I Thank You God was commissioned by the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) and premiered at the National ACDA Convention in February, 1999. The text is adapted from the E.E. Cummings poem of the same name. Composer Gwyneth Walker writes: "Thi...  moreI Thank You God was commissioned by the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) and premiered at the National ACDA Convention in February, 1999. The text is adapted from the E.E. Cummings poem of the same name. Composer Gwyneth Walker writes: "This is a poem of grandeur and of praise. Therefore it might be expected that this musical setting would aim at vastness, grandeur and awakening." Walker accomplishes this through a variety of means. First, the piano introduction includes slowly unfolding piano arpeggios which focus on open intervals of octaves, fifths and fourths, exploiting the full range of the piano keyboard. The composer also takes the singers on a harmonic journey which begins in a low register in C minor, and then travels through a number of other key areas until it reaches the distant key of G-flat. At this point, the voices are drawn closely together into a tone cluster containing the pitches G-flat, A-flat and B-flat, only to open apart into the glorious C major chords which conclude the ...    less

[A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir]   I wrote a post a a few years back called Do you need singing lessons in order to sing?   Photo by Anna Strumillo   My main point was ...

VokalArs, an all-female music group, started rehearsing at the end of 2004 with the intention of consolidating a professional chamber size Choir who would offer unconventional, high artistical quality concerts. Its components are professionals, whether si...  moreVokalArs, an all-female music group, started rehearsing at the end of 2004 with the intention of consolidating a professional chamber size Choir who would offer unconventional, high artistical quality concerts. Its components are professionals, whether singers or related to other areas of music or those who, despite having another occupation, have a solid musical background and an extense vocal and choral experience. The unique sonority of a female group of singers, usually a capella, has been widely explored throughout the history of music by many composers from all times, both male and female. Examples of such music can be found from the Middle Ages up to contemporary music; however it is not until Romanticism that works are composed specifically for female Choirs. Thus, a particular genre is born that will keep its own entity up to the present times. This genre has been especially cultivated as of late by female artists and composers. Both aspects, that is presenting works written for female Choir as well ...    less

Zulu church/ protest song: "The walls of Jericho are falling." Understood to be a reference to the fall of apartheid. As sung by the Polokwane Choir, taught by Northern Harmony. This is from The OK Chorale's first ever public concert in Woodbridge, Suf...  moreZulu church/ protest song: "The walls of Jericho are falling." Understood to be a reference to the fall of apartheid. As sung by the Polokwane Choir, taught by Northern Harmony. This is from The OK Chorale's first ever public concert in Woodbridge, Suffolk, UK on 24 March 2012. Not the best of lighting! Also a bit shouty in places as it was many of the singers' first time in front of an audience. www.chrisrowbury.com  

African-American choral music grew out of the oral tradition of spirituals that was created by African slaves.  These songs, influenced by Christianity and rooted in African culture, expressed the hardship and hope of African slaves in the United Sta...

Our songs for your Choir - the Stone&Tara Songbook Stone&Tara (Anke de Bruijn - vocals & Peter Duiverman - piano) started out as a blues duo with a passion for a lot of other styles too, like latin-american, jazz, seventies pop, and classical music. When...

  “United in Song” A Choral Celebration !     The award winning children’s Choir The Major Minors and the well-known Hutt Valley Singers, will join forces for a very special occasion:      ...

[this is a version of a post which first appeared on my blog From the Front of the Choir]   There is a lack of men in many community Choirs (Why men won’t sing).     The Tenor by Paul Helm   One of the results of th...

2013.5.20 北歐音畫夏季音樂會 2 大東文化藝術中心演藝廳 指揮: 科勒.漢肯 Kåre Hanken

Corale Novantanove - L'Aquila, Sax: Gennaro Spezza for SATB Choir and Sax