Choral Masterworks from Bach to Britten - by Robert J Summer (Paperback)

About the Book

This book presents a series of discussions about sixteen choral masterworks, facilitating conductors, singers, and instrumentalists who regularly perform these works and wish to know them in greater detail. Celebrated compositions such as Bach's Mass in B Minor, Mahler's 8th S...

Book Synopsis

This book presents a series of discussions about sixteen choral masterworks, facilitating conductors, singers, and instrumentalists who regularly perform these works and wish to know them in greater detail. Celebrated compositions such as Bach's Mass in B Minor, Mahler's 8th Symphony, Verdi's Requiem, and Britten's War Requiem, are examined in terms of textual symbolism, musical structure, and identification of endearing traits of each work.

Review Quotes

Happily, the writing connects analysis with practice! It does so easily and consistently, making the writing approachable and attractive to those who practice the art of teaching and conducting choral music.

No matter how long we have been working as teachers/conductors, we continue to need inspiration and nourishment. This volume contains precisely the nourishment we need. For anyone who wants to know choral masterworks in greater depth, here is the source you have been waiting for.

Offers insightful, handy, and readable observations about a range of commonly known and loved large works. Those who would ordinarily collect such titles will find it indispensable.

Recommended.

Robert Summer has written a book that should be considered for every choral conductor's library....It could also serve as an ideal textbook for an undergraduate choral literature class....A practical resource written from the vantage point of a performing musician. I strongly recommend this text.


Summer (choral studies, U. of South Florida, Tampa) discusses 15 choral compositions in depth for performers, students, and listeners. Pieces include Bach's Mass in B Minor, Handel's Messiah, Haydn's Creation, Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem, Mahler's Symphony No. 8, requiems by Duruflé and Fauré, and Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms . He analyzes each piece and discusses conducting considerations, historical context, and textual elements.

The book gains validity from the fact that the author has actually conducted all of these works and "lived and breathed" them from the practical standpoint of a conductor, bringing them to life in performance, and not just as an academic pouring over the scores in the privacy of the studio....The scholarship is of the finest order, referencing classic established sources side-by-side with the most current musicological publications. The author has a wonderful way in whetting the reader's appetite for further study.

Your account of the rehearsal and the performance of Mahler Eighth was both illuminating and deeply moving. I can't tell you how much I value reading or hearing about other musicians' experiences with my father; the stories form a bridge to his memory, and through them his spirit is kept alive.

About the Author

Robert J. Summer is professor of choral studies at the University of South Florida, Tampa and founding conductor of the Master Chorale of Tampa Bay.