NCCO Choral Scholar Vol. 61-1

SPRING 2024

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Executive Leadership

Editor Letter

An Interview with Past-President Kellori Dower Angelica Dunsavage, chief editor of publications

Recording Reviews

Morgan Luttig, editor

contributors: Morgan Luttig, Trevor Tran

A Renewed Passion for the Passion: The History of the Passion Genre and Its Relevance to the Twenty-first Century Andrew Hon

Book Reviews

Andrew Crow, editor

contributors: Andrew Crow, Eric Rubenstein

Implementing the Flipped Classroom in Collegiate

Choral Methods and Conducting Courses

Micah Bland

Choral Reviews

Nathan Reiff, editor

contributor: Andy Schroetter, Nathan Reiff

NCCO Executive Leadership

Katherine FitzGibbon PRESIDENT

Katherine FitzGibbon is Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Lewis & Clark College, where she conducts two of the three choirs, teaches courses in conducting and music history, and oversees the voice and choral areas. Dr. FitzGibbon founded Resonance Ensemble in 2009, a professional choral ensemble presenting powerful programs that promote meaningful social change. Dr. FitzGibbon has also served on the faculty of the summertime Berkshire Choral International festival and conducted choirs at Harvard, Boston, Cornell, and Clark Universities, and at the University of Michigan. She was a previous member of NCCO’s National Board and Mission and Vision in Governance Committee.

Merrin Guice Gill PRESIDENT-ELECT

Dr. Merrin Guice Gill is the Director of Choral Activities at Bethel University. Her choirs have received international awards including first and second prizes in the Riva Del Garda International Choral Competition, Silver Medal at the World Choir Games, and as finalists in the American Prize for Choral Performance. She is an accomplished soprano in opera and new music, frequent guest clinician, and scholar whose research has been presented widely. With NCCO, she has served on the National Board, published in The Choral Scholar, and presented “Feldenkrais Method and Mental Health in the Choral Room” at the 2023 National Conference.

Coreen Duffy VICE PRESIDENT

Coreen Duffy is Director of Choral Activities at the University of Montana School of Music, where she conducts Chamber Chorale and University Choir, teaches conducting and choral methods, and supervises student teachers. She also directs the UM-Missoula Community Chorus. Under her direction, UM Chamber Chorale has performed at the Marktoberdorf Competition, in Saarbrücken and London, and at NWACDA. She is an active clinician and frequently published. A specialist in Jewish music, Duffy has presented at ACDA, NCCO, NAfME, and internationally. With NCCO, she was an editorial board member of The Choral Scholar and served on the Task Force on Expanding Choral Pedagogy. Duffy is President-Elect of NWACDA.

Michael McGaghie TREASURER

Michael McGaghie serves as Associate Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Macalester College, where he conducts the college’s two choirs and teaches courses in conducting, musicianship, and Passion settings from Bach to the present. He also directs the Isthmus Vocal Ensemble and the Harvard Glee Club Young Alumni Chorus. His recognitions from ACDA include an invitation to conduct the Macalester Concert Choir at the 2016 North Central division conference, an ICEP fellowship to China, and the Julius Herford Prize. Prior to his elected term as Treasurer, Dr. McGaghie served on NCCO’s National Board and as an inaugural member of the Mission and Vision in Governance Committee.

Cordara Harper SECRETARY

Dr. Cordara Harper is a native of Cove City, North Carolina, the Director of Choral Activities, Voice Area Coordinator, and Assistant Professor of Music Education at Grambling State University. Harper is an international presenter and acclaimed versatile musician active as a music educator, choral conductor, instructional leader, and vocal musician. Dr. Harper completed a Ph.D. in Music Education with a cognate in Choral Conducting at the University of Memphis.

Jace Kaholokula Saplan DIRECTOR OF AFFINITY GROUPS

Associate Professor Jace Kaholokula Saplan (they/he) serves as Director of Choral Activities and Associate Professor of Music Learning and Teaching and choral conducting at Arizona State University where they oversee the graduate program in choral conducting, conduct the ASU Concert Choir, and teach courses in choral literature and pedagogy that weave decolonial and critical theories with communal vocal practice. Recently, Saplan was named as the third artistic director of the Choral Arts Society of Washington (Choral Arts DC). As a Kanaka Maoli advocate, artist, and culture bearer, Saplan is also the artistic director of Nā Wai Chamber Choir, a vocal ensemble based in Hawaiʻi dedicated to the preservation, propagation, and innovation of Hawaiian choral music.

Angelica Dunsavage CHIEF EDITOR OF PUBLICATIONS

Dr. Angelica Dunsavage (she/they) serves as Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Choirs at Tennessee State University, where she conducts the TSU University Choir and the Meistersingers and teaches courses in conducting and music education. Prior to her appointment at TSU, Angelica taught music education and choral/vocal classes at Washington State University. She received her DMA in Choral Conducting and Music Education from University of Arizona, her MM in Choral Conducting from Bowling Green State University, and her BS in Music Education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

From the Editor Being the Change We Seek

Angelica Dunsavage

“Every dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars, to change the world. ”

—Harriet Tubman

The field of education is constantly shifting. Repertoire, topics, and pedagogy we once had passion for may not align with our new goals and the needs of our students. For some, priorities change due to external factors like funding and restructuring. With the constant worries of “what now,” passion for teaching requires discipline to keep the fire lit. This edition of The Choral Scholar and American Choral Review delves into passion, both the genre and the emotion, and discusses how NCCO as an organization can keep our fires burning.

In this edition, Micah Bland’s article The Flipped Classroom offers ways of using alternative teaching strategies in the choral classroom to heighten student engagement and agency. Andrew Hon’s A Renewed Passion for the Passion discusses how the passion genre has evolved, and its continued relevance for twenty-first century composers. In book reviews, recent publications by Mary Marden Cobb and Christopher Peterson provide practical pedagogy tools for today’s choral education students. We hope that this publication continues to provide topics that ignite your passion for choral education.

scholars. In this framework, we are excited to announce the following changes to our submission guidelines present on our website, https://nccousa.org/publications/the-choral-scholar-americanchoral-review:

• Peer-reviewed articles will remain a feature of this publication. Authors who wish to submit completed articles for peer review are encouraged to do so but will have the option for additional feedback from an Editorial Mentor if requested.

• Submissions are now open for article ideas and works in progress. We would like to hear from a growing number of authors, particularly those who may have been uninspired to submit an article, and commit to guiding groundbreaking ideas into publication.

Merrin Guice Gill (president-elect), Coreen Duffy (vice president), and Cordara Harper (secretary). The Choral Scholar Editorial Board is looking forward to working with the new executive board members as we continue our effort to make the mission of NCCO a reality. We also express our deepest gratitude to Elizabeth Swanson and Marie Bucoy-Calavan for their service to our organization. In this edition, I interview pastpresident Kellori Dower, where she shares her thoughts on the changes made in NCCO during her presidency, conference highlights, and hopes for the organization’s future. She reminds us to keep our foot on the gas, keeping our passion for our mission alive.

writing, and podcasts. If you have an idea to share, or want to get involved, please see our website or email editor@ncco-usa.org

The Choral Scholar and American Choral Review is always looking for new ideas and writers. We are seeking to expand our offerings to include interviews, video lectures, and alternative forms of scholarship. If you have a passion you wish to share, please reach out to us at editor@ncco-usa.org !

If you are interested in submitting an article or becoming a review writer, please visit https://nccousa.org/publications/the-choral-scholar-americanchoral-review to view our submission guidelines.

The Choral Scholar and American Choral Review is a reflection of NCCO: it is our organization’s mission and vision put into the practice of research. As such, this edition challenges us to move forward into change. Patrick Freer’s article A Beloved Community reminds that there is much work to be done to align the choral field’s values with its research. Kirsten Hedegaard’s article Environmentalism through Choral Music highlights how choral music can be a message for social change. Nicholas Sienkiewicz combines psychology with musical analysis to unpack the emotional impact of Considering Matthew Shepard We hope that this publication continues to expand what is possible in choral scholarship and be the change we seek.

Sincerely,

Sincerely,

At the beginning of the year, the NCCO Executive Board began a new term of office. We welcome our new president, Katherine FitzGibbon, as well as

• The Choral Scholar will be expanding to include new methods of scholarship, including interviews, videos, creative

Angelica Dunsavage Chief Editor of Publications

Angelica Dunsavage Chief Editor of Publications

An Interview with Past-President

Kellori Dower

Written by Chief Editor of Publications, Angelica Dunsavage

On January 1st, the NCCO Executive Board transitioned to its new set of two-year term appointments. Among those was the appointment of Katherine FitzGibbon as NCCO’s new president, and the transition of Kellori Dower to our new past-president. From her appointment as president in February of 2022, Kellori has led NCCO through a virtual conference, multiple changes in organizational structure, and a historic 10th conference held at Morehouse College this past November. In this interview, we speak with Kellori on the highlights of her presidential term, and the direction of NCCO moving forward.

Angelica Dunsavage: Thank you so much for being willing to meet with us. It’s been really wonderful working with you on the NCCO board. I would like to be able to take some time to ask you a couple of questions, and get your thoughts on the most recent conference, some highlights from your presidency, and anything else you’d like to share with the membership. Starting off, what were some of the highlights for you during your presidency?

Kellori Dower: Well, highlight is an interesting word. I think there were moments when I recognized that we were in transition, and to me the recognition of that moment was a huge highlight for me. I didn’t see it coming right away. I didn’t even see the Presidency coming! I was just helping out, and then, Dominick DiOrio spoke to me, so I’m here! If you wanna blame someone, you can blame Dominick, and quote me on that! But then we got into it: the pandemic happened, we were planning to have

the conference at Morehouse in 2021. And then the numbers started to rise, so I said in one of the meetings, “I think we have to start thinking about a virtual conference.” I literally said that loud, not realizing that I’d have to, you know, run it. So I guess just the recognition of the pivot, certainly with me becoming the President, and then our group, our executive board, having to operate not one, but 2 conferences: the first ever— hopefully, last ever—virtual conference. Coupled with that was the new and reimagined Mission Vision and Governance Committee, which was sort of the check and balance on the governing of our organization. This was the first presidency with the MVG, and it’s created a lot for us already. And of course, the first conference at an HBCU! I’m very proud that we were able to actually have it in person. We could have just said that virtual one it was it. But I thought it was important that we actually have it at Morehouse—We can’t access the college from our virtual environment. So those are some of the highlights. I’m also very proud of

the changes that have been made with The Choral Scholar: increasing access by publishing on Issuu, and the changes in the way that scholarship is presented. The way that other folks have access to be contributors to it, I think, is mind blowing that we’re even in this place, because that’s not how we started!

AD: Transition is really the key term, because I think that there have been a lot of things from the conference, to MVG, to The Choral Scholar, that have just started to transition. The recognition of that as it’s happening is a difficult thing, because it’s chaotic! But it allows for so much change, and so much growth.

KD: Absolutely.

AD: So speaking of the Conference, you already highlighted this a little bit, being at Morehouse and being able to have that experience. What was your favorite part of our last conference? Or maybe some of your favorite parts since it might be hard to just say one! What is something about this past conference that you hope continues in the future?

