Ode to the Virginian Voyage Showman Billy Rose claimed to have written the first singing commercial in the late 1920’s: A tender ditty titled Does the Spearmint Lose Its Flavor on the Bedpost Overnight?. He lacked a commission from Wrigley, but his claim is also rubbish because music has been used as propaganda for hundreds,…

Totus Tuus (Entirely Thine Am I) Totus Tuus is a hymn to the Virgin Mary that was composed in 1987 for the third visit of Pope John Paul II to his homeland. The choral text is taken from a poem written by Maria Boguslawska. The music is based on chants of the Polish Catholic Church…

Tres Cantus Laudendi (Three Songs of Praise) Laudate Pueri and Jubilate were commissioned and premiered by the Utah Symphony Chorus in Symphony Hall, Salt Lake City, May 1989. The work has since been widely acclaimed for its richness of tonality and intricate weaving of its major motifs. Laudate Domine was composed in early 1990 and…

Saint Paul “My oratorio gives me increasing pleasure…”, the 25-year-old Felix Mendelssohn wrote his younger sister, Rebecka, in late November of 1834. His “pleasure” was in the nature of catharsis; he had just resigned as the musical director of a new theatre in Dusseldorf, following a quarrel with the theatrical director of this attraction– almost…

St. Nicholas (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)is a quintessentially English twentieth-century composer, with works which are among the standards for virtually all types of serious performance– instrumental solos and chamber music, overtures, symphonies, songs, cantatas, and operas. Among his better known works are A Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra; the operas Peter Grimes and Billy…

Gloria by John Rutter At 55, the English composer John Rutter has become a veritable icon of contemporary choral music. His association with Clare College, Cambridge, first as a student, then as Director of Music, and later, as the organizer of the much-recorded Cambridge Singers, has led to international recognition; the Naperville Chorus used selections…

Requiem by John Rutter John Rutter was born in London in 1945, and was educated at Clare College, Cambridge. He began composing seriously in 1969, and has composed a large number of works, mostly choral, but including two children’s operas, orchestral works, works based on the heritage of the Beatles, and many works for chorus…

Gloria “In Poulenc”, said Claude Rostand, “there is something of the monk and something of the rascal.” That was an unsurprising conclusion, given that its subject was one of the “young Turks” of music in post-World War I France. The French critic Collet in 1920 laid the derisive appellation “Les Six” upon “Les Nouveaux Jeunes”–…

Misa Criolla Written by contemporary (1921- )Argentinian composer,Ariel Ramírez, the Misa Criolla is unique in that it combines the rhythms and traditions of Hispanic America with the traditional religious mass. Composed in 1963, this popular choral work incorporates a variety of Argentinian folk styles ranging from the lively dance,”carnavalito”, for the Gloria to the obsessing…

Messiah The Messiah is probably the best known and most enjoyed choral work today, and for good reason. It is a very singable piece. Its wide variety of choruses and solos provide an ever-changing treat for the ear. But the popularity of the Messiah is not new. The love of the Messiah by a German…