choral music

[Tash]

we've just started Durufle's Requiem op.9 in choir and i'm listening to a recording of it right now and it's absolutely beautiful! aw i'm so excited to be singing this!
anyway i'm really into choral music at the moment and am wanting to build my collection and was wondering if you can recommend any personal faves that i might not know the existance of?

this is my current collection just so you don't go telling me things i already know
Bach Mass in B minor
         Magnificat in Eb
Beethoven Mass in C
          Missa Solemnis
Brahms A German Requiem
Faure Requiem
Haydn The Creation
Josquin Des Prez Missa Pange Lingua
                Missa La so fa re mi
Ligeti Requiem
Liszt Missa Choralis
         Via Crusis
Mendelssohn- random mash of loose pieces
Mozart Requiem in D minor
Orff Carmina Burana
Palestrina Missa Papae Marcelli
Stravinsky Canticum Sacrum
              Mass
              Symphony of Psalms, plus other random pieces
Verdi Messa da Requiem
        Quattro Pezzi Sacri
Victoria O Magnum Mysterium
          Missa Ascendens Christus in Altum
Vine Choral Symphony

Plus a few other random things that aren't actually part of a full work. ok so my stash isn't too bad at the moment but i want more!! thanks 

[abell88]

Lux Aeterna by Morten Lauridsen, and just about anything by John Rutter.

[BoliverAllmon]

Faure's cantique de Jean Racine. Beautiful.

the Lord's prayer in Russian is nice also.  (oche nash)

Feller from Fortune. I can't remember the composer's name.

Mozart's credo mass

[musik_man]

You really need to get Rachminoff's Vespers  It's my favorite piece by Rach.

[Floristan]

I second the Rachmaninoff "Vespers" -- also Brahms wrote a lot of choral music besides the German requiem.  The pieces he wrote for women's chorus, horns, and harp are very sweet (Op.17?).  So are the Marienlieder for SATB a cappella chorus (Op. 22?).  The Zigeneunerlieder Op. 103 are fun, too (gypsy songs).  Here's a link to Brahms choral CDs at Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/listmania/list-browse/-/2TKY27IWH5JU3/104-6637406-2534346

[Tash]

ooh yes rachmaninov that would be nice. i have the Bells which i quite like, and i have discovered that i have the faure piece you mentioned boliver, yummo! mmm rutter is good too i have his pie jesu on some classical chillout cd which is really really nice. thanks people keep the suggestions coming!

[asyncopated]

Hi,

Love choral music as well!  Here are a few suggestions

Victoria O quam gloriosum

Tavener (other tavener)
Western wind mass

Pelastrina
Motets

Bach
St. Matthew's Passion
St. John's Passion
Motets (especially the 3rd)
(These are exquisite but takes some getting used to)

Monteverdi
Vespers (These are fantastic! Highly recommended)

Mozart
Mass in C minor

Vivaldi
Gloria

Handel
Messiah
Anthems (Zadok etc.)

Rachmaninoff
Vespers (definately)

Elgar
Dream of Gerontius (very poetic)

Walton
Belshazzar's Feast

Bernstein
Chichester Psalms (intersting sounds and rhythms/sung in hebrew)

[pianonut]

anything by ralph vaughn williams.

poulenc wrote some interesting sounding harmonies in some of his choral music, too.

mendelssohn's psalm 23 (heard this with mendelssohn's mens chorus)  and the end of the piano concerto that busoni wrote has some chorus at the end.

[Floristan]

The Montiverdi "Vespers of 1610" are amazing -- but you need to hear them with really good stereo separation as the two choirs are antiphonal -- they sit on opposite sides of the cathedral and sing back and forth for much of the piece.  I sang in the chorus for this piece when I was a freshman at university.  Quite an experience!

[tenn]

Sibelius - Works for mixed choir a cappella - Jubilate Choir

Also The Sixteen under Harry Christophers - Medieval and Renaissance Europe

[Fugue]

By Lauridsen

Six mid winter songs
Chassons of the rose (text by Rilke; it has the famous Drait-on)
Ave Maria
Lux Aeterna
O Magnum Mysterium

David Conte
Invocation and Dance (based on Whitman)

Virtually anything by Monteverdi, try his Beatus Vir.

If you like early music/Polyphony, try Sweelinck (no idea how to spell his name), he has some very nice peices, like his hodie christus natus est.

Ave maris Stella by Trond Kverno

And of course, anything by Bach.