KD: You know what I noticed really just being a black woman: we had dinner the first night that we were there. I got really choked up because it seemed simple, but I was in the middle of watching these young men at Morehouse, African American men, who would look me in my eye and speak to me and tell me who they were, and it seemed like maybe a ‘nothing’ thing. But then I remembered back to my own grandfather, and that’s what choked me up, because I hadn’t thought about it in years. When I was younger, my grandfather and I were walking through downtown in East Texas, and seeing him literally get off the sidewalk for teenage white kids or white men to protect me. Making sure that he looked down and he didn’t look at them so that he didn’t appear to be any kind of a threat. Seeing those young men, it was big for me. That was a personal thing.

Also, I can’t say enough about the performances! The performance on the opening night with Morehouse and Spellman, and then Roland Carter coming in and conducting his arrangement of Lift Every Voice? Magical! Just watching them, and then Kevin Johnson doing his arrangement of Children Go Where I Send Thee. They’re up there doing their whole thing, and I tried to copy it and almost broke my back! The Morehouse Men came in really quickly, and I wondered what that was about. David told me it was walking with purpose that they walk with intent. Their tribute to Robert Ray and He Never Failed Me Yet was incredible.

Another highlight: All of our presenters were women. That wasn’t something we planned, but is just how it happened when we adjudicated. And I was really pleased about that, just speaking to who we are, and giving opportunities to meet people with preparation. The best people are the folks that have a moment right now to say something. And this time it was women, so I was really, really excited about that.

As far as what I’d like to see continue in the future, I really hope that we will continue to be more inclusive. I am noticing in the country just generally, and even in my own institution, that we have started to get comfortable and relax back. I think George Floyd passed away, and everybody was like, “Oh, that’s terrible! That’s awful!” And it is, and was, and always will be. But I also noticed that the further we get away from that moment, the closer we get back to what we were. So what I would hope is that NCCO would not fall for it. It’s a trick and a trap because it doesn’t move things forward, it literally moves it backwards. It puts us in a space of really being nothing special, and then it keeps people away. I think we did a really good job of grabbing the margins, but I think we could reach even further out. There are people, collegiate conductors who have never heard of NCCO. There are collegiate conductors who have heard of NCCO and don’t participate. They don’t

want to be involved. Don’t come to conferences. I think finding out the ‘why’ of that might be important for us to go forward. I don’t think we’ll find out why in one year. We had more HBCU conductors at this conference than probably ever. But there’s more out there, and there are Hispanicserving institution conductors who are not there. And we should think about including Mexico into our conversations too. So my hope is that we just keep the door open and make sure that people have an opportunity to contribute at whatever level they can. Making them comfortable, so at least we get to hear where they are, where they’d like to go. We can certainly learn more.

AD: Thank you so much for sharing all of that, and your openness in sharing your personal story. I love how your answers are kind of leading to our upcoming questions. You know some of the changes that we’ve seen, both in the country and reflected in our field. What do you think has changed NCCO during the last 5 years? You already mentioned some things that have changed just in your presidency. Do you think these changes reflect what’s happening in the choral field as a whole? Or do you think that NCCO is leading the way or pushing a little bit on this?

KD: I think we are leading the way. Small but mighty! When I was at the University of Delaware in November I was on stage with Chorus America leadership and also with ACDA, and they’re doing fine work. But I did pivot a little bit in the conversation about what we are going to be doing? What are we doing? And what I asked the participants at the conference was to please provide NCCO some grace. Because it’s going to take us time to do it right. We don’t have the same resources. We’re a 100% volunteer Executive Board and National Board, so I asked them to allow us the time to do the right kind of work, and I compared it to this analogy that I heard. You can’t bake a cake, and then put it in the oven and bake it, only to realize that you didn’t include the eggs, so you take the baked cake out and they crack the eggs on top

of it, right? It’s only when all the ingredients come together at the same time that you can go into the fire together. So, it’s really starting over. In a lot of organizations, I see this situation. Those two that I mentioned, they’re doing absolutely wonderful work, but there are other organizations that are just talking the talk and hoping that somehow no one notices. So it takes time, and to have an expectation that suddenly the rules will blow up and things will be magically better in one year or 2 years or 5 years is probably not realistic. I think NCCO does lead the way in that endeavor, taking our time. We’ve got Jace and the Affinity Groups and what they have done to elevate voices on the margins and allow them space to speak and to hear each other and be around each other. I think that does distinguish us from some other organizations as well. I think what we’re doing is reflected in the membership to some degree. What I saw at the conference was these side conversations happening that would likely not have occurred before. So I’m grateful. I was the first black president of the organization. Thankfully, I will not be the last, knowing the President-elect is Merrin. And I don’t shy away from saying things like that, because I think it’s an important thing to note that in 2022 or 2024 we still have these ‘firsts’ happening, but not lasts. I think that’s critical for the organization.

As far as the changes over the last 5 years, I do see more inclusion in the field, but it’s complicated. I’m a moderator, adjudicator, and conductor. So I look and I see some of these posts pop up, and they say, “I need an inclusive multicultural song from a diverse composer.” What are you actually trying to say?! I love responding with that question. Because everything is multicultural, right? We’re all from different cultures. So multicultural does not mean anything non-white. It just means from another culture.

AD: I think we’re already traveling into this question, but where do you hope NCCO, and the collegiate choral field, is headed in the future?

KD: I think, and I hope, we’re headed in a good place. If everybody stays the course, and people don’t become weary because it’s not working quickly. We have, as a society, become very addicted to right now, and right now is not always how it works. It just takes time, and so I hope that the choral community will give NCCO that space to create. But I also hope that conductors will force themselves to come out of whatever small places they might be in, siloed off, just them and their students and that doesn’t really help. So my hope is that we continue amplifying all those voices to the point that they can’t help but make this organization a priority. And then, you know, maybe someday, NCCO is big enough so that we could have smaller conferences in regions, to bring folks in the communities together. There are people that are at universities that are not 10 miles from each other, and they don’t speak. And they’re probably experiencing similar things. So the connection that we have to one another is super important.

AD: I think that the community aspect is really important, because you hear this spoken of a lot in the K–12 music classroom, but not for the collegiate world as much. I think we experience some of the same isolation, especially those who are the only choral person on their faculty. Being able to provide that connection for people is huge.

KD: And we should be connecting outside of the collegiate world as well. Collaborating with the area teachers, letting those K–12 programs have a concert in our auditorium or open for your group. That’s what we should be doing.

AD: So you mentioned that you do some moderating and conducting, but you are also in an administrative role. How do you see the collegiate choral world from the administrative point of view? Are there things that you see in a different way compared to when you were in conducting mode and is there any potential advice that you’d give from that different perspective?

KD: You know, when I was full time at the collegiate level stuff would happen, like money would not come to me, and I would imagine that it’s going somewhere else. And my first thought was, “Oh, they just hate choir!” And maybe sometimes that was true. But as an administrator I found out that that’s not always the truth. The fact is that some money can only be spent for some things, and there are timelines. And there are other guidelines that as a choir director/administrator, I find ways to let my faculty know I want to be able to help. I say, “We can’t use this money for that, and here’s why.” And then I show it to them, and I think that’s a piece that was missing, and why I became an administrator. I was thinking to myself how much of this do people actually know? We’re not taught it, and we don’t talk about it. I think that was my biggest learning, because I’ve suffered a lot as a collegiate conductor, thinking they just hate me or my program. I didn’t ask the question, and when I did ask the question, I wasn’t always given a plausible response. So what I’ve learned as an administrator is to make sure I ask the question. I make a point to always tell everything as transparently as I can. I’m better off if I ask questions, too! I always thought I was listening to other people, but I wasn’t. I heard the voices in my head that were slightly different, but mostly me. I learned I really needed to focus and listen to the perspective in front of me and use that information as a data point. I wish that choir directors could just spend a day or a week as an administrator to gain perspective. It’ll flip your classroom upside down, but also give you an understanding of how your students might feel in your classroom if they can’t talk, or if they don’t understand how things work. It’s a whole new learning for me. It would be nice to see how things look from another perspective. I think it could be transformative. We’ve had a few more folks going into administration, so I’m interested to see what that does to the choral music field at large.

AD: I think that that is a really great perspective, and I think you know the key word is transparency. You mentioned when you were asking these questions, or you had these thoughts, you didn’t know what was going on, and no one had told you. One of the things to highlight is that transparency piece that NCCO under your leadership has worked so hard as an organization to improve. And I think it’s time for us to be able to have those conversations and feel empowered to go into our institutions, and also ask for that transparency.

KD: I’ll be honest, some administrators are afraid to say that they don’t know. Because we’re supposed to know. I don’t mind saying I don’t know, and that’s because I was an artist. I am an artist. I understand that being wrong or having a mistake is actually a new way of learning. But not everybody is like that. They’re like, “Oh, no!” And then they don’t really know how to answer. But there’s a better approach, and we have to be nimble enough to learn who we’re working with.

AD: Well, Kellori, thank you so much for this interview, and for your service to NCCO over the past two years. This last question is completely open ended: as we wrap things up, is there anything that you would like to say to the NCCO membership? About your presidency, about the organization, or anything that maybe we haven’t touched on yet that you just would like readers to be able to see.

KD: Well, the biggest thing is that the time to become involved is now! Waiting doesn’t serve anybody, certainly not NCCO. It doesn’t serve a conductor’s calling if they wait to get involved. I think the most important message that I’d leave with everybody is, keep your foot on the gas. Don’t let my presidency be performative. Use this momentum like a springboard to a future of more inclusion, more diversity, more women conductors, more of everything! So that we don’t have to be identified as “diversity champions”, that we’re so immersed in the work that it is just the normal part of the way that we all operate.

Recording Reviews

Morgan Luttig, editor

Eternity

Elevation: Delaware Academy of Vocal Arts

Arreon Harley-Emerson, conductor

(2023, 40’17”)

Eternity is the debut album of Elevation, Delaware’s only professional ensemble and a part of the Delaware Academy of Vocal Arts. CEO and Artistic Director Arreon Harley-Emerson has served in numerous roles as a choral educator and advocate for Access, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging, and Restorative Practice (ADEIBR), including serving as National Chair of the American Choral Directors Association’s Diversity Initiatives Committee. This commitment to ADEIBR rings through in Elevation’s carefully crafted album. As listed on their website, the ensemble “fuse(s) traditional, classical choral music with jazz, hip-hop, R&B, storytelling, and spoken word.”1 Their premiere album eloquently combines these genres, telling a story that allows the listener to reflect on music across the ages, contemplating its place in human life.

The title piece, Eternity by Alvin Trotman gradually increases intensity, building into lush chords over which the first sopranos soar. The text by

1 “About Elevation,” Delaware Academy of Vocal Arts, https:// elevatevocalarts.org/elevation/about.

Robert Herrick speaks to vast infiniteness, and the composer alternates the poet’s words with textless choral harmonies, allowing the listener to reflect on the moving words. The composer’s modern compositional style contains cluster chords and call and response between choir and piano. The ensemble’s interpretation of Trotman’s piece combines flawlessly executed floating disjunct lines and broad chords of the full choir.

