opened with a slow solo rendition “What Wondrous Love is This.” The Fly Away” instead of Gabriel Fauré.
of Star in the East (“Hail the blest strongly constructed choral parts Then I remembered my prim-and-
morn”) from Southern Harmony, a were as intricate as any traditional proper mother: she managed the aco-
choice clearly inspired by the phrase anthem the choir had sung that year. lyte program at my home church, and
“Blessed is he who comes” from the When it ended, I felt a surprising that old hymn was her favorite. Each
traditional Sanctus. The choir then sense of musical and religious fulfill- represented an integral and equally
shifted to the English text of the ment. I sensed that many others in significant aspect of her personality.
Sanctus in a syncopated yet sophis- this rather staid congregation felt the The cross, candle, and gospel song
ticated unaccompanied setting. This same way. The beauty and sophistica- are all important aspects of America’s
could be an anthem that I would do with my tion of this movement finally caused rich and diverse religious heritage.
choir, I thought. The band eventually me to face and reconsider my musical All deserve to be celebrated in our
joined as the choir continued with a biases. sacred observances today; why not at
stately return to the hymn. The choir Expecting simplistic, homophonic the same time?
sang “Hosanna in the highest” to a arrangements of gospel songs aimed A work should not be dismissed
fragment of the tune in independent, at an untutored church choir and because of its style. Musical style
congregation, I found instead an un- does not determine quality or value.
pretentious yet sophisticated celebra- This corrupted choral director was
tion that embraced and effectively reawakened after experiencing a per-
intermingled different traditions and formance of Come Away to the Skies: A
styles. The choral writing was refined, High, Lonesome Mass by Wes Ramsay
well-constructed, and appropriate for and Tim Sharp (ACDA Executive Di-
an experienced choir familiar with rector) at First Presbyterian Church,
the best in sacred literature; the text Gainesville, Georgia; Michael Henry,
successfully combined the ancient Music Director. For further informa-
liturgy with time-tested, meaningful tion: Wes Ramsay at augustpr@
hymns; the instrumental accompani- bellsouth.net
@TimothySharp ment and style celebrated an aspect
of our heritage that was a vital part Lee G. Barrow first became a church
American Choral of the life of the highly devout Ap- music director as a student in 1972
Directors Association
palachian settlers. The work followed and served various churches for 29
a centuries-long tradition: Masses years. He teaches full time at the
from Josquin’s L’homme armé to John University of North Georgia.
Taverner’s Western Wind to Robert
Ray’s Gospel Mass have incorporated

CONTEMPORARY
COMPOSITION NDSU CHORAL SYMPOSIUM
OCTOBER 22-24, 2015
NORTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY, FARGO
The NDSU School of Music, the American Choral

Directors Association and the American Composers
Forum proudly announce the “NDSU Choral
Symposium: Contemporary Composition in America.”

Noted composer, conductor
and lecturer Eric Whitacre
will headline the three-day
symposium, presenting
sessions on his music and
working with NDSU choral
PHOTO: MARC ROYCE
ensembles.
The featured choir is Cantus,

a nine-member ensemble
based in the Twin Cities. It is
acclaimed for its engaging
performance of music ranging
from the Renaissance to the
PHOTO: CURTIS JOHNSON
21st century.
FEATURED PRESENTERS
Abbie Betinis, Composer
Craig Carnahan, American Composers Forum
Jocelyn Hagen, Composer
Steven Sametz, Composer
Tim Sharp, American Choral Directors Association
MORE INFORMATION: contact Jo Ann Miller at jo.miller@ndsu.edu

or visit ndsu.edu/performingarts/choralsymposium.
IN AMERICA

Selecting Sight-Singing Curricula for the Choral Rehearsal
By James Bowyer
This writer identifies vocal tech- literature without being able to read rial to the exclusion of substantive
nique, musicality, in-tune sing- from a musical score? Can they learn art and folk literature. In short, the
ing, audiation (inner hearing), and the material as accurately? My expe- material found therein was functional
sight-singing as five pillars of choral rience is that teaching sight-singing but lacked the artistry of vocal reper-
musicianship. Students often come enables choral musicians to learn toires that have been vetted by time
to choirs deficient in these skills, so literature more quickly and more ac- and expertise. Of course some new
rehearsal time is allocated to devel- curately, so time is allocated after any compositions in the curriculum were
oping them in tandem with concert vocalization and tuning exercises to excellent, but what a lost opportunity
preparation. Of these five, sight- a dedicated period of sight-singing. to acquaint singers with the best of
singing is often overlooked. Imagine Over the years, I have tried a number our choral tradition.
if language arts teachers passed on of published sight-singing curricula. Folk songs—both North Ameri-
illiterate students year after year Some materials were excellent; some can and international—have been
because their pupils “should already presented design or content prob- passed down through generations of
know how to read” or because “there lems. Each of these curricula was singers and lauded as essential musi-
just isn’t enough class time” to teach piloted for about three months (a cal artifacts. Not only are folk songs
reading. Language arts teachers know recommended minimum) with colle- culturally significant, they are often
it is their responsibility to achieve uni- giate choruses, and the pros and cons quite singable and can lead to very
versal literacy. Or envisage directing of each are delineated below. Specific musical sight-singing. In addition to
a Shakespearean play with a cast of titles of curricula that presented prob- folk songs, excerpting sight-singing
actors who are unable to read. Of lems are not listed; however, page examples from art songs by compos-
course this could be accomplished 71 lists two suggested resources for ers such as Franz Schubert, Claude
through repetition and rote instruc- teaching sight-singing at the begin- Debussy, Manuel de Falla, Fanny
tion but not without much time and ning and intermediate levels. Mendelssohn Hensel, and Ralph
labor from the director and cast of Vaughan Williams and excerpts from
actors. major choral works by Giovanni Pier-
Choral conductors face a similar Curriculum #1 luigi da Palestrina, Johannes Brahms,
problem when singers lack literacy The first sight-singing curriculum Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and
skills. Can our students learn as much used newly composed musical mate- George Frederick Handel (to name a