[asyncopated]

I second Floristan's view. 

I have heard a number of versions of this, and my favourite is still Gardiner's interpretation.  As there are not many markings with tempo, articulation and dynamics, the interpretation by many conductors differs significantly.

Gardiner's version was recorded live at st. marks. in venice about 15 (?) years ago.  It is not perfect, as one would have it, no live recording is.  But there is an energy in  it not found in many recordings.  But that's only my view.

al.

[whynot]

Wow, you have some really good stuff already.  Anything conducted by Gardiner will be great.  My husband was in the audience at that recorded performance of the Vespers.  He was travelling with friends, they saw a poster for the concert that night and ran to buy tickets.  I'm thrilled by all the recommendations.  I didn't know there were such lovers of choral music here.  I would add anything by James MacMillan.  His Cantos Sagrados is stunning.  Eric Whitacre is very good (and young, fie on him).  And more Monteverdi:  Lamento d'Arianna, five movements or songs-- all that's left of the saddest opera ever written.  I think Rachmaninov was mentioned, I'd second that.  And a house favorite, Jetse Bremer.  He is in the Netherlands Chamber Choir and they perform his work.  It's all beautiful, interesting, very fresh.  I don't know if he's better known on his continent than mine (I hope so) but certainly deserves to be.  Truly, his album of his Christmas songs (his own, they're not arranged carols) sung by that choir will make you believe in Christmas again.

[pianoguy]

I am once again going to express my love for certain video game music on this forum... There is an AWESOME piece for choir and orchestra by Nobuo Uematsu in Final Fantasy 8 called "Liberi Fatali"(fated children). Trust me on this one, it's great!

[Jacey1973]

I also sing in my University choir and these are the pieces we've done over 3 years, they are all beautiful, but my favourite has to be:

Britten - War Requiem - it's amaaazing and really challenging, plus we have also done:

Vaughan-Williams - Hodie
Mendelssohn  - Hymn of praise/2nd symphony
Gounod - Misse solemnis
Faure - Cantique de Jean Racine
Bruckner - Te Deum
Berlioz - Te Deum
Brahms - Song of Destiny
Parry - I was glad
Hoddunit - The Bells of Paradise
Mozart - Requiem

I love Choral music, its refershing to get away from piano/orchestral music sometimes.

[Jacey1973]

anything by ralph vaughn williams.

poulenc wrote some interesting sounding harmonies in some of his choral music, too.

mendelssohn's psalm 23 (heard this with mendelssohn's mens chorus)  and the end of the piano concerto that busoni wrote has some chorus at the end.

Er....have you actually listened to any of Vaughan-Williams's music? Obviously not, according to your view! He is a fabulous composer of choral music, one of our best composers in this country.

Oooh i forgot to mention a couple i did projects on in the last year:

Bach - St John Passion
Monteverdi - Vespers

When researching the above, i read loads of articles in the "Early Music" journals - anyone read any of these? They are well worth a look.

There have been some fascinating debates about performance practise issues over the years - like e.g how many singers Bach actually used per part, choir sizes, instruments used, conducting etc.

I think performance practice is such an interesting subject, as there are no right or wrong answers, especially referring to early music - as we have to rely on written accounts, drawings, letters of the time to discover the facts.

[Tash]

this is excellent thanks so much everyone! it's cool to know that there's so many of you here who have an interest in choral music, and you've given some great suggesions!
i've just found monetverdi's vespers which i'm really likeing, and berlioz's requiem and a couple of mass's by shubert and mozart. so i'm excited woohoo

[pianonut]

dear jenni,

i take it that you don't like his choral music perhaps as much as his symphonic music?  i really like the symphonic as well.  his 'on a theme of thomas tallis' is cool.  and 'fantasia on greensleeves.'  those are two of my longtime favorites.

but, to answer your question...i have also been involved with choirs (accompanied many) and though i can't remember all the songs i've heard by name, i can say i appreciated and enjoyed them.  vaughn williams used poetry by walt whitman and robert lewis stevenson (and i appreciate the gentle simplicity of his matching music to the words).

i've attended many choral concerts too. among them, the king singers.  you may have a better choir in mind, but i have heard through the years some good choral music by vaughn williams.  dona nobis pacem, hodie

also, for individual voice, i like the songs of travel, the vagabond, ...roadside fire... it's just that i don't hear them every day but i still enjoy them when i hear them.