I’ve Been in the Storm So Long , composed and conducted by Arreon Harley-Emerson, features strong musical choices that accentuate the text. The piece begins with alternating quick vocal lines, weaving one over the other. This waterfall continues under the soloist’s melody, eventually replaced with hairpin homophonic chords that build to support the melody. As the piece reaches its climax, the rapidly cascading choral lines add to the feeling of the storm.

One of the highlights throughout this album is the impeccable soloists. Spanning from thoughtprovoking to immensely powerful, one must acknowledge the combined soloistic and choral strength of the artists in this ensemble. All solo performers are members of Elevation, showing their versatility as powerhouse individual singers as well as collaborative choral performers.

The third piece in the set, Ozymandias , is a challenging and poignant listen. The text by Percy Shelley and musical setting by Erik Meyer make the listener ponder mankind’s purpose. The text is a commentary on “humankind’s hubris,”2 brilliantly brought to life in the composition by Meyer, Elevation’s composer-in-residence. In addition to composing the piece, Meyer showcases great talent as collaborative pianist on the album as well. The listener experiences piercing choral clusters on the text “My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings” over rousing piano chords that span the full range of the keyboard. Following this wrenching moment, the dynamics diminish, leaving the piece to end as simply as it began with solo piano.

Undine Smith Moore’s Long Fare You Well, edited by Marques Garrett, contains a hymn-like melody passed between voice parts, supported by the remaining ensemble. A yearning feel is prominent in the recurring ascending minor sixth leap in the verses. With each iteration, the intensity builds until the choir joins together in homophonic texture on the text “when we meet in heav’n we will part no more” in a compelling moment of text painting.

Two pieces on the Eternity album are conducted by Elevation’s Associate Artistic Director, Jillian Harrison-Jones. Jasmine Barnes’ striking setting of Sometimes I Cry is one such piece. The frequent shift in tonal center throughout the piece fits Tupac Shakur’s text 3 impactfully. In this interpretation, the lower voices in particular provide a solid foundation for the multitude of key changes as the choir conveys Shukar’s provocative words. The transition from the final

2 “Ozymandias: Erik Meyer,” MusicSpoke, https://musicspoke. com/downloads/ozymandias/.

3 “Sometimes I Cry, Text by Tupac Shakur,” Jasmine Barnes, https://www.jasminebarnescomposer.com/product-page/ sometimes-i-cry-text-by-tupac-shakur.

chord of Sometimes I Cry to the opening chord of the J.S. Bach’s double-choir motet Komm, Jesu, Komm, BWV 299 was seamless. This programming decision demonstrates the impact of thoughtful choral program selection. Bach’s nearly eightminute work provides a challenge for any choral ensemble given the foreign language text, multitude of varied sections, and individualistic vocal lines. The choir shifts to a more buoyant sound to fit Baroque performance practice and executes tapering wonderfully. The motet ends with a unified chorale-like finish labeled as a fourpart Aria4 that resolves the piece with the gravitas expected of a Bach work.

The penultimate piece of the album, Ride in the Chariot, arranged by Brandon Waddles, begins with a soprano soloist accompanied by piano. The ensemble’s soloist demonstrates clarity and warmth that sets the tone for the traditional spiritual arrangement. An a cappella verse and chorus in the middle of the work allows Elevation to show their tuning strength and depth of choral color. The piece ends with a build from lowest to highest voices, including a dynamic soprano duet that crescendos to the final chord, leaving a strong impact on the listener.

The final piece of the album, I Shall Wear a Crown, transcribed by Brandon Waddles, is led by a mezzo soloist and band of bass, percussion, and piano. Conducted by Associate Artistic Director Jillian Harrison-Jones, this album finale further demonstrates Elevation’s versatility in performing works from Baroque to contemporary gospel5 with deep intentionality. The original composer, Thomas Whitfield, was “among the most prominent figures in the evolution of contemporary gospel,”

4 1. “Program Notes: J.S. Bach: Motets and Songs of Devotion,” Yale Institute of Sacred Music, https://ism.yale.edu/programnotes-js-bach-motets-and-songs-devotion.

5 “Thomas Whitfield Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More,” AllMusic, https://www.allmusic.com/artist/thomas-whitfieldmn0000923477.

frequently combining musical styles to develop a modernized gospel genre. In many ways, Whitfield’s contributions to the arts mirror Elevation’s goal of fusing choral styles in a manner that is both purposeful and impactful.

Elevation’s tribute to the infinite nature of music in Eternity is a powerful compilation of diverse composers, styles, and themes. The whimsical yet contemplative nature of the album cover accurately portrays the ethereal quality of the choir in their precise and emotionally-charged performance. This album is a must-listen for those seeking to be inspired.

—Morgan Luttig University of Alabama

Requiem: Maurice Duruflé

Georgia State University Singers

Deanna Joseph, conductor (2023, 49’09”))

Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem, Op. 9 is revived in this nuanced and refined interpretation by Deanna Joseph and the Georgia State University Singers. Requiem: Maurice Duruflé offers three sacred contemporary octavos along with the choral masterwork in a display of the ensemble’s masterful technical ability and fine blend.

and rhythmic setting of St. Augustine’s text in a buoyant 7/8 meter.”1 The piece is presented in a ternary structure with the 7/8 meter, “alleluia” text, and energized rhythms comprising the opening and closing A sections. The contrasting middle section employs the St. Augustine text, 4/4 meter, and more connected, expansive lines. The ensemble captures these contrasting sections well. The A section in 7/8 is rhythmic, precise, and never feels out of control. While the whole piece demonstrates great blend, this is especially evident in the middle section where the ensemble has strong awareness of their chordal tuning and balance responsibilities.

Following the Hagenberg is and the swallow by Caroline Shaw. The piece was commissioned by the Nederland Kammerkoor in 2017, and it draws its text from Psalm 84.2 The a cappella work is split into 8 voice parts, and the text is primarily set in homophony. Combined with the text are vowels and other vocalise sounds that are used to create various vocal effects. In the composition of the work, the vocal lines are quite disjunct with the text passing between different voice parts frequently. Despite this, the ensemble is able to connect the lines of text across the voices and bring out the important lines into the foreground. Furthermore, the ensemble enunciates the text well, however there are a few areas like the beginning where the text is not as clear. In these areas the writing tends to be in a low tessitura and at a soft dynamic. This makes it incredibly difficult to bring out the text, so diminished pronunciation is understandable.

The last octavo is Crucem tuam adoramus, Domine by Paweł Łukaszewski. It was written in 1995 and

1 Elaine Hagenberg, “Alleluia,” Elaine Hagenberg Music LLC, https://www.elainehagenberg.com/alleluia-satb.

The album first opens with Elaine Hagenberg’s Alleluia . The piece is described as a “joyous

2 Caroline Shaw, “and the swallow,” Caroline Shaw Editions, https://caroline-shaw-editions.myshopify.com/products/and-theswallow.

is the second of two Lenten motets.3 This a cappella motet features extended divisi with the tenors and basses splitting into six parts in some instances. In addition, the piece contains lush harmonies that are seldom predictable, but somehow they work together to create a rich soundscape. In this piece, the ensemble strikes a fine balance of achieving extended sustain along with continuous flow and connection through the phrases. Łukaszewski writes in echoes where the choir repeats a section at a softer dynamic. The sopranos are especially masterful in these echo moments as they showcase their ability to sing softly and float senza vibrato in their high tessitura.

After these three octavos the album presents the Requiem. Duruflé originally wanted to write a suite of organ pieces based on Gregorian chant, but he realized the necessity of the Latin text. As a result, his project turned into his larger-scale Requiem, which he dedicated to the memory of his father. The original version of the Requiem was written for full orchestra, organ, and chorus in 1947. Two other versions exist with one for organ and chorus written in 1948 and one for reduced orchestra, organ, and chorus written in 1961. The reduced orchestra version is showcased in the album.

Duruflé wrote in his program notes for the work, “This Requiem is composed entirely on the Gregorian themes of the Mass for the Dead.” 4 Throughout the work the chant is the primary factor influencing the music. At times Duruflé uses the chant in its entirety while in other movements only fragments are used. Joseph’s interpretation of the Requiem respects this facet. Instead of choosing to overemphasize the text and rhetoric of the work, the ensemble prioritizes the flow

3 Pawel Łukaszewski, “Crucem tuam adoramus, Domine,” Wise Music Classical, https://www.wisemusicclassical.com/ work/37145/Crucem-tuam-adoramus-Domine-from-Two-LentenMotets--Pawel-Lukaszewski.

4 Robert P. Eaton, “Maurice Duruflé’s “Requiem” Op. 9: An Analysis for Performance” (PhD diss., University of Hartford, 1991), 225.

and subtle nuance of the chant. This results in a recording that balances the influences of Medieval chant with the intensity and colors of Modern Era instruments and harmonies.

This introspective and elegant interpretation begins with the Introit and Kyrie where the flow and nuance mentioned before is immediately displayed. The choir achieves the long, connected chant lines and knows when to sing in the foreground to make clear the chant. The recording also balances well especially in moments where the orchestra contains the foreground material. The chant lines embedded in the instrumental parts clearly appear and are not covered even in the thick polyphonic textures of the Kyrie

In the Domine Jesu Christe the ensemble demonstrates their great energy and control in the fast section. Despite the changing meters and weak beat entrances, the ensemble maintains a consistent tempo. This is not always the case in performances and recordings especially in the 2/4 measures that shift between triple and duple subdivisions. Another notable item in this movement is the treble voices during their “Quam olim Abrahae” sections. They create a pure and transparent tone color that make these sections truly angelic.

Featured in the Requiem are baritone solos in the Domine Jesu Christe and Libera Me and a mezzosoprano solo in the Pie Jesu. Both soloists sing in the reverberant space well. In the Pie Jesu , the mezzo-soprano soloist and the cellist work especially well in their duet. Their dialogue is well balanced as their lines weave through and around each other.

One of the distinctive choices Duruflé made in his Requiem was to omit most of the Dies Irae and include the Libera Me and In Paradisum .

This creates a more meditative and calm work in contrast to the more fear-inspired requiems of the past. The In Paradisum ends the entire work and opens with the organ and sopranos. The sopranos once again display their angelic tone which is befitting as the text describes angels leading the soul to paradise. The recording successfully captures the contemplative ending as the work concludes in the same manner as it began with the organ and the word “requiem”.

One cannot help but to be inspired by the artistry and prowess displayed in this album. Requiem: Maurice Duruflé provides a true example of Duruflé’s compositional intention, and the three preceding octavos are a wonderful showcase of exquisite choral singing. Deanna Joseph and the Georgia State University Singers have done it again with another exceptional display of work.

—Trevor Tran

University of Maryland

A Renewed Passion for the Passion: The History of the Passion Genre and Its Relevance to the Twenty-first Century

Andrew Hon

The Passion

The Passion The Passion, in the context of the Christian Church, is the story of the suffering and crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the four canonical Gospels of the Bible: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Throughout history, Passion compositions have taken many forms, some even detached entirely from liturgical practices, but the concept of using Gospel texts as the basis of the narrative remained unchanged. This tradition began to be challenged in the second half of the twentieth century when some Passion composers adopted suffering protagonists other than Jesus. The past few decades even saw a trend in dechristianization of the Passion genre with unprecedented diversity in subject matter, style, and expression.