few) could give the singers a glimpse jor” and “perfect fourth” to a new tools develops sight-singing skills in
of the vast repertoire of superb vocal piece of music, but they acquired no a holistic and multidimensional ap-
music. In doing so, we introduce the real ability to audiate the material. proach. Then the same tools may
beauty and complexity of our rich Because inner hearing was not devel- be used with ease when sight-singing
choral tradition while shaping and oped sufficiently during this process, choral performance literature.
expanding the musical tastes of our the singers could not, as Kodály prac-
singers. An additional benefit to se- titioners often say, “hear with their
lecting masterworks: because singers eyes and see with their ears.” Curriculum #3
are introduced to the many genres Rote teaching of concert reper- A third sight-singing curriculum
and style periods of vocal and choral toire was still required even after featured excellent literature, such as
styles during sight-singing, they are, three months of working through this North American and international
perhaps, better prepared to interpret sight-singing curriculum. This experi- folk songs and excerpts of choral
this literature in concert music. ence showed that meaningful music works by master composers, but its
learning occurs when singers are overall approach did not present
able to synthesize skills and concepts, material in a carefully sequenced
Curriculum #2 handily audiate the material, and manner. Such curricular material
A second curriculum taught sym- then quickly apply their new learning lacked an instructional path in which
bol before sound. In this resource, to performance repertoire. Further, melodic and rhythmic patterns, as
music was presented algebraically— the “tools” of sight-singing—solfège, drawn from music literature, were
that is, as an entity from which key rhythm syllables, conducting gestures, presented sequentially from most
signatures, scales, intervals, and note Curwen hand signs, and singing on common to least common, easy to
values could be parsed. Singers were absolute letter names—were not difficult, etc. On the surface, this
able to apply labels such as “C Ma- mentioned. The constant use of these material seemed to fashion a learn-
ing sequence that was logical but in
practical terms failed to develop stu-
dent musicianship quickly. Folk songs
A steady and excerpts from masterworks were
loosely ordered in large categories
stream of such as compound-duple and simple-
voices duple, but the scope of the melodic
and rhythmic material was too vast.
supreme. Music theory components were not
presented in a digestible and memo-
rable sequence, and it felt as though
the curriculum presented too much,
too soon.
Curriculum #4
A fourth curriculum walked
students through a series of newly
composed melodic exercises that
were designed to immerse singers

into a harmonic context and tonal- diation will be slow to develop. able; (b) the material is sequenced
ity in preparation for performance in a musically intuitive manner; and
literature in that mode. The strength 3. The curriculum should quickly (c) the music utilizes North Ameri-
of this excellent curriculum is the develop choral musicianship skills. can or international folk songs and
priority placed on in-tune singing and Sight-singing should not be separate excellently composed music. Some
audiation, but the material was not from concert preparation or music- suggested resources at the beginner
created for large-scale sight-singing making in general. Directly after and intermediate levels are outlined
instruction. Exercises to teach the sight-singing, our students should be below:
rudiments of music were not included better prepared to rehearse literature
in the curriculum, so supplemental for an upcoming public performance. -For beginning students: Paul D.
sight-singing materials—those that This writer suggests that three Sanders’s two-volume The American
carefully sequence the rudiments of months is sufficient to identify if a Folk Song Sight-Singing Series (Mas-
music—were required to develop sight-singing curriculum is advancing terworks Press, 2003) begins with
comprehensive musicianship. student musicianship. By this time, bi-tonic melodies and progresses
students should be able to connect to pentatonic, diatonic, and modal
what they have learned during sight- music.
Conclusion singing to performance repertoire.
Piloting the above-mentioned -For intermediate students: The
curricula elucidated what to look for 4. The sight-singing curriculum must Folk Song Sight Singing Series (Oxford
and think about in selecting superb engage students with a wide range University Press, 1933) presents
sight-singing materials. These are of experience and prior knowledge. international folk songs in a graded
delineated below: Even experienced sight-singers will fashion. A strong grasp of melodic
benefit from the practice of using and rhythmic concepts would be
1. All materials that we select for the tools of solfège, rhythm syllables, required prior to using this resource.
the chorus must, in the end, develop Curwen hand signs, conducting ges-
fundamental musicianship skills in tures, and absolute letter names in 6. Finally, for any sight-singing cur-
our singers. Our vocal warm-ups can addition to working on intonation, riculum to be successful, it must be
teach group vocal technique, in-tune musicality, etc. taught by instructors who are excep-
singing, and musicality, and our sight- tional musicians and practitioners
singing materials can teach in-tune 5. Music educators must never ac- themselves. To this end, we must con-
singing and musicality plus audiation quaint students with anything but the tinue to hone our own musicianship
and literacy. Combined, that’s all five finest music literature and materials. skills: audiation, vocal production,
fundamental musicianship skills being Consequently, a sight-singing cur- music literacy, in-tune singing, and
developed in the first ten minutes of riculum must make use of only first- musicality. Then we are in the best
rehearsal—before an octavo is even rate folk and art song repertoire and position to pass along these skills to
brought out. limited, excellently composed music. our students.
These musical examples broaden and
2. Material within the curriculum enrich our students’ choral experi- James Bowyer is assistant professor
must be highly sequenced and pre- ences. of music at Indiana University South
sented in a fashion that is musically Bend in South Bend, IN. He is the
intuitive (e.g., moving from known to Fortunately, some sight-singing author of Creative Sightsinging (Santa
unknown, easy to complex). Sound curricula are available in which (a) Barbara Music Publishing, 2008).
must be taught before symbol or au- the scope of the material is work- james.bowyer@me.com

