Choral Masterpieces

Major and Minor

Nicholas Tarling

In Choral Masterpieces: Major and Minor, historian Nicholas Tarling surveys the landscape of choral works, some standard masterpieces that are commonly performed by choruses around the world, others deserving a second, closer look. As noted in the foreword by Uwe Grodd , music director of the Auckland Choral Society, this work “is a collection of essays about a number of outstanding works, including Beethoven’s Miss Solemnis and Britten’s War Requiem, but he also invites attention to lesser masterpieces. If the choral movement, which includes both singers and listeners, is to survive, new works must be created and repertory expanded. The book is an easy and captivating read even if you are not a chorister.”

Choral Masterpieces: Major and Minor features short essays on over 28 works, from major masterpieces such as Handel’s Messiah and Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion to off-the-beaten path choral works such as Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Hiawatha and Frederick Delius’ A Mass of Life. Throughout, Tarling offers assessments that sparkle with unique insights and at the same time ground listener’s in the historical contexts of the work’s production and performance. Each work is transformed in Tarling’s able hands from musical work into a window into the mind and milieu of the composer.

Choral Masterpieces: Major and Minor mixes choral mainstays with works that demand revisiting. Choral singers and their audiences, as well as choral societies and their directions and promoters, will find ample food for thoughts in these meditations on the choral tradition.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 232 • Trim: 6¼ x 9

978-1-4422-3493-2 • Hardback • May 2014 • $135.00 • (£104.00)

978-1-4422-3452-9 • Paperback • May 2014 • $73.00 • (£56.00)

978-1-4422-3453-6 • eBook • May 2014 • $69.00 • (£53.00)

Subjects: Music / Genres & Styles / Choral, Music / History & Criticism

Choral Masterpieces

Major and Minor

Hardback

Paperback

eBook

Summary

In Choral Masterpieces: Major and Minor, historian Nicholas Tarling surveys the landscape of choral works, some standard masterpieces that are commonly performed by choruses around the world, others deserving a second, closer look. As noted in the foreword by Uwe Grodd , music director of the Auckland Choral Society, this work “is a collection of essays about a number of outstanding works, including Beethoven’s Miss Solemnis and Britten’s War Requiem, but he also invites attention to lesser masterpieces. If the choral movement, which includes both singers and listeners, is to survive, new works must be created and repertory expanded. The book is an easy and captivating read even if you are not a chorister.”

Choral Masterpieces: Major and Minor features short essays on over 28 works, from major masterpieces such as Handel’s Messiah and Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion to off-the-beaten path choral works such as Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Hiawatha and Frederick Delius’ A Mass of Life. Throughout, Tarling offers assessments that sparkle with unique insights and at the same time ground listener’s in the historical contexts of the work’s production and performance. Each work is transformed in Tarling’s able hands from musical work into a window into the mind and milieu of the composer.

Choral Masterpieces: Major and Minor mixes choral mainstays with works that demand revisiting. Choral singers and their audiences, as well as choral societies and their directions and promoters, will find ample food for thoughts in these meditations on the choral tradition.

Details

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 232 • Trim: 6¼ x 9

978-1-4422-3493-2 • Hardback • May 2014 • $135.00 • (£104.00)

978-1-4422-3452-9 • Paperback • May 2014 • $73.00 • (£56.00)

978-1-4422-3453-6 • eBook • May 2014 • $69.00 • (£53.00)

Subjects: Music / Genres & Styles / Choral, Music / History & Criticism

Author

Nicholas Tarling is former professor of history at the University of Auckland for nearly 30 years. A specialist in the history of Southeast Asia, he has published extensively on the region’s history and culture. As a music aficionado, he has programmed broadcasts on opera for Radio New Zealand, reviews regularly for Opera magazine, prepares and conducts pre-concert talks, and writes concert program notes.

Table of Contents

Preface
Chapter 1: Romanticism and the musical background
Chapter 2: Youth and the Prodigy
Chapter 3: Béranger and the Revolutions
Chapter 4: Paganini and his crucial influence
Chapter 5: Liszt and the Polish pianist
Chapter 6: Chopin and the Polish bowman
Chapter 7: Chopin and Polish Romanticism
Chapter 8: Liszt and the great virtuosity
Chapter 9: Chopin and his letters
Chapter 10: The Princess and settlement at Weimar
Chapter 11: Liszt and his three lives
Chapter 12: Wieniawski and the hard-earned years
Chapter 13: Liszt and the Polish Oratorio
Chapter 14: The Survivor and his friends
Chapter 15: The Decline and End
Epilogue
Appendix: Listings of Franz Liszt’s music connected to Poland
Index

Choral Masterpieces

Major and Minor

Nicholas Tarling

Choral Masterpieces

Major and Minor

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