This article surveys the Passion genre from the Middle Ages to the twenty-first century, while highlighting its resurgence in the second half of the twentieth century. It examines the new trend of Passion writing that sets the story of a protagonist other than Jesus, the “non-Christocentric Passion,” and its three main forms of narrative:

1) legendary/historical narrative, 2) realistic narrative, and 3) allegorical/literary narrative. This article also discusses how traditional and non-traditional Passions in the twenty-first century allude to and diverge from past traditions, and the relevance of these allusions and divergences to the twenty-first century.

Middle Ages

Musical settings of the Passion narratives date back at least to the fifth century. 1 The earliest report of the use of the Passion in a religious ceremony is that of the pilgrim Egeria who visited Jerusalem in the fourth century and described the services held there during Holy Week. 2 Although it is believed that the chanting of the Passion originated in the early Middle Ages, it was not until the twelfth century that it was notated with precise pitches. By the thirteenth century, the Passion can be found in neumatic or square notation, first in French sources and later in English, Spanish, Hungarian, German, and Italian ones,3 but there was not a standardized practice within the Roman Catholic liturgy. By the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, it became universal to indicate different characters in the

1 Manfred F. Bukofzer, Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Music (New York, NY: W.W. Norton), quoted in Johann Jacob Van Niekerk, “Messiahs and Pariahs: Suffering and Social Conscience in the Passion Genre from J.S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion (1727) to David Lang’s the little match girl passion (2007)” (DMA diss., University of Washington, 2014), 1, accessed November 2, 2020, http://hdl.handle.net/1773/26540.

2 Kurt von Fischer and Werner Braun, “Passion,” Grove Music Online, accessed January 9, 2022.

3 Fischer and Braun, “Passion.”

Passion narrative—the letter “C” (Cantor) for the Evangelist, the Maltese cross “✠” for Jesus, and the letter “S” (Synagoga) for the turba, and other minor characters, such as Judas, Peter, and Pilate. Medieval notation of the Passion was usually not explicit because singers would rely on cantillation models for performance. In the pre-1955 Holy Week rites, prior to the liturgical reforms of Pope Pius XII, specific voice types are assigned for the characters: the Evangelist is a tenor, Jesus is a bass, and the rest are higher voices approximately in the alto range.4

Renaissance

The earliest polyphonic Passion settings can be traced back to the fifteenth century. They existed mainly in two types: the responsorial Passion of English origin and the through-composed Passion (also referred to as the “motet Passion”) of Italian origin. The responsorial Passion sets the narrative portions in monophony and the words of Jesus and the turba in polyphony, 5 such as Richard Davy’s St. Matthew Passion (c. 1490) from the Eton Choirbook (Eton MS 178). The throughcomposed Passion sets the complete text including the narration in polyphony,6 such as Antoine de Longueval’s Passio Domini nostri Jesu Christi (c. 1504),7 written for Ercole I d’Este, Duke of Ferrara. Longueval’s Passion is also considered a summa Passionis, meaning that its narrative is made up of sections taken from all four Gospels, including all seven words of Jesus on the cross, and a polyphonic exordium and conclusio. 8 In the sixteenth century, the responsorial Passion became the predominant style of the Catholic Passion. Notable settings include an unnamed Passion by

4 Chester L. Alwes, “Sacred Choral Music of the Renaissance, II (1525–1600),” A History of Western Choral Music, Volume 1 (New York: Oxford University Press, 2015).

5 Fischer and Braun, “Passion.”

6 Ibid.

7 The work has also been attributed to Jacob Obrecht, Pierre de la Rue, and a certain Johannes A la Venture.

8 Fischer and Braun, “Passion.”

Claudin de Sermisy (Paris, 1534) as well as the St. Matthew and the St. John Passions by Tomás Luis de Victoria (Rome, 1585). After the Protestant Reformation, the Italian summa Passionis was highly influential and widely imitated in Lutheran Germany. Another popular model in Germany was the German responsorial Passion, such as Johann Walter’s St. Matthew Passion (c. 1530), in which the narrative portions are set monophonically while the turba sections are set in the Italian falsobordone , a recitation style based on rootposition triads.

Baroque Period

In the late seventeenth century, German-speaking areas largely dominated the scene of Passion composition. Among the most famous settings of this century are three Dresden Passions by Heinrich Schütz ( St. Matthew , St. John and St. Luke , c. 1664–6), which are based on the responsorial style of Walter. Out of these three settings, the St. Matthew Passion is by far the most ambitious—a complete performance lasts approximately an hour. Another related but separate genre is the setting of sayings of Jesus on the cross, commonly known as the “Seven Last Words.” The most notable setting of the “Seven Last Words” in the Baroque period was also composed by Schütz around 1645. It is a German cantata for five voices, five instrumental parts, and continuo. Around the mid-century, instruments were first added to the Passion, such as the three settings by Thomas Selle (St. Matthew, 1642 and two settings of St. John, 1640/3).

By the early eighteenth century, the instrumental accompanied Passion became the prevailing model for elaborate settings. The two main types of Passion from this period are the Passion oratorio and the oratorio Passion. The Passion oratorio uses completely original texts and is closely related to the “oratorio proper,” while the oratorio Passion adheres to the actual Gospel narrative.

Two of the most well-known Passion oratorios were composed by George Frideric Handel and Carl Heinrich Graun. Handel’s Brockes Passion (c. 1715) sets a popular libretto by Barthold Heinrich Brockes (1680–1747). The same text was also set by many other German composers, including Georg Philipp Telemann (1716) and Johann Mattheson (1718). Graun’s Der Tod Jesu (1755), one of the most performed Passions in eighteenth-century Germany, sets a libretto by Karl Wilhelm Ramler in the galant style. Another popular Passion libretto is Pietro Metastasio’s La Passione di Gesù Cristo, to which more than 50 compositions were set.

The most famous oratorio Passions were written by J. S. Bach. Of the five Passions attributed to Bach according to his 1754 obituary (written by the composer’s son Carl Philipp Emanuel and student Johann Friedrich Agricola), two are definitely lost; A St. Luke Passion (BWV 246 Anh II, 30) had previously been misattributed to Bach and is now generally attributed to his younger contemporary, Johann Melchior Molter (1696–1765). The music of the St. Mark Passion is lost, but the libretto has survived, which allows reconstruction based on parodies.9 The two extant settings, the St. John Passion (1724) and the St. Matthew Passion (1727/9) for double chorus and orchestra, are monumental works. However, J. S. Bach was by no means a prolific composer of the Passion in his time. In fact, Telemann wrote over 40 settings (of which 22 have survived). C. P. E. Bach, who succeeded Telemann as Kapellmeister in Hamburg, also wrote 21 settings, far surpassing the quantity of his father’s output. The large number of Passion settings in Baroque Germany attests to the popularity of the genre at that time.

The Baroque Period brought about some fundamental changes to the Passion genre. The development of the Passion genre up until this point in history, as with other genres, cannot be separated from societal and aesthetic movements, which became catalysts for the Passion’s evolution during different eras. In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, expectations of traditional form seem to have kept Passion composers from embracing more of the humanist/mannerism style of other genres in their oeuvre, especially the motet genre. A comparison between Victoria’s Passions and his motets obviously cast the former as more conventional and backward-looking. The most significant update of Victoria’s Passion from the medieval Passion is one that concerns musical styles only, not one that delves in the core of the Passion narrative. With humanism continuing to thrive in the Age of Enlightenment in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Europe, its effects would eventually be felt in the Passion genre. For example, the many settings of the Brockes/Metastasio Passions, and those of Graun and J. S. Bach, often do not directly quote the Gospels but incorporate poetic reflections of the Gospel story. Bach’s St. John and St. Matthew Passions perfectly illustrate the interpolation of the Gospel account and poetic examinations of the action, of which the personal and emotional sentiments fall completely in line with contemporaneous Baroque aesthetics.

Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries

of the St. Mark Passion, including those completed by Ton Koopman (1999) and Robert Koolstra (2017).

Although the Passion genre reached its golden age in the Baroque period, it was then largely forgotten in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, overshadowed by the rise of new genres. In 1829, Felix Mendelssohn organized a performance of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion for the first time after the composer’s death. While this historical event marked the revival of Bach’s music in Europe, it did not bring about an overall resurgence of the Passion genre. Very few Passion

9 There are at least twelve modern reconstructions

settings were composed in the nineteenth century, and these works usually did not bear “Passion” in the title. Ludwig van Beethoven’s only oratorio, Christus am Ölberge [Christ on the Mount of Olives] from 1802, depicts the agony of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane prior to his arrest and concludes before the crucifixion. Another partial setting of the Passion from a larger work is the third part of Franz Liszt’s three-hour-long oratorio Christus, which is based on the life of Jesus from birth to passion and resurrection.

The first half of the twentieth century did not see a significant change of scene. Some of the most notable settings from this period include Hugo Distler’s Choral Passion (1933) and Frank Martin’s Golgotha (1946). Robert Ward argues that it was not until Krzysztof Penderecki (19332020) composed the St. Luke Passion (1966) that “the genre of Passion oratorio came out of its hibernation and was reinvented in the twentieth century.” 10 As ground-breaking as Penderecki’s Passion is, it obviously makes connections to the past by using the “Bach motif” (B ♭ -A-C-B ♮ )—a tribute to the Baroque master, by a composer putting his own stamp on the Passion genre no less. Similar retrospective approaches have been adopted by other composers in the following decades.

After Penderecki, there was an increasing number of Passion compositions in the second half of the twentieth century. A vast majority of them are intended to be performed in concert halls rather than in churches, an evolution that can be traced back to the early-nineteenthcentury Bach revival. Following this trend, some biblical characters other than Jesus also became new protagonists of the Passion, which will be

10 Penderecki mostly sticks to Luke’s text, but he also uses nonscriptural sources such as traditional Catholic hymns and Old Testament texts from Psalms and Lamentations. Robert C. Ward, “Passion Settings of the 20th- and 21st- Centuries Focusing on Craig Hella Johnson’s Considering Matthew Shepard” (DMA diss., University of North Texas, 2016), 11, accessed October 6, 2019, https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc862740/.

further discussed later. Despite the wide variety of Passion compositions in the late twentieth century, the truly transformative moment for the genre did not come until the turn of the century.

The Twenty-first Century and the Humanization of the Passion

In 2000, the Bach specialist Helmuth Rilling and the International Bach Academy in Stuttgart commissioned a Passion on each of the four canonical Gospels. This storied project, known as “Passion 2000,” was initiated to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Bach’s death, resulting in four monumental settings: La Pasión según San Marcos by Osvaldo Golijov (b. 1960), St. John Passion by Sophia Gubaidulina (b. 1931), Deus Passus by Wolfgang Rihm (b. 1952), and Water Passion after St. Matthew by Tan Dun (b. 1957). While composed in honor of Bach, these works bear little resemblance to the music of the Baroque composer. Rilling reportedly once said that “it was all very well that we have original instruments and original performance practices but unfortunate that we have no original listeners.”11 Thus, it is clear that the aim of the commission was to create four unique Passion settings that reflected the styles and values of the new millennium.