The ACDA Teaching and
Conducting Priorities Survey
This research initiation helps launch a new Center for Conducting

Pedagogy, a project of the ACDA Standing Committee on Research
and Publications, chaired by William Belan. The survey marks the
twenty-fifth anniversary of principal investigator Alan Gumm’s
benchmark study, “The development of a model and assessment
instrument of choral music teaching styles” by profiling both the
teaching and conducting priorities of current choral directors. As in
the 1990 national survey, the purpose is to verify and broaden our
understanding of choral pedagogy by describing the diverse skills,
schools of thought, and background predictors of how choral music
is taught and conducted.
ACDA members will receive an email invitation on September 15
with a link to the survey. Please plan to participate. Your response will
help address member priorities and set new initiatives for the future.
Results will be shared through Choral Journal.
David Puderbaugh, Editor
david-puderbaugh@uiowa.edu
Meredith Monk: Basket Rondo; “calls.” Monk’s “baskets” are woven; of costumes, blocking, and stylized
Eric Salzman: Jukebox in the Tavern that is, they introduce each individual movement that were integral parts
of Love voice then eventually weave them of the original concept, the piece still
The Western Wind together so that both the individual comes across as both musically and
Vocal Ensemble colors and combined textures are theatrically vital—a highly effective
Labor Records LAB 7094 apparent. Developed via improvisa- updating of a venerable genre.
(2014; 47’) tion and “workshopping,” the work
makes use of Monk’s usual palette David Rentz
The groundbreaking American of extended techniques—howls, Claremont, California
vocal ensemble The Western Wind growls, and shrieks—and long, lyri-
came together in 1969 with a mission cal wordless lines. Despite the lack of
to perform European and American text, or perhaps because of it, Basket Motets français pour voix aiguës
early music and contemporary Amer- Rondo transcends mere improvisatory (for upper voices)
ican music. Having commissioned technical display, creating arresting La Maîtrise de Toulouse,
and performed works by William musical textures and colors with a Conservatoire de Toulouse
Bolcom, Bobby McFerrin, Matthew wide range of emotional affect. Mark Opstad, conductor
Harris, Tania Léon, and many oth- Eric Salzman’s Jukebox in the Tavern Regent REGCD420 (2014; 74’44”)
ers over the years, the of Love, on the other hand, is an in-
group is celebrating tensely learned and referential work When Mark Opstad was appoint-
its forty-fifth anniver- but one with a passionate heart. ed Professeur de chant choral at the Tou-
sary with the release Commissioned to pair with Adriano louse Conservatoire, he imported the
of this recording of Banchieri’s 1605 Barca di Venetia per English choral tradition of his youth
new works by Mer- Padova, the piece is a modern mad- to a region known for its contribu-
edith Monk and Eric Salzman. As rigal comedy with a motley cast of tion to French choral
detailed in the CD notes, both pieces contrasting characters spending music. In his recent
were written in close collaboration an evening together in a New York recording, Motets fran-
with the ensemble; the musical lines, neighborhood bar during a storm- çais pour voix aiguës,
ranges, and characters were crafted induced blackout. The characters tell Opstad successfully
with each of the six singers’ unique their stories with plenty of interjec- combined the merits
voices and personalities in mind. tions from the others, and their sty- of the English choral tradition with
Meredith Monk’s Basket Rondo listically distinct numbers range from the variety of treble-voice literature
consists of eight short movements the Broadway Dancer’s infectious associated with Toulouse.
between forty-two seconds and three “Brug Chug Shuffle” to the intensely In 2006, Opstad established
minutes each: three “basket” move- affecting tales of the Catholic Nun the Maîtrise de Toulouse, a government-
ments (at the beginning, middle, and Orthodox Rabbi. Though the re- supported choir school affiliated with
and end), and four “bells” and one cording naturally suffers from the lack the Collége Michelet. Since its founding,

