Essay on Contemporary Choral Music

The “Fall Choral Concert” was held in Pasadena City College, on Friday November 4, 2016 at 8pm. The concert was an hour and half long and was performed in the Westerbeck Recital Hall (CA 140). The performs of this concert were mostly students of Pasadena City College, whom according to their teacher and conductor Mr. Guerrero managed to put an amazing performance in only 6 weeks.

     The madrigal is a distinctive type of secular song that originated in Italy. It was an aristocratic form of poetry and music that flourished at small Italian courts. In the piece, Cruda Amarilli, Monteverdi uses many musical devices that are typical of a madrigal. The lyrics in this song are repeated, the music accompanies the text in interesting ways, and there is a wide range of vocal notes. After listening to the piece just once you can immediately feel the unrequited love Monteverdi is displaying through his words and music. The music and instrumentation in this piece aid the voices to establish form and mood through word painting. He uses word painting and cadences to develop a theme of unrequited love.

I nervously explained to the counselor, “I’m having some trouble finding a class that is a good fit.” She suggested that I try something out of my comfort zone, to “try new things” -whatever that means-. Sitting up confidently in her chair, she then proceeded to pull up open classes on her computer. After explaining what each one entailed for a good half hour, I wasn’t very impressed by the options. Clearly frustrated and defeated she suggested, “Choir?” The very last one on her list was the class that made me who I am today.

Franscesco Petrach’ sonnet “Upon the Breeze she Spread her Golden Hair” is a love poem in which the persona describes his love feelings about the subject, Laura. However, he laments that while his love for her is everlasting, it only results in pain because the feeling is not mutual thus not reciprocated by Laura. In fact, the structure and style of the poem help in conveying his message. Petrach uses metre, rhyme, and alliteration to impart the feeling of euphony in the audience regarding the poem. Nonetheless, there are few instances in which he deviates from the set structure, which mirrors real life situations and the love experience he describes as imperfect.

I came to realize that playing music can bring someone great fortune. I had no plans for the future, no goals, nor dreams before I starting my path in music. I never wondered without direction. But one day, good fortune came to me. A fortune I would have never of thought of. It was The Gracias choir and music. I was thinking to myself “I have never been so happy nor have I had so much enjoyment to live. To have an open mind to people around the world by delivering my heart threw my music. It looks like a dream!"

Dr. Howard Hanson enjoyed a celebrated international music career including becoming the first composer to enter the American Academy in Rome in 1921, an appointment as director of the Eastman School of Music in 1924, and winning a Pulitzer Prize in 1944 for his Symphony No. 4. Chorale and Alleluia was Dr. Hanson's first of five works for wind band, commissioned in 1954 by Edwin Franko Goldman for the American Bandmasters Association.

Only one man could claim the title as probably the greatest composer in American history for writing so many unforgettable works: Aaron Copland. He lived a life inspired by many things as well as inspiring people all across the nation, and it really led to the opposite of being drawn into himself, as he described in the quote above. He was born in Brooklyn, New York on November 14 in 1900. He was the youngest of five children to Sarah and Harris Copland. A musical spark came out in Copland already at the age of 11 as he began piano lessons with his sister. His musical talents

Eric Whitacre is known as a grammy-winning composer and conductor also is one of the most known musicians of our time. Born in Nevada, he started out by joining his school band and also played in a techno-pop group. After he graduated from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, he then went on to graduate from Juilliard School of Music as Master of Music in 1997. He then completed a 5 year term as Composer in Residence at Sidney Sussex College in Cambridge University, UK. Eric was recently appointed Artist in Residence with Los Angeles Master Chorale. Not only has he written incredible choral music but also has orchestral music that has been performed all over the globe. His first album as a composer and conductor won the 2012 Grammy award for

The Brigham Young University presentation of the University Chorale on December 10th consisted of two choirs: The University Chorale Evening choir, and the University Chorale Day choir. Both performed at the de Jong Concert Hall Harris Fine Arts Center, with the Evening choir conducted by Paul Broomhead, and Hollie Pratt as the assistant conductor. The Day choir, was conducted by Christopher Downard, with Kameron Kavanaugh as the assistant conductor.

William Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet, elicits sympathy from the reader through the theme of how love can kill. Shakespeare’s use of many literary devices such as metaphor, imagery and symbolism causes this theme to be evident. Therefore, the beauty of love disguises the violence or death it may also cause. The powerful nature of love throughout the poem is easily interpreted through Shakespeare’s use of metaphors.

KIRBY SHAW made a big impact in choral music education. Kirby Shaw has shared his musical expertise in 45 states like, Canada, Australia, the Bahamas, China, Germany, and others. Kirby has a degree in Music Education and a degree Choral Composition. Kirdy got those degrees from San Jose State University. Kirby also got a DMA degree for choral conducting in the University of Washington. When Dr. shaw teaches it’s with a sense of humor .

Composers rely heavily on ritornello form. More freedom in the form although a sinfonia proper is later developed.

Franz Peter Schubert (Schubert) is one of the great Austrian composers in the Romantic era. He is famous for songwriting, which he has written over 600 songs (Burkholder 598). He was born in 1797 in Himmelpfortgrund, the suburbs of Vienna, Austria with the great talent in music (Brown).

Poetry in Elizabethan time was based on courtly love conventions which included conceits and complements. Themes such as the unattainability of the lady, sleeplessness, constancy in love, cruelty of the beloved, renunciation of love, fine passion of the lover versus icy emotions of the beloved, praise of the beloved’s beauty and eternalizing her as being subject of the poem; these all are

The classical music period extends from 1740 to 1810, which includes the music of Haydn, Mozart, and the first period of Beethoven. The classical period of music combined harmony, melody, rhythm, and orchestration more effectively than earlier periods of music. With the natural evolution of music slowly changing with the culture, the baroque era had ended. That era had left a structure, articulation and periodic phrasing of music which would shape classical music.