Argentine composer Osvaldo Golijov’s Pasión (after Mark) was remarkably striking in its time, to an extent that Rilling even questioned the composer whether it could be considered a Passion at all.12 Notably, Golijov does not cast Jesus as a “fixed character.” For example, in “Agonia” (No. 19), Jesus is presented by three soloists. Scored for multiple soloists, chorus, and orchestra, the Spanish-language setting combines

11 Daniel R. Melamed, “Introduction: Hearing Passions in Bach’s Time and Ours,” Hearing Bach’s Passions (Oxford: Oxford University Press), 3, accessed October 29, 2020, ProQuest Ebook Central.

12 Boston Symphony Orchestra, “Interview with Osvaldo Golijov by Brian Bell: La Pasión Según San Marcos,” YouTube video, 20:47, December 13, 2013, https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=ELO90llngpg.

several Latin and African styles with a gigantic group of non-Western percussion, digital effects, and choreography that challenge the expressions of bereavement normally associated with the Western classical tradition. Similarly, Chineseborn composer Tan Dun also adopts non-Western styles in his Water Passion with “a remarkably wide range of vocal styles, from the overtone singing of Mongolia to…the ‘calligraphic’ highpitch writing of Peking Opera,”13 evoking the soundscape of the ancient Silk Road and the composer’s cultural roots.

Comparatively, the settings of Sofia Gubaidulina and Wolfgang Rihm more closely stick with the Western idioms, but they are nonetheless unique in their own way. Russian composer Gubaidulina’s St. John Passion, scored for SATB soloists, two mixed choirs, organ, and large orchestra, is the first part of the two-work cycle Passion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ According to St. John. 14 Throughout the work, the narrative from John is interspersed by passages from the Revelation (also penned by John), an unusual feature that connects the Passion story with the apocalypse. Stochniol went so far as to describe the work as a “reflection on the fate of humanity in the context of existential questions.”15 Wolfgang Rihm’s Deus Passus has a discontinuous narrative that draws from fragments of Luke, Isaiah, and the Roman Catholic liturgy in both German and Latin, which is emulated by the intermittent, almost disinterested, music. The archaic style of the work, reminiscent of Arnold Schoenberg’s early expressionist music, is mitigated at the end by an unexpected veering into Paul Celan’s post-Holocaust poem Tenebrae

13 Tan Dun, “Water Passion after St. Matthew,” Tan Dun, accessed December 5, 2019, http://tandun.com/composition/waterpassion/.

14 The second part, St. John Easter, scored for the same performing forces, was completed in 2001. Along with the Passion, the diptych was presented in Hamburg in 2002, conducted by Valery Gergiev.

15 Magdalena Stochniol, “Intercultural Musical Dialogue in St John Passion by Sofia Gubaidulina,” translated by Zofia Weaver, Interdisciplinary Studies in Musicology no. 20 (2020): 50, accessed December 25, 2023, https://doi.org/10.14746/ism.2020.20.4.

(1957), in which the Jewish poet compares the suffering God—the namesake of Rihm’s work—to the suffering humanity.

“Passion 2000” challenged the tradition of Passion writing that has been previously dominated by male composers of European descent and suggests possibilities of a cross-cultural reimagination of the centuries-old form. The diverse cultural backgrounds of the four composers have evidently influenced the musical languages of their works. Gubaidulina, Golijov, and Rihm choose to use their native language for the Passion narrative. Tan’s choice of adopting an English libretto adds another layer of meaning to his Passion as the Chinese composer approaches a Western tradition that has little to do with his own upbringing. Even underneath Rihm’s seemingly conventional musical outlook lies a subversive, humanistic twist at the end.

Since “Passion 2000,” at least 30 further Passions have been written (Appendix A)—a flourish of the genre rivaled only by the Baroque period. There are many humanistic aspects in these contemporary Passion settings. In James MacMillan’s St. Luke Passion (2013), the voice of Christ (Christus), traditionally sung by a bass soloist, is assigned to a three-part children’s choir instead. MacMillan explained this conscious choice in a 2014 interview: “any Passion that casts Christ as a soloist immediately makes him take human form as an adult male whereas I wanted to examine his otherness, sanctity, and mystery.”16 Jeremey Begbie, the dedicatee of the Passion, thinks that the children’s choir connotes a sense of innocence (italicization his), which is particularly in line with Luke in which Jesus is shown as the innocent sufferer and the

16 “James MacMilllan: Interview about St Luke Passion,” February 2014; accessed December 15, 2018, https://www. boosey.com/cr/news/James-MacMillan-interview-about-StLuke-Passion/100345&LangID=1, quoted in Jeremy S. Begbie, “Making the Familiar Unfamiliar: MacMillan’s St Luke Passion,” James MacMillan Studies, ed. George Parsons and Robert Sholl (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020), 117.

Righteous One of God.17 Musically, the voice of the innocent Jesus is sung either in unison or parallel triads, which seems to hint at the Trinity. Another innovative setting within the framework of the traditional Passion is Gabriel Jackson’s The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ (2014). It not only follows in the footsteps of MacMillan by not casting Jesus as a soloist, but it also takes that idea one step further by not assigning any fixed roles to specific characters. While the work calls for soprano and tenor soloists, they merely imply the characters they portray, without labelling them as such. The chorus sings in every movement with multiple functions: 1) acting as the Evangelist, Jesus, and other individual characters in the narrative, 2) acting as the crowd, and 3) reflecting on the action.

MacMillan and Jackson’s treatments of the voice of Christ are perfectly in line with two current and seemingly growing phenomena: 1) the social movement that downplays gender norm and stereotype while promoting gender fluidity and free expressions of gender identity, and 2) the Christian movement (especially in North America) that promotes a “gender-neutral” God under the wider diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) movement in recent years. The evolution of the Passion genre in the past two decades was certainly propelled by the societal-aesthetic movements of the era, creating relevance to and meaning with current happenings in society, which makes clear connections to the genre’s past. Theodor Adorno, a twentieth-century German philosopher who wrote extensively about music, believes that a work of art is not a fixed object. He states that “as spiritual entities, works of art are not complete in themselves…. Objectively, new layers are constantly detaching themselves, emerging from within; others grow irrelevant and die off.”18 In essence, many contemporary Passion settings, even when they remain unmistakably Christ-centered,

17 Begbie, “Making the Familiar Unfamiliar,” 117.

18

W.

de-emphasize the sacred purpose of the Passion in favor of the humanizing aspects of the genre, including highlighting the humanity of Jesus and/ or other characters in the Passion story.

The Non-Christocentric Passion

The association between the Passion genre and Christianity, whether historically or culturally, is indisputable. However, the core considerations of this article lie in the contrary direction: Can there be a Passion that is not about Jesus at all? If so, what is it trying to convey and how should we approach it? Some observations from etymology might illuminate the issue at stake: the word “passion” derives from the past-participial stem of Latin pati , and hence Late Latin passionem (nominative: passio ), meaning “suffering” or “enduring.”19 Furthermore, it has the same word root as for another English word “passive,” which connotes “a capacity in matter for being acted upon.”20 These definitions certainly correspond to the traditional Passion narrative, in which Jesus’s suffering can be interpreted as both a result of the persecution of his enemies and a fulfillment of a divine mission to redemption given by the Father.21 Yet, many fundamental elements so poignantly expressed in the Passion, such as scapegoating, betrayal, scorn, guilt, and catharsis, just to name a few, are also part of the human experience as much as they are of Jesus’s. In other words, perhaps the Passion is essentially about the people—us—and how we react to someone else’s suffering.

The narrative portion is the central part and main body of any Passion setting. It is also what sets a non-Christocentric Passion apart from its

19 Online Etymology Dictionary, s.v. “Passion (n.),” accessed September 18, 2020, https://www.etymonline.com/word/passion

20 Online Etymology Dictionary, s.v. “Passive (adj.),” accessed September 18, 2020, https://www.etymonline.com/word/ passive?ref=etymonline_crossreference.

21 See John 18:11: “Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?” [King James Version, hereinafter KJV].

Theodor

Adorno, “Wagner’s Relevance for Today,” translated by Susan Gillespie, Grand Street, no. 44 (1993): 37.

traditional counterpart. The traditional Passion has a narrative that is guided by the Gospel account—one that begins with either Jesus’s enemies plotting to arrest him or the arrest itself and ends with Jesus’s crucifixion, death, and burial—everything that happened around Jesus’s final days in Jerusalem. In this sense, all traditional Passions have a common plot that is predetermined by the Gospel text itself with few surprises for those who are familiar with the story. Eighteenth-century Passion oratorios, even if they did not adhere to the Biblical text, still referred to the basic plot found in the Gospel. On the contrary, the non-Christocentric Passion no longer has to rely on the Gospel and hence avails itself of virtually unlimited possibilities with regard to subject matter and narrative.

This article proposes a new categorization for the non-Christocentric Passion in three forms of narrative: 1) legendary/historical narrative, 2) realistic narrative, and 3) allegorical/literary narrative. The legendary/historical narrative depicts events that actually occurred in the past or that are popularly regarded as historical although not verifiable,22 such as those transmitted by faith traditions other than Christianity. The realistic narrative depicts contemporary events associated with the composer or time of composition, often with a certain degree of activism or social conscience. The allegorical/literary narrative depicts imaginary events, such as those found in fairy tales and fables. These three categories are not mutually exclusive; a Passion setting could be identified with more than one of them.

Using the legendary/historical narrative, Daniel Pinkham’s Passion of Judas (1976) is one of the first Passions to adopt a suffering protagonist other than Jesus. The work takes on the story of none other than Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus’s

disciples who betrayed him to the Sanhedrin in the Garden of Gethsemane for thirty pieces of silver. In his note, Pinkham explains: “The Passion of Judas at once reflects my interest in the mystery play of the medieval church (such as The Play of Daniel) as well as my interest in the experiments with chronology as found in Bach’s two extant Passion settings (prophecy, dramatic action, and reflection and commentary).”23 Before Pinkham, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 1970 rock opera,24 Jesus Christ Superstar , also focuses on Judas. Using a colloquial/slangy libretto, Webber’s work is definitely part of the secular trend, and was a huge hit. The 1980s saw two large-scale Passions in the historical narrative with drastically different approaches. Mikis Theodorakis’s SadduzäerPassion [Passion of the Sadducees] (1982) is a complex allegorical work based on the history of the ancient Jewish sect, but written as an elegy to the contemporary Greek political left that the composer was heavily involved in, for which he was sent to prison.25 Mauricio Kagel’s Sankt-BachPassion [Saint Bach Passion] (1985) reverses the role of Bach by casting him as the suffering protagonist. The work loosely adopts the structure of Bach’s Passions, an approach that has been described as “a respectful, even reverent, tribute from one composer to a great predecessor.” 26 These works, though eccentric at the time, possibly with small audiences, eventually inspired other non-Christocentric Passions with a wider appeal.

Between 2000 and 2019, at least ten further non-Christocentric Passions were composed (Appendix A; bolded). These new Passions

23 Daniel Pinkham, The Passion of Judas, (Boston: E. C. Schirmer Music Company, 1978 [1976]).

24 Webber explains that the work was initially intended for a rock album, and that it is more of an oratorio than a staged show. Jesus Christ Superstar, “Interview with Andrew Lloyd Webber – UK Arena Tour,” YouTube video, 19:21, November 11, 2015, https://youtu.be/eFZFQPQX8Mc.