this ensemble has achieved an artistic While this recording’s tracks are is manifested in the care and integrity
level of excellence parallel with that ordered chronologically, it fortu- they give to every phrase. The Byrd
found in many of Europe’s leading nately lacks the academic feel of an is only one minute long, but in that
children’s choirs. With their warm anthology compilation. Each selec- short time the group makes you eager
tone and precise intonation, La Maî- tion flows evenly from one motet to for more.
trise de Toulouse possesses the ability to the next while leading the listener to The CD is titled Terra Tremuit
perform a broad range of repertoire. experience several musical climaxes (La Terre a Tremblé: The Earth
In this recording, Motets français and moments of repose, as if these Trembled) after the Byrd and the final
pour voix aiguës, Opstad’s ensemble selections were programmed for a live selection, Palestrina’s motet from the
reaffirms this claim with spotless performance. There are numerous same text: a portion of Psalm 75. All
performances of a wide range of quality recordings of sacred treble the pieces recorded
French choral literature. By cleverly music, but there are few that are as here were written on
programming selections that span varied in repertoire—yet consistently various texts centered
over 400 years, Opstad presents a performed with musical integrity—as on the trembling
recording that celebrates the choral Motets français pour voix aiguës. It is this earthquakes after the
legacy of composers associated with reviewer’s hope that more recordings death of Christ on
Toulouse, including Bouzignac, Cam- from this budding ensemble will be the cross or about the anticipated
pra, Fauré, Poulenc, and Libes. published and that we may hear them destruction of the world on the Day
Opstad’s interpretation, coupled soon at an upcoming conference. of Judgment.
with the ensemble’s musical sensitiv- The centerpiece of the CD is the
ity, is of great interest. This is made C. Michael Porter beautifully dense and often heroic-
evident by comparing the phrasing Boise, Idaho sounding twelve-voice Messe “Et ecce
and tone of the early works with those terrae motus” [“And the earth shook”]
from contemporary composers found of Antoine Brumel, a contempo-
on this recording. For example, the Terra Tremuit (La Terre A Tremblé) rary of Josquin des Prés. Brumel,
first two selections—Tota pulchra es by Studio de Musique Ancienne de like Josquin, belonged to the third
Guillame Bouzignac (1587–1643) Montreal generation of the Franco-Flemish
and Domine salvum fac regem by Antoine Christopher Jackson, Director polyphonic school. It is not surpris-
Boesset (1586–1643)—are performed ATMA Classique ACD2 2653 ing, then, that the listener is rewarded
with impeccable tuning and a trans- (2013/14; 54’75”) with a warm, full-bodied, and vibrant
parency that allows for a clear poly- choral tone that harkens back to
phonic texture. With Adore te and Jesu When looking at the panoply of its recent Medieval ancestry while
dulcissime pastor by Daniel Danielis recordings made by Studio de Mu- remaining firmly rooted in the rich,
(1635–96), the ensemble phrases ap- sique Ancienne de Montreal (Roland expanding textures of the end of the
propriately based on the rhetorical de Lassus: Lagrime de San Pietro; Musica fifteenth century.
structure of the text, as is common Vaticana; Roma Triumphans; Rise, O My Moving forward to the middle Re-
with French Baroque literature. Of Soul: English Anthems; Marc-Antoine naissance and the motets by Jacobus
particular interest is the O quam suavis Charpentier: Messe à quatre choeurs; and Vaet (Quotides deum illum) and Thomas
est Op. 76 by Pierre Vilette (1926–98). Arvo Pärt: Stabat Mater), two things Crécquillon (Heu mihi, Domine), there
Here the ensemble executes Vilette’s become clear: the group has eclectic is a change in compositional style
broad sweeping lines with superb taste and a love of Renaissance po- to what is referred to as “imitative
intonation and a musicianship often lyphony. In the first selection on this syntactic style” in which, to quote
associated with choirs of more expe- present recording, William Byrd’s Robert Wangermée, “every sentence
rience. motet Terra tremuit for five voices, love of the text calls for its own musical

motif, a version of which is imitated up to the task. The composer and moods of playfulness and awe, terror,
by each of the contrapuntal voices.” the conductor have been colleagues and tranquility. The frustrations this
For works that haven’t been recorded with the Pacific Symphony since the reviewer experienced—the incorrect
often (one other of the Vaet by Dufay early 1990s. John Alexander and the URL of a conversation exploring
Ensemble and no others known of 140-voice Pacific Chorale commis- the collaboration process and the
the Crécquillon), the singers of Stu- sioned The Shore and two other pieces somewhat low recording volume of
dio de Musique adjust their approach on the CD, while the poet, David St. the entire CD—were minor.
so wonderfully and confidently that John, and the composer have col- All of the compositions on the disc
the listener can assume that this laborated for years as team teachers. illustrate the composer’s adeptness at
ensemble has a deep familiarity and In this work, they at- text painting. Whether the poet is St.
respect for these pieces. tempted to portray a John, Sara Teasdale, or Ticheli him-
This CD is a highly recommended life cycle using images self, he finds the emotional core of
listen, especially for the Brumel. connected to the sea the phrase and turns it into an aural
Regarding performance, certainly and its boundaries in experience. The childhood innocence
the Byrd and the Palestrina would relation to endings of the Shaker song Here Take this Lovely
make excellent opening pieces for a and beginnings. Both the poetry and Flower is kept in a simple, straightfor-
good high school choral ensemble, the music succeed in evoking the ward setting; and the dark, brooding
the other short pieces needing, per-
haps, a bit more musical maturity.
The Brumel is a substantial work and
would require an excellent college or
professional group.
Rich Brunner
North Hollywood, California
Frank Ticheli:
The Shore and Other Choral Works
Pacific Chorale, Pacific Symphony,
and John Alexander Singers
John Alexander, conductor
Delos DE 3461 (2013; 65’58”)
Frank Ticheli, Professor of Com-

position at the University of Southern
California’s Thornton School of
Music, is best known for his widely
performed concert band music. This
recording is ample demonstration of
his equal skill at choral composition.
Of the six compositions on the disc,
only the title piece employs orchestra,
and the Pacific Symphony is clearly

colors of Earth Song contrast well with ing available of this work in whole. are, surprisingly, of a consistently
the optimistic lyricism of There Will Be It is a historically interesting publica- good quality, even from those now-
Rest. The John Alexander Singers per- tion comprising twenty-nine six-voice forgotten composers.
form three of the works on this disc. madrigals, each with its own text by Unfortunately, the performance
All the choral singing is exemplary. its own poet and set to music by its does not do the work justice. The six-
own composer. Thus, it stands as a singer ensemble suffers from a lack of
Roger G. Miller “who’s who” in and around Venice musical cohesion: each singer carries
Springfield, Virginia at the end of the sixteenth century. his own idea of vowel
The composers represented range color, phrasing, and
from those still well known today (e.g., tone, which mars the
Il Trionfo di Dori (Venezia, 1592) Palestrina, Striggio, and Marenzio) equality among the
Gruppo Vocale Àrsi & Tèsi to ones perhaps unknown to even an contrapuntal voices.
Tony Corradini, director early music scholar. As such, it offers For example, while
Tactus 590003 (2013; 77’) a delightful array of styles, at least one soprano sings with a bright and
as much as can be expected of con- straight tone, the other sings with a
This album marks the first record- temporaries in one locale. The works dark and vibrato-rich sound. Further-
CHORAL
CONDUCTING
FACULTY
Robert Bode ONE OF THE COUNTRY’S
Charles Robinson
VOICE FACULTY
LIVELIEST ACADEMIES
–The New York Times
Vinson Cole
Raymond Feener
Dale Morehouse
Aidan Soder CONSERVATORY AUDITION DATES
Un Chong Christopher
Lindsey McKee
Dec. 12, 2015* Feb. 6, 2016**
Feb. 15, 2016** March 4, 2016**
OPERA DIRECTOR *Application deadline Nov. 1 **Application deadline Dec. 1
Fenlon Lamb
VOCAL COACHES For full audition/application information, visit:

Natalia Rivera conservatory.umkc.edu
Lee Thompson
Richard Williams 816-235-2900 | cadmissions@umkc.edu
3FMBZ.JTTPVSJ 55:
t6.,$JTBOFRVBMPQQPSUVOJUZBGmSNBUJWFBDUJPOJOTUJUVUJPO

more, though the pieces themselves of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, The majority of the tracks can
offer much variation in texture and is a study in texture and text setting. best be described as finely crafted,
mood, the ensemble chooses too There are other equally notable mo- highly functional liturgical music:
similar a tempo and dynamic among ments on this album, including the motets, anthems, and service music
them to bring those differences to lovely anthem We Have Heard the Lord, for the Anglican rite in a recognizable
the fore. which features some ear-catching Stanford-esque vein. Naylor’s works,
However, this album is not without melodic writing and enough textural seven of which are recorded for the
value. It stands as an excellent refer- interest to challenge a church choir of first time in this collection, provide
ence recording for the conductor and moderate skill. some welcome variety for conductors
could also be of use in a music history
classroom. Its variety of composers
and poets should be of interest to
anyone looking to expand his or her
repertoire. The ensemble is to be
commended for seeking to record this
once important but sadly neglected
work; perhaps it will inspire other
performers to endeavor to give back
to Il Trionfo di Dori the high regard it
once deservedly enjoyed.
Gabriel Fanelli
San Francisco, California
Vox Dicentis:
Choral Music by E. W. Naylor
The Choir of Emmanuel College,
Cambridge
Richard Latham, Director
Regent Records, RegCD 426 (2014;
76’)
The strength of Edward Woodall

Naylor’s reputation as a composer
is largely based on the title track
of this collection, the double-choir
motet Vox dicentis: Clama, an impres-
sive, expansive work that displays its
composer’s significant command of
counterpoint and his ability to create
the variety of moods required by an
often contradictory text. This piece,
in a fine performance by the Choir

interested in exploring the English robust than one might expect from composer. In his excellent CD notes,
school of the early twentieth century a Cambridge foundation, perhaps Raymond Hockley wisely points
in greater depth. While perhaps not because of the presence of adult, out that while many composers are
as prodigiously gifted as his contem- female sopranos and justly forgotten, Naylor should not
poraries Elgar, Holst, and Vaughan altos. This fullness of be among them. His best work, when
Williams, the examples included tone suits Naylor’s well presented, deserves to be heard
on this album show Naylor to be a music and matches more often than it currently is. Con-
skilled melodist with a marked ability the richness of his ductor Richard Latham has done a
to successfully, and rather poetically, harmonic language; the overall aural service to the choral world by making
paint text. effect is one of sumptuousness. The Naylor’s music more widely known.
The Choir of Emmanuel College, two benedictions recorded at the end
Cambridge, presents Naylor’s works of the album illustrate the beauty of Brian Burns
with great love, probably due to the the Emmanuel sound quite nicely in Platteville, Wisconsin
fact that he was organist at Em- a very compact format.
manuel for more than three decades. Vox Dicentis is an excellent bench-
Their singing is warmer and more mark introduction to a little-known
Choral Conducting. music.msu.edu
THE NEXT GENERATION.

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earned in three summers.
Close, personal attention with all

the benefits of a Big 10 university.