22 This description is borrowed from Merriam-Webster Dictionary’s definition of “legend.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, s.v. “Legend,” accessed October 27, 2020, https:// www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legend.

25 Neil Horner, “Review of Mikis Theodorakis’ Sadduzäer-Passion,” MusicWeb International, accessed October 22, 2020, http://www. musicweb-international.com/classrev/2002/jun02/theodorakis.htm.

26 Arnold Whittall, “Mauricio Kagel 8: Sankt-Bach-Passion,” Gramophone, accessed October 22, 2020, https://www. gramophone.co.uk/review/mauricio-kagel-8.

contain a wide array of subject matters and a strong social conscience. Historically, male composers of European descent have dominated the composition of Passions. This exclusive circle began to expand in 2000, spearheaded by Osvaldo Golijov, Tan Dun, and Sofia Gubaidulina’s worthy contributions to the genre, thanks to Helmuth Rilling’s ground-breaking commission already mentioned. When Kaija Saariaho wrote La Passion de Simone in 2006, she joined the ranks of Gubaidulina as one of the first women/ female identified persons to compose a Passion. Saariaho’s work is also notable for adopting a female protagonist. Modeled after a Christian devotion known as the Stations of the Cross, Saariaho’s Passion is a musical journey of fifteen stations in the historical narrative that sheds light on different moments in the life of the FrenchJewish philosopher Simone Weil and interprets some of her ideas. 27 Another Passion setting that adopts a female protagonist is David Lang’s Pulitzer Prize-winning the little match girl passion. The composer’s major influences are the prose of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Match Girl and the music of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion. Using the literary/allegorical narrative, Lang’s Passion explores the many opposites in Andersen’s original: violence and love; poverty and wealth; struggle and redemption; life and death.28 These dualities are not only retained in the little match girl passion , but they are both enhanced and mitigated by the uniformity of Lang’s hallmark post-minimalism, creating opposing and unifying forces that elicit emotional response in the listener and create meanings, in light of relevant social justice issues.29

27 Kaija Saariaho, “Programme Note for La Passion de Simone,” Wise Music Classical, accessed January 1, 2021, https://www. wisemusicclassical.com/work/34900/.

28 Daniela Capano, “Analysis and Comparison of ‘The Little Match Girl’ by Hans C. Andersen and ‘The Little Match Girl Passion’ by David Lang,” 5–7, accessed January 24, 2021, https://www. academia.edu/14583727/.

29 For a detailed analysis of the little match girl passion, see Andrew Hon, “From Passion to Compassion: The Dualities and Uniformity of David Lang’s the little match girl passion (2007),” Anacrusis 39, no. 2 (2021): 20–27.

To cast minorities as suffering protagonists has been a significant trend of modern-day Passions. One particular setting that might have been influenced by the Black Lives Matter movement is Uri Caine’s The Passion of Octavius Catto (2018), which takes on the life and activism of the nineteenth-century African American civil rights activist in the historical narrative. Catto’s story is, sadly, still largely relevant to this day: he was shot and killed by a white voter in the 1871 Election Day violence in Philadelphia. 30 Using the realistic narrative, Eric Banks’s Aluta continua: The Passion of David Kato Kisule (2016) takes on the story of another Black man, albeit in different contexts, whose beliefs and activism similarly cost him his life. Often described as “Uganda’s first openly gay man,” David Kato (1964–2011) was murdered apparently because of his homosexuality, according to a 2012 article in the Economist. The fact that the murder of the realistic David Kato happened within most of the listeners’ lifetime would create a particularly strong emotional impact on them. Another LGBTQ+-themed Passion is Craig Hella Johnson’s Considering Matthew Shepard (2016), a response to the life and death of the gay University of Wyoming student in 1998 who became an international gay rights icon.31 The strength of this work, like Caine’s, lies in the relevance of the story to the modern-day listener. Johnson wants to shape a “Matthew Shepard” in the work that represents more than its counterpart in reality. He wants the listener to see themselves in Matthew, just as he explained that Considering Matthew Shepard was “as much about the listener’s story as it was about Matthew Shepard.”32 As such, the composer does not prescribe feelings or reactions for the listener, nor does he impose judgement on the event and Matthew Shepard’s

30 Uri Caine, “Note for The Passion of Octavius Catto,” Uri Caine, accessed January 1, 2021, https://www.uricaine.com/.

31 For a detailed analysis of Considering Matthew Shepard, see Andrew Hon, “From Matt to Matthew to All of Us: A Cathartic Transformation in Craig Hella Johnson’s Considering Matthew Shepard (2016),” The Choral Journal 62, no. 9 (2022): 24-35.

32 Craig Hella Johnson, interview by author, Zoom, May 12, 2021.

assailants. An inevitable corollary to this approach is the inclusion of uncomfortable passages33 that confront the listener like the turba choruses do in traditional Passion settings.

Summary

The Passion genre resurged in the late twentieth century and continues to thrive in the twentyfirst century. Societal-aesthetic movements of the twenty-first century paved the way for the non-Christocentric Passion, arguably the most significant update to the Passion genre since Bach’s Passions. While non-Christocentric Passion settings in the twenty-first century differ drastically in style and subject matter, they also have much in common. For example, these works tend to focus not on the suffering of the protagonist per se, but the broader theme that the protagonist’s suffering represents. Most commonly, these themes are relevant to social justice issues contemporaneous to the composition. Further, these works are mostly commemorative in nature, creating a space for reflection without an explicit call to action. These features point to the universality inherently found in the Passion that seems to attract many contemporary composers. Howard Goodall, composer of the Christocentric Invictus: A Passion (2017), in his program note eloquently articulates the genre’s unique qualities:

“much of the Passion in general—persecution of the innocent, malevolent authority exerting itself against ideas that threaten and challenge, the power of a peaceful, loving humility in the face of tyranny, the facing-down of fear—holds profound universal resonance for people of many faiths and those of none.”34 This article argues that these unique qualities of the Passion were instrumental in precipitating its resurgence in the past few decades. At a time when people are probably more socially conscious than ever before, the Passion becomes a vessel for exploring existential questions and the human experience, creating new meanings for the modern listener.

—Andrew Hon

Hailing from Hong Kong, Dr. Andrew Hon has been frequently invited to perform and present his research in North America and in Europe. His articles can be found in peer-reviewed journals including Choral Journal and Anacrusis of Choral Canada, and his voice can be heard on several professionally recorded albums published by Hyperion Records and ATMA Classique.

Dr. Hon obtained a DMus in choral conducting from McGill University where he studied under Prof. JeanSébastien Vallée. He currently serves as the Director of Music and Performing Arts at HKBUAS Wong Kam Fai Secondary and Primary School.

33 Such as “A Protestor” (No. 9) and “I Am Like You” (No. 16).

34 Howard Goodall, “Invictus: A Passion.” Howard Goodall, accessed January 24, 2021, http://www.howardgoodall.co.uk/ works/choral-music/invictus-a-passion.

Appendix A

Notable Passion Settings Composed Between 2000 and 2019 35

Year Title

2000

Water Passion after St. Matthew Tan Dun (b. 1957, Chinese American) POC

2000 La Pasión según San Marcos Osvaldo Golijov (b. 1960, Argentine) POC

2000

Deus Passus

2000 St. John Passion

2000

Wolfgang Rihm (b. 1957, German)

Sofia Gubaidulina (b. 1931, Russian) x

Passio et Resurrectio Sergio Rendine (b. 1954, Italian)

2001 Passia

2001

The Passion and Promise of Our Lord Jesus Christ*

Hafliði Hallgrímsson (b. 1941, Icelandic)

Daniel Gawthrop (b. 1949, American)

2002 The Passion of Ramakrishna Philip Glass (b. 1937, American)

2004 Passion and Resurrection

Jonathan Harvey (1939–2012, British)

2004 A Swedish St. Mark Passion Fredrik Sixten (b. 1962, Swedish)

2005 Passion and Resurrection Eriks Esenvalds (b. 1977, Latvian)

2006

Passion and Death of Jesus Christ according to the Gospels Scott R. King (b. 1955, American)

2006 La Passion de Simone Kaija Saariaho (b. 1952, Finnish) x

2006

The Passion of Jesus of Nazareth* Francis Grier (b. 1955, British)

2007 St. John Passion James MacMillan (b. 1959, British)

2007 the little match girl passion David Lang (b. 1957, American)

2008 St. Luke’s Passion Calliope Tsoupaki (b. 1963, Greek) x

2009 St. Luke Passion Kjell Karlsen (b. 1947, Norwegian)

2009

Transylvanian Passion Music for Good Friday after the Evangelist Matthew Hans Peter Türk (b. 1940, Romanian)

35 This is an expanded version based on Robert Ward’s 2016 list of twenty-first-century Passion settings. Works added by the author, including but not limited to those composed after 2016, are labelled with an asterisk (*). Non-Christocentric works are bolded. The “Female Identified” and “Black, Indigenous, and People of Color” columns are added by the author. For the original list, see Ward, “Passion Settings of the 20thand 21st- Centuries,” 37–38.

Year Title Composer (Dates and Nationality) Female ID BIPOC

2012 The Gospel according to the Other Mary*

John Adams (b. 1947, American)

2013 St. John Passion Bob Chilcott (b. 1955, British)

2013 St. Luke Passion James MacMillan

2014 St. Luke Passion* Eriks Esenvalds

2014 St. Matthew Passion

2014 Pietà

2014

Gnostic Passion

Sven-David Sandström (1942-2019, Swedish)

John Muehleisen (b. 1955, American)

Brad and Doug Balliett (b. 1982, American)

2014 Passion according to an Unknown Witness Robert Kyr (b. 1952, American)

2014

The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ*

Gabriel Jackson (b. 1962, British)

2015 The Debrecen Passion* Kati Agócs (b. 1975, American / Canadian) x

2016

2016

2016

Considering Matthew Shepard Craig Hella Johnson (b. 1962, American)

But Who Shall Return Us

Our Children: A Kipling Passion John Muehleisen

Aluta continua: The Passion of David Kato Kisule* Eric Banks (b. 1969, American)

2017 Invictus: A Passion*

Howard Goodall (b. 1958, British)

2017 The Judas Passion* Sally Beamish (b. 1956, British) x

2017

2017

2018

The Passion of Yeshua: a dramatic oratorio in fourteen scenes*

Richard Danielpour (b. 1956, American)

La Passion selon Marc – une passion après Auschwitz* Michaël Levinas (b. 1949, French)

The Passion of Octavius Catto*

2018 Buddha Passion*

2018 Passion Music*

Uri Caine (b. 1956, American)

Tan Dun POC

Will Todd (b. 1970, British)

Bibliography

Adorno, Theodor W. “Wagner’s Relevance for Today.” Translated by Susan Gillespie. Grand Street, no. 44 (1993): 32–59.

Alwes, Chester L. “Sacred Choral Music of the Renaissance, II (1525–1600).” A History of Western Choral Music, Volume 1. New York: Oxford University Press, 2015.

Begbie, Jeremy S. “Making the Familiar Unfamiliar: MacMillan’s St Luke Passion.” James MacMillan Studies, ed. George Parsons and Robert Sholl, 111–128. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020.