Steven Grives, Editor <smgrives@gmail.com>
Editor’s Note: As the new publica- All This Night each time. The organ introduction is
tion year begins, and I begin my Eleanor Daley (1955: 2012) a relatively lengthy twelve measures,
fifth year as editor of this column, SATB divisi and organ (3:02) providing a taste of the main melody
I would like to thank the many and the changing meters.
volunteers who have contributed Melodically, All This Night poses
their work to this column. The a few challenges. In the first half of
pieces reviewed in this column are each verse, the melody is constructed
recommendations, and I know I in two-measure segments that begin
speak for the membership when with chordal skips and finish with
I say how much our reviewers’ Alliance Music Publications, Inc.: primarily stepwise movement. The
expertise is appreciated. #AMP 0886, $1.90 ascending octave skips are likely to be
That being said, it is obvious e-address: www.alliancemusic.com/ the most challenging, with descend-
to anyone who attended the 2015 product.cfm?iProductID=1087 ing skips of a fifth common as well.
ACDA National Conference in Score preview: www.alliancemusic. The second half of each verse is con-
Salt Lake City that the choral com/images/products/ trastingly more conjunct. The piece is
landscape is changing, especially AllThisNight_web.pdf tonal, in the key of D major, and the
in regards to how information and Recording: www.alliancemusic. melodic and harmonic movement is
repertoire are disseminated and com/mp3/AllThisNight_Daley. logical within that tonality, though
distributed. Alongside the large mp3 there are moments of contemporary
music publishers, there exist com- Text: William Austin (1587-1634) harmony that make the piece sound
poser cooperatives and indepen- fresh and exciting.
dent music creators who choose to All This Night is an energetic, joy- The most immediately distinctive
publish and distribute their music ful Christmas piece by Canadian feature of All This Night is the chang-
themselves. Conductors who are composer Eleanor Daley. With its ing meter. Each verse begins in 4/4
accustomed to purchasing music changing meters and strophic form, time alternating every other measure
through a retailer are now, with it will be challenging but accessible to in 7/8 time. This only remains con-
increasing ease, able to select, re- accomplished church and community sistent for the first six measures, after
view, and download music for their choirs. It is also a good choice for which the meter changes irregularly
ensembles from their computers. colleges that have access to an organ. between 4/4 and 7/8. Each verse,
In the coming months, I will be The piece is organized around its however, retains the same pattern
working with the ACDA staff in the three verses, which are surrounded of meters. Moreover, the composer
national office to determine how by an organ introduction and in- has skillfully set the text so that it
this particular column can reflect terludes. Each verse is divided into never seems awkward throughout the
these changes. Suggestions are wel- two sections that musically act like changing meters.
come and can be sent to my email a verse and refrain. The refrain-like The text is from a poem by Wil-
address at the head of the column. section, however, has a different text liam Austin, an English lawyer and

writer of religious prose and poetry. compilation of his writings, including created an exuberant yet accessible
Austin shared his writings with his “Carols for Christmas Day,” pub- work with contemporary rhythmic,
friends, but none were published lished shortly after his death. melodic, and harmonic language that
during his lifetime. His widow had a In All This Night, Eleanor Daley has will enhance any Christmas season
performance or service.
Connections: www.alliancemusic.
com/peopledetails.cfm?iPeopleID=4
R & S: Church, College and Univer-

sity, Community, Two-Year College
Russell Thorngate
Ashland, Wisconsin
The Darkest Midnight

BR
BRAS
RAS
A S in December
CHAM
CH AAM
MBE
B R MU
MUSI
SICC Stephen Main (1963: 2014)
TTBB divisi, celesta or piano (3’)
CH
CHOR
HOR
ORAL
AL CON
ONDU
DU
UCT
CTIN
ING
G
COLL
COLLAB
LL ABOR
ABORAT
ORATIV
IVEE PI
PIAN
ANO
ANO
COMP
COMPOS
MP OSIT
I IO
ITI N
CONT
CON EM
NT EMPO
P RA
PORARY
RY MUS
USIC
ICC
HARP
HA RP Walton Music Corporation
MUSI
MUS C ED
SI EDUC
UCCAT
A IO
ON (GIA Publications, Inc., agent),
WW1527, $2.25
O CH
OR CHES
ESTR
RAL CON
NDUCT
DUCT
DU CTIN
CTIN
ING e-address: www.waltonmusic.com
PPEER
RCCUS
USSI
SION
ON
N/M
/MAR
ARIM
AR IMBA
BA Score Preview: www.jwpepper.
com/The-Darkest-Midnight-in-
PIIAN
A O December/10067369.item#.
STRI
R NG
N S VBUSIktY8ds (click on score icon)
Text: sacred, English; Rev. William
V CAL PEEDA
VO DAGO
GO
OG
GYY Devereux
VO
OICCE//OP
OPER
ER
RA
The Darkest Midnight in December is
W OD
WO DWI
W ND
N S an attractive and welcome addition to
the inventory of distinguished winter
holiday pieces written for the male
APPLY BY DECEMBER 1 | BOSTONCONSERVATORY.EDU choral ensemble. Though its melodic
ideas and harmonic idiom are gener-

ally quite accessible and well within in northeastern Ireland—forever dramatic contrast to the brooding
the capacities of high school singers, linking the Wexford Carols together tone of the opening verse. And,
the large ranges and divisi in all four with his name. Composer Stephen throughout the work, individual vocal
parts of this arrangement will likely Main gives this intimate Nativity text lines highlight the graceful melody
challenge young or small male en- an uncomplicated, folk song-like set- against a backdrop of textless choral
sembles. The lush arrangement will, ting through sturdy modal construc- accompaniment. Clustering voice
however undoubtedly hit the mark tion and flowing compound meters, parts and harmonic suspensions add
for many collegiate men’s choirs and and his suggested use of celesta and to the evocative sound, while extreme
other large or advanced groups. frequent exercise of gentle rhythmic ranges (from e2 in the bass up to c-
The text for the work comes from a syncopation lend a hint of Celtic sharp 5 at one point in the first tenor)
collection titled A New Garland Contain- mysticism to the score. allow ensembles the opportunity to
ing Songs for Christmas, first published Corresponding to the modal am- create a broad sonic fabric, employ-
in 1728. Its author, Rev. William biguity of the melody, alternating ing a rich variety of vocal color.
Devereux (1696-1771), composed stanzas swing expansively through The original SATB version of
many similar carols while serving major and minor sonorities, creat- the piece was a 2007 winner of the
Drinagh Parish, County Wexford, ing broad harmonic rhythm and annual carol competition sponsored
Director of Choral Organizations