Boston Symphony Orchestra. “Interview with Osvaldo Golijov by Brian Bell: La Pasión Según San Marcos.” YouTube video, 20:47. December 13, 2013. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELO90llngpg.

Fischer, Kurt von, and Werner Braun. “Passion.” Grove Music Online. January 20, 2001.

Goodall, Howard. “Invictus: A Passion.” Howard Goodall. Accessed May 13, 2020. http://www.howardgoodall co.uk/works/choral-music/invictus-a-passion.

Hon, Andrew. “From Matt to Matthew to All of Us: A Cathartic Transformation in Craig Hella Johnson’s Considering Matthew Shepard (2016).” The Choral Journal 62, no. 9 (2022).

Hon, Andrew. “From Passion to Compassion: The Dualities and Uniformity of David Lang’s the little match girl passion (2007).” Anacrusis 39, no. 2 (2021).

Jesus Christ Superstar. “Interview with Andrew Lloyd Webber – UK Arena Tour.” YouTube video, 19:21. November 11, 2015, https://youtu.be/eFZFQPQX8Mc.

Johnson, Craig Hella. Interview by author. Zoom. May 12, 2021.

Melamed, Daniel R. Hearing Bach’s Passions. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Accessed October 29, 2020. ProQuest Ebook Central.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary, s.v. “Legend.” Accessed October 27, 2020. https://www.merriam-webster.com dictionary/legend.

———, s.v. “Progress.” Accessed March 22, 2020. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/progress.

Niekerk, Johann Jacob Van. “Messiahs and Pariahs: Suffering and Social Conscience in the Passion Genre from J.S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion (1727) to David Lang’s the little match girl passion (2007).” DMA diss., University of Washington, 2014. Accessed November 2, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/1773/26540.

Online Etymology Dictionary, s.v. “Passion (n.).” Accessed September 18, 2020. https://www.etymonline.com word/passion.

———, s.v. “Passive (adj.).” Accessed September 18, 2020. https://www.etymonline.com/word passive?ref=etymonline_crossreference.

Saariaho, Kaija. “Programme Notes for La Passion de Simone.” Wise Music Classical. Accessed July 6, 2020. https://www.wisemusicclassical.com/work/34900/.

Stochniol, Magdalena. “Intercultural Musical Dialogue in St John Passion by Sofia Gubaidulina.” Translated by Zofia Weaver. Interdisciplinary Studies in Musicology no. 20 (2020). Accessed December 25, 2023. https://doi.org/10.14746/ism.2020.20.4.

Tan Dun. “Water Passion after St. Matthew.” Tan Dun. Accessed December 5, 2019. http://tandun.com composition/water-passion/.

Ward, Robert Clark. “Passion Settings of the 20th-and 21st- Centuries Focusing on Craig Hella Johnson’s Considering Matthew Shepard.” DMA diss., University of North Texas, 2016. Accessed January 13, 2022. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc862740/.

Whittall, Arnold. “Mauricio Kagel 8: Sankt-Bach-Passion.” Gramophone. Accessed October 22, 2020. https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/mauricio-kagel-8.

Book Reviews

Andrew Crow, editor

Keyboard Skills for Choral Musicians

Mary Marden Cobb

M. Cobb Publishing, 2022, available from Lulu.com

410 pages; $52.52

ISBN: 9798987277102

Pianist Mary Marden Cobb has worked with choirs as singer, conductor, and accompanist. Recently retired from SUNY at Fredonia, Cobb has compiled a thoughtful and thorough course in the valuable and specialized skillset of mastering a choral score at the keyboard. Cobb states that the book “is aimed primarily at students in music degree programs expecting to become choral conductors or accompanists…best used as a multi-course level supplemental text for a class piano program” (10). The guide addresses skills needed to assist the choir in rehearsal and performance.

Pertinent to our readership, I would gauge that the book’s audience is not necessarily a classroom of undergraduates, but would be useful for a situation where an instructor is not present. Its beneficiary is someone self-motivated (or selffrustrated) enough to undertake the challenging work of honing this skill on their own time— perhaps a teacher who has been in service for several years and now recognizes the advantage of keyboard fluency, or a graduate student in conducting who does not have access to a “piano for the conductor” course. Regardless, any reader

with the patience and persistence to work through the myriad examples will undoubtedly gain traction in piano proficiency.

Many experienced conductors who consider themselves competent pianists will also find value in the book, because Cobb consistently brings musicianship to the fore. Not merely providing shortcuts for technique, the instructions frequently address articulation, balance, phrasing, and practices that increase overall musicianship through aural acuity. For example, one step of the process for two-part playing advises: “sing each line while playing the other part” (54).

Chapter by chapter, the text advances from playing a single line, through two- and three-part choral music, to four-part examples in SSAA, TTBB, and, lastly, SATB voicings. Each chapter divides into three parts: first, presentation of new content, then excerpts for practicing that content, and finally, additional piano skillsets. These “End of Chapter Exercises,” even in the early chapters, may provide an alternate course of study for choral conductors who have had traditional piano training, and who already feel competent helping to play parts from a choral score. For example, Chapter One, Section C, starts with strategies for harmonizing using block chords, and adapting an existing piano part.

A competent, or even an advanced pianist could jump into the book at the level of their own limitations. Cobb has provided enough repetition of core principles and also cross-references for previous instruction that such a reader would still benefit. In a section on pragmatic reduction Cobb helps to assess what might be omitted as the texture thickens or the rhythmic counterpoint becomes more complex, and also counsels what corners may not be cut. Yet all of this comes under the pragmatic umbrella “Know Thy Choir.” In fact, if training an accompanist who is not a conductor, this process of thinking like a conductor about the needs of the singers provides much needed training (146).

In addition, Cobb’s method for score reduction by making rapid harmonic analysis “second nature” makes the book valuable for students of conducting whether or not they would ever play the piano in public. A subsidiary course of progressive instruction could be generated by working through only the portions of each chapter with the subheadings “Harmony” or “Reducing.”

For genuine pianists, each chapter gives detailed strategies on fingerings and addresses not only where the fingers should go, but also where the eyes should focus, how the feet should pedal, and how the rest of the body can healthfully engage in this demanding activity. It even provides a conductor-worthy mandate regarding score marking: “No detail is too basic. Do not be proud: be accurate!” (69).

For this reviewer, the primary lack is the scant number of examples presenting outright polyphony or divisi, a frequent challenge of common choral repertoire. Clearly, care has been taken to provide many differing kinds of examples for the techniques required. I would also gauge that the author compiled a list that deliberately included the work of women composers whenever a suitable example could be drawn from that body of repertoire. The last chapter provides a full cycle

of preparation for an accompanied choral work, from rehearsal preparations through the cycle of rehearsals, to performance with ensemble and conductor. Indeed, the entire text presents interlocking cycles of astute guidance worthy of pursuit by musicians in many roles.

—Andrew Crow

Andrew Crow has served on the faculty of Ball State University since 2009. As director of choral activities, he currently leads the Ball State Chamber Choir and the tenor-bass Cardinal Chorus, teaches conducting, and mentors students pursuing graduate degrees. In addition to teaching at the university, he has led church and community choirs for twenty years. Crow is currently an associate editor for The Choral Scholar, responsible for book reviews.

Resonance: The Art of the Choral Music Educator— Pedagogy, Methods, and Materials for Tomorrow’s Outstanding Music Teachers

Christopher W. Peterson Pavane Publishing, 2021 420 pages; $49.99

ISBN: 9781950736010

Resonance: The Art of the Choral Music Educator stands out among other choral methods texts as one that understands the current landscape (and realities) of choral music pedagogy. Music education is an evolving practice, and any effective text must have the ability to shift with time and circumstance. Christopher Peterson’s book offers practical knowledge and skills while offering new approaches and perspectives for the twenty-firstcentury classroom.

Peterson mentions in the Introduction that much of his work is rooted in his many years of experience as an educator. Because of this, the tone of each chapter is more deliberate and conversational, making it easily understood and engaging to teachers of all levels. Resonance: The Art of the Choral Music Educator is organized much like a traditional textbook with three larger units divided into chapters. The physical textbook also comes with a digital access code, so readers can engage with videos, documents, spreadsheets, sound files, and additional materials. Furthering his commitment to progressive education, Peterson indicates that the online resources periodically change, making this a truly evolving textbook.

While much of his material is based on his own informed experience, Peterson strikes a meaningful balance between researched pedagogies and direct application. His chapters on “Teaching for Transfer” and “Gestalt Learning” (among others) offer a more philosophical approach to classroom instruction, and the chapters that include warm-up ideas, rehearsal management, and lesson plan templates equip teachers with authentic resources for immediate classroom use. Peterson also includes a section titled “Gender in Choral Music,” contributed by William Sauerland, which recontextualizes how we understand the cultural relevance of gender and student identity in vocal music.

Peterson’s book can be appreciated by choral enthusiasts at every level. It includes important foundational skills and information for the developing teacher, and also offers new philosophies and strategies for the seasoned educator. Chapters range from programming and rehearsal plans, to “do no harm” accompanying, to mental health. This text reflects the ever-changing landscape of our profession, and in many ways, a mirror into our own perspectives and practices.

Resonance: The Art of the Choral Music Educator presents as a workbook, with hands-on application for the practicing educator. With the addition of online supportive resources, this text is truly innovative in its ability to evolve over time. While Peterson address topics that are already a part of our educational vernacular, he also introduces more timely and relevant concepts that reflect the current state of choral music. This text is a wonderful, thoughtful read for all music education students, professors, and practitioner teachers.

—Eric Rubenstein

Eric Rubinstein (D.M.A., Louisiana State University) is Director of Choral Activities at Nazareth University in Rochester, NY. His area of research focuses on twentyfirst-century, progressive practices in choral music education and pedagogy.

Implementing the Flipped Classroom in Collegiate Choral Methods and Conducting Courses

Micah Bland

Abstract

The flipped classroom model (FCM) has gained popularity throughout the past decade as an alternative instructional methodology. In the FCM, instructional content is delivered asynchronously through the completion of homework. In class, students apply and expand upon the homework through various learning activities. As an instructional methodology, the FCM offers collegiate professors an alternative learning environment that provides for active and experiential learning opportunities during class with instructional content assigned as homework. This article introduces collegiate choral educators to the FCM, discusses its advantages, and suggests methods for its implementation in the tertiary choral methods and conducting classroom.

The flipped classroom model (FCM) has gained popularity throughout the past decade as an alternative instructional methodology that effectively engages students in the learning process by flipping the traditional paradigm of classroom instruction.1 As Lage et al. describe, “events that have traditionally taken place inside the classroom now take place outside the classroom and vice versa.” 2 In the FCM, instructional content is delivered asynchronously through the completion of homework. Students then apply and expand upon this homework through various learning activities during class.3

1 Nesibe Agirman and M. Hanifi Ercoskun, “History of the Flipped Classroom Model and Uses of the Flipped Classroom Concept,” International Journal of Curriculum and Instructional Studies 12, no. 1 (2022): 78–88.

2 Maureen J. Lage, Glenn J. Platt, and Michael Treglia, “Inverting the Classroom: A Gateway to Creating an Inclusive Learning Environment,” The Journal of Economic Education 31, no. 1 (2000): 32.