Donald Nally
Major Choral Ensembles
Bienen Contemporary/Early Vocal Ensemble
University Chorale
Donald Nally, conductor
University Singers
Albert Pinsonneault, conductor
2015–16 season features the Midwest
premiere of Sila: The Breath of the World by
John Luther Adams, September 25 and 26
The Bienen School of Music offers

· A new 152,000-square-foot state-of-the-art
facility overlooking Lake Michigan
· Conservatory-level training combined with
the academic flexibility of an elite research
institution
· MM and DMA degrees in choral conducting
· Close proximity to downtown Chicago’s
vibrant cultural landscape
The Bienen School’s new facility includes the Mary B. Galvin Recital Hall (above), the David
847/491-3141 and Carol McClintock Choral Rehearsal and Recital Room, the Shirley Welsh Ryan Opera
www.music.northwestern.edu Theater, teaching studios, practice rooms, classrooms, and administrative and faculty offices.

by acclaimed Minneapolis choral accompaniment, which is also avail- from a notational point of view. Al-
ensemble, VocalEssence (Phillip able from the publisher. The TTBB though the use of octave clefs (with
Brunelle, director). First published arrangement, published this year, the numeral ‘8’ attached to the top
two years later (WW1416), it was is dedicated to the San Diego Gay of both treble and bass clefs) is likely
subsequently re-arranged by the Men’s Chorus (Gary Holt, director). employed to indicate that the celesta
composer for women’s and men’s en- The keyboard part for the work, sounds an octave higher than written,
sembles. The composer supplied the which is imaginative and supportive a short editorial note to that effect
SSAA version (WW1504) with harp of the choral parts, is often curious would obviate questions that will un-
doubtedly arise from their use. In ad-
dition, ambiguous rhythmic notations
and incongruous changes in beaming
patterns for the running sixteenth
note figuration throughout the work
seem unnecessarily confusing.
Californian Stephen Main’s offer-
ings for choral ensembles are princi-
pally sacred and include several other
compositions and arrangements that
are appropriate for winter holiday
concert presentations.
R&S: Male Choir, Music in Worship,

College and University, Community
Choir, Senior High School
Michael Rosewall
St. Norbert College
De Pere, WI
Three Romantic Works from

Public Domain Sources
Marienwürmchen (Volks-Kinder-
lieder, WoO 31, no. 13)
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897); ed.
Juliane Claudi
Unison with piano (2:30)

Score:
Choral Public Domain Library R&S: Children, Junior High,
http://javanese.imslp.info/
#20352 Women’s Choirs
files/imglnks/usimg/0/05/
Score: www3.cpdl.org/wiki/
IMSLP279507-PMLP28143-
images/6/69/ Klosterfräulein (Romanzen für
Schumann__Robert_Werke_
Brahms_Marienwürmchen_ Frauenstimmen, Op. 69, no. 3)
Breitkopf_Gregg_Serie_10_
WoO31_13.pdf Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Band_2_RS_102_Op_69_scan.pdf
Text: Secular, children’s folk song SSAA, unaccompanied (2:28)
Text: Secular, Justinus Kerner
(1786-1862)
Often sung as a solo Lied, this
charming work is suitable for chil-
Schumann’s four-part romance
dren’s choirs, middle school and
tells the story of a young woman who
high school treble choirs, solo and
feels trapped literally and figuratively
ensemble performance, and even col-
in her life as a nun. She mourns the
lege or university voice classes. International Music Score
passing of spring and the freedom
The text describes a child holding Library Project
of the lambs and the little birds.
a ladybug and is artful and appro-
Schumann’s setting is slow and ap-
priate for all ages. Strophic and set
in three short verses, the piece also
can serve as a good introduction
to singing in German. In a choral
performance, the middle verse could
be sung by a soloist or small group
to reduce the amount of German
sung by the full choir. Brahms offers
opportunities to develop line, expres-
sion and phrase shaping in this lyrical,
well-crafted work. A supportive yet
independent piano part partners with
the vocal line, providing momentum
and characterizing the gentle flight of
the ladybug. An able high school pia-
nist could certainly handle this. For
older choirs, Marienwürmchen would
combine well in a set with part-songs
or single-gender duets by Brahms or
other Romantic composers like Men-
delssohn and Schumann.
Translation available at LiederNet:

http://www.recmusic.org/lieder/
get_text.html?TextId=4538

propriately melancholy with long, as well. While Schumann seems to Text: Secular, Johann Ludwig Uh-
yearning lines; d-minor modality; indicate his color preference in this land (1787-1862)
and frequent diminished triads and choice, some adjustments can be
seventh chords. This brief work is set made in the interest of balance and This clever setting features a jubi-
in three eight-bar strophes; the only of color; for example, the addition of lant text about the lark’s song. The
variance is in the rhythmic accom- some first and/or second sopranos main portion comprises a canon that
modation of the second and third to the first alto part may bolster the will aid in speedy learning of the
verse texts. The vocal ranges are tune without changing the overall work. For the first ten measures, the
quite limited, but the low range of richness of the tone. This work is soprano and alto sing in a homorthy-
the second alto limits this to perfor- among many short, elegant romances mic duet. The tenor and bass come
mance by high school, college, and written by Schumann for treble and in with this same music in measure
adult women’s choirs. The first alto mixed choirs, all of which make fine eleven, accompanied by a new duet
part actually has the melody and a concert options for advanced choirs in the soprano and alto. In measure
range of an octave—more expansive (high school and up) and program twenty-one, the voices trade, with
than any of the other voices and well together. the sopranos and altos returning to
spanning higher than any of them the opening material as the tenors
Translation: and basses continue the canon. At
http://www.recmusic.org/lieder/ the conclusion of this section, Men-
get_text.html?TextId=17788 delssohn indicates that the four-part
E\
3DXO%UDQGYLN portion may be repeated as desired
$XWKRURI
7KH&RPSOHHW Performance link: before proceeding to the brief coda,
0DGULJDO'LQQHU%RRNH
https://www.youtube.com/ in which the piece joyfully concludes
watch?v=sfoPUcw461M with the text “we go through the
0$.(7+( clouds to the sun!” Mendelssohn’s
5(1$,66$1&(&20($/,9(
DW\RXUXQLYHUVLW\KLJKVFKRRO
R&S: College and University, Senior part-song is compact (twenty-five
PLGGOHVFKRRORUFKXUFK High School, Women’s Choirs measures) and exuberant with lilting,
7+,57<7:281,48(6&5,376
singable lines and a relatively small
amount of German text. Some of the
($&+6&5,37,1&/8'(6
$//',$/2*8( Lerchengesang (Opus 48, no. 4) higher ranges may need attention in
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Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1809- rehearsal, but this is a wonderful in-
+80252865(1$,66$1&(6.,7 1847) troduction to the German Romantic
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SATB, unaccompanied (1:30) part-song repertoire for less-experi-
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enced choirs and a joyful addition to
the program of any fine mixed group.
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R&S: College and University, Senior
ZZZPDGULJDOGLQQHUFRP High School
NQLJKWVKWLFNSUHVVOOF Elizabeth Schauer

%R[ Choral Public Domain Library
%HPLGML01 #00245 President, Arizona ACDA

PDGULJDOGLQQHU#PDGULJDOGLQQHUFRP Score: www3.cpdl.org/wiki/ Tuscon, AZ
A Division of EXTREMELY LTD. images/sheet/mendelss/
mend-484.pdf

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Choral Journal Sept 2015

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CONTENTS September 2015/ Volume 56, Number 2

22 A Symposium Brings Research to Life through

32 Notes for Success: Advice for the First-Year Choral

57 Repertoire & Standards

Releasing the Spiritual: An Interview with Robert Russell

Student Chapter Update

Annual dues (includes subscription to the Choral Journal ): Active $95,

Southwestern Division President

• To disseminate professional news DANIELPOUR, R.:

Boychoirs Where will choral music be in

Youth and Student Activities

From the Editor

EDITOR The cover for this September issue no doubt

designed to assist in the conductor’s preparation of this work while investi-

Overcome.” As scholars of choral music, many Choral Journal readers are

from it. The process of collaboration and the implementation of aspects of

reliable curricula and suggested resources for use in rehearsal.

DIRECTOR time, instead of the “land of the

America Cantat 8 is an exciting, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for ACDA

Help grow new choral singers and develop

More information at:

CHORAL JOURNAL Volume 56 Number 2 7

JOHANN JACOB VAN NIEKERK

Johann Jacob Van Niekerk

8 CHORAL JOURNAL Volume 56 Number 2

CHORAL JOURNAL Volume 56 Number 2 9

10 CHORAL JOURNAL Volume 56 Number 2

CHORAL JOURNAL Volume 56 Number 2 11

12 CHORAL JOURNAL Volume 56 Number 2

CHORAL JOURNAL Volume 56 Number 2 13

Penance and remorse The recitative focuses on the diﬀerences in prosperity

14 CHORAL JOURNAL Volume 56 Number 2

CHORAL JOURNAL Volume 56 Number 2 15

16 CHORAL JOURNAL Volume 56 Number 2

CHORAL JOURNAL Volume 56 Number 2 17

18 CHORAL JOURNAL Volume 56 Number 2

CHORAL JOURNAL Volume 56 Number 2 19

building dramatic tension before a final resolution back NOTES

20 CHORAL JOURNAL Volume 56 Number 2

YOUR NEXT CHORAL

Job Seeker Benefits

New York City Public School students and members of the

22 CHORAL JOURNAL Volume 56 Number 2

CHORAL JOURNAL Volume 56 Number 2 23

24 CHORAL JOURNAL Volume 56 Number 2

Figure 1. “We Shall Overcome”: Seven Potential Antecedent Songs

Title Composer Date of Publication

No More Auction Block Unknown 1915 in Jubilee and Plantation Songs:

I’ll Be All Right Unknown Transcription printed 1960 in A. Lomax,

I Will Overcome Unknown Transcription printed 1960 in A. Lomax,

CHORAL JOURNAL Volume 56 Number 2 25

SESSION ONE (10:10-10:45 AM)

for guests. Intermediate Mixed Chorus, and The Nubian

26 CHORAL JOURNAL Volume 56 Number 2

Performances at the Symposium

No More Auction Block (traditional)…………………………………………… Nubian Conservatory of Music Concert Choir

We Shall Overcome (Reprise)…………………………………………………………………………Combined Choirs and Audience

CHORAL JOURNAL Volume 56 Number 2 27

the symposium had on their personal and professional

The Elementary Choral Students

28 CHORAL JOURNAL Volume 56 Number 2

He felt that “putting the song in context allows for a more

We Know Travel Matters

CHORAL JOURNAL Volume 56 Number 2 29