3 Alternative forms of the FCM exist, most notably the flippedmastery model. In this model students progress through lessons at their own pace, advancing to subsequent lessons after demonstrating mastery of the content area’s learning objective.

Face-to-face class time is arguably the most valuable resource available to tertiary educators. In many collegiate classrooms this resource is reserved for the dissemination of knowledge via lecture.4 As an instructional methodology, the FCM offers collegiate professors an alternative learning environment that provides for active and experiential learning opportunities during class, with instructional lecture-based content assigned as homework. This article introduces collegiate choral educators to the FCM, discusses its advantages, and suggests methods for its implementation in the tertiary choral methods and conducting curriculum.

4 Scott Freeman, Sarah L. Eddy, Miles McDonough, Michelle K. Smith, Nnadozie Okoroafor, Hannah Jordt, and Mary Pat Wenderoth, “Active Learning Increases Student Performance in Science, Engineering, and Mathematics,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 111, no. 23 (2014): 8410–8415.

Elements of the Flipped Classroom

As an instructional approach, the FCM has gradually increased in popularity throughout the twenty-first century due in part to improved access to digital and online media,5,6 as well as the popularization of the method by high school science teachers Jonathan Bergmann and Aaron Sams. 7 Throughout its development, varying terminology has been used by researchers to describe the FCM and its instructional elements.8 For the purposes of this article, the terms homework and in-class activities will be used, and are defined as follows:

Homework

Dissemination of informational content completed asynchronously by the student prior to class.

In-Class Activities

Activities and assessments completed during class that expand upon and reinforce concepts presented in the homework.9

In the FCM, homework can appear in multiple forms including, but not limited to, pre-recorded video lecture, listening activities (i.e. podcasts), and assigned readings. With an emphasis placed on video lecture in this article.10

5 Agirman and Ercoskun, Ibid.

6 J. Edward Bates, Hasan Almekdash, and Maggie J. GilchrestDunnam, “The Flipped Classroom: A Brief, Brief History,” in The Flipped College Classroom: Conceptualized and Re-Conceptualized, ed. Lucy Santos Green, Jennifer R. Banas, and Ross A. Perkins (Gewerbestrasse, Cham: Springer, 2017).

7 Jonathan Bergmann and Aaron Sams, Flip Your Classroom: Reach Every Student in Every Class Every Day (Eugene, Oregon: International Society for Technology in Education, 2012).

8 Alternative terminology used by previous research includes, inverted classroom, Lage et al., 2000; homework, Bishop and Verleger, 2013; off-loaded content, Rotellar and Cain, 2016; and in-class and out-of-class activities, Cevikbas and Kaiser, 2022.

9 Bill Tucker, “The Flipped Classroom: Online Instruction at Home Frees Class Time for Learning,” Education Next 12, no. 1 (2012); and Bergmann and Sams, Ibid.

10 Previous research has emphasized the use of video lectures in the FCM including Bergmann and Sams, 2012; Tucker, 2012; Bishop and Verleger, 2013; and Schmidt and Ralph, 2016.

To optimize class time, students complete and take notes on assigned homework prior to class. Proponents of the FCM recommend each class meeting begin with an assessment designed to confirm the student’s completion of the assigned homework.11 Possible assessments include quizzes, note checks, or student-created questions about the homework. In addition to this assessment, the instructor and students should briefly review the homework’s informational content at the start of class. During this discussion, the instructor should check for understanding and answer any student questions about the homework.

In conjunction with assigned homework, inclass learning activities provide educators the opportunity to reinforce, reteach, and expand upon content presented in the homework.

As Bill Tucker, managing director of Education Sector, describes, “Class becomes the place to work through problems, advance concepts, and engage in collaborative learning.”12 By off-loading lecture content as homework, additional time during class is made available for various activities that enhance student learning.13 In-class activities vary by instructor and academic discipline, but often include discussion, collaborative group work, active and experiential learning, and various forms of assessment.

Through the implementation of in-class learning activities in the FCM, instructors transition from solely disseminating information via lecture to serving as a facilitator of learning. As a result, the FCM transforms students from passive to active participants in the learning process.

Due to the educator’s role as facilitator, thoughtful selection and execution of in-class activities is important. Researcher Cristina Rotellar notes:

11 Bergmann and Sams, Ibid.

12 Tucker, Ibid, 82.

13 Bergmann and Sams, Ibid.

14

Anecdotal discussions of flipped classrooms often focus on the [homework] content stage, but the in-class activities are arguably the most important instructional component and should be given considerable forethought and attention.

In-class learning activities should be directly aligned with instructional content from the assigned homework, and purposefully selected to optimize learning.15

Flipped Classroom Advantages

Throughout the past decade the FCM has received considerable attention from researchers.16 Studies evaluating student engagement and academic achievement have yielded positive results, further supporting the model’s pedagogical merits. Recent research has observed improved student engagement and participation in the FCM, likely due in part to the pedagogical emphasis placed on active learning and pre-class preparation.17,18,19

FCM research has also observed improvements in student academic achievement and performance.20 Bösner et al., noted a 33% improvement in student knowledge and skills following participation in

a FCM course.21 Similarly, Polat and Karabatak observed significant differences in academic achievement between control and experimental (FCM) groups, with the FCM group demonstrating the greatest increase in academic achievement.22

A contributing factor for the observed improvement in academic achievement may be attributed to the model’s use of learning activities during class. In the traditional instructional paradigm, students complete assignments at home. In the FCM, however, class time is reserved for various learning activities and the completion of assessments. By inverting the traditional instructional model, students receive direct support and guidance from their instructor during class, providing for immediate learner feedback, additional instructional support, and re-teaching opportunities.23 In addition, the completion of assessments during class has been found to reduce student stress, as students are no longer left to complete assignments on their own at home.24

14 Cristina Rotellar and Jeff Cain, “Research, Perspectives, and Recommendations on Implementing the Flipped Classroom,” American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education 80, no. 2 (2016): 3.

15 Rotellar and Cain, Ibid.

16 Agirman and Ercoskun, Ibid.

17 Mustafa Cevikbas and Gabriele Kaiser, “Student Engagement in a Flipped Secondary Mathematics Classroom,” International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education 20, no. 7 (2022).

18 Anupama Prashar, “Assessing the Flipped Classroom in Operations Management: A Pilot Study,” Journal of Education for Business 90, no. 3 (2015).

19 Mary Beth Gilboy, Scott Heinerichs, and Gina Pazzaglia, “Enhancing Student Engagement Using the Flipped Classroom,” Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior 47, no. 1 (2015).

20 Peter Strelan, Amanda Osborn, and Edward Palmer, “The Flipped Classroom: A Meta-Analysis of Effects on Student Performance Across Disciplines and Education Levels,” Educational Research Review 30 (2020).

The implementation of asynchronous video lectures may also be advantageous for students. Videos can be paused and rewatched at a student’s own pace, serving as an accommodation for students with language or learning disabilities.25 Educators can further support these students by uploading their videos to YouTube, which offers closed caption subtitles. In addition, this author suggests including a basic lecture outline in the video’s description to highlight key concepts and aid in student note taking.

21 Stefan Bösner, Julia Pickert, and Tina Stibane, “Teaching Differential Diagnosis in Primary Care Using an Inverted Classroom Approach: Student Satisfaction and Gain in Skills and Knowledge,” BMC Medical Education 15, no. 1 (2015).

22 Hakan Polat and Songül Karabatak, “Effect of Flipped Classroom Model on Academic Achievement, Academic Satisfaction and General Belongingness,” Learning Environments Research 25, no. 1 (2022).

23 Bergmann and Sams, Ibid.

24 Betul Aydin and Veysel Demirer, “Are Flipped Classrooms Less Stressful and More Successful? An Experimental Study on College Students,” International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education 19, no. 1 (2022).

25 Bergmann and Sams, Ibid.

Incorporating asynchronous homework also supports absentee faculty and students. In the traditional classroom, students who are absent must have a peer take notes for them. With the FCM, students do not miss lecture content and are often able to complete in-class activities as additional homework (variable based on the inclass activity). In addition, by providing lecture content asynchronously, faculty are able to easily transition class meetings to a virtual format (both synchronous and asynchronous) upon their absence due to professional activities, illness, inclement weather, or global pandemic.

Implementing the FCM in the Collegiate Choral Classroom

The FCM is advantageous and applicable in a variety of courses. In the choral curriculum, secondary choral methods and choral conducting may benefit the most from its implementation. In addition to these courses, it should be noted that additional music courses are well-suited for the implementation of the FCM. Any music education course that incorporates both lecture and practical application may benefit from the active and experiential learning opportunities provided by the FCM. Furthermore, music theory courses may also benefit from the FCM due to their regular use of homework assignments. A thorough discussion of these additional music courses is unfortunately beyond the scope of this article.

Secondary Choral Methods

In the undergraduate music curriculum, secondary choral methods serves as one of the primary courses for the preparation of choral educators. In the traditional course design, a large portion of class time is often devoted to lecture, with limited opportunities for in-class learning activities. Implementing the FCM can provide additional class time for active and experiential learning by delivering lecture content as homework.26

26 Bergmann and Sams, Ibid.

The following are suggested in-class learning activities (grouped by topic) that can be implemented in a FCM secondary choral methods course. Suggestions for corresponding homework assignments are not provided as content-based reading, listening, or video lecture homework varies significantly by instructor. As noted earlier, each class meeting should begin with a brief assessment or discussion that confirms a student’s completion and comprehension of the assigned homework. The following suggested activities are then utilized during class to reinforce and extend learning, as well as provide opportunities for experiential learning.

Topic: Vocal Exercises

• In a group, students create a database of vocal exercises based on the assigned homework, teacher provided resources, or their own experience. Groups informally share their database with the rest of the class, creating one final vocal exercise database.

• Students teach a ten-minute vocal lesson incorporating exercises from their database.

• In a group, students discuss the pedagogical uses of various vocal exercises.

Topic: Sight-Reading

• During class, students observe videos of sight-reading instruction in a secondary classroom. Students discuss what they observed compared to what they learned from the assigned homework. Alternatively, this activity can be completed in person at a local secondary institution.

• In a group, students create a sight-reading curriculum for the first fifty days of a sixthgrade choir.

• Students debate the pedagogical advantages and disadvantages of each sight-reading method (Fixed-Do, Moveable-Do, Numbers).

• In a group, students evaluate sight-reading resources. Groups then share their evaluations of these resources with the class.

• Students teach a ten-minute sight-reading lesson.

Topic: Classroom Management

• In a group or as a class, students discuss potential responses to classroom misbehavior.

• In a group, students discuss and create a list of classroom rules.

• Students lead a ten-minute vocal exercise lesson and respond to planned misbehavior demonstrated by their classmates.

Topic: Selecting Repertoire

• Students select appropriate repertoire for various ensemble ages and voicings using teacher provided resources and electronic databases.

• Students analyze and mark their selected musical scores making note of potential vocal challenges.

• Students create a concert program ready for distribution at a performance, and informally present their repertoire selections to the class.

Topic: Introducing Repertoire

• Students introduce a song from their selected repertoire to the class in a fifteen to twentyminute lesson.

• Students debate the effectiveness of rote teaching and discuss alternative methods.

Topic: Lesson Plans

• Utilizing vocal exercises, sight-reading materials, and repertoire from previous activities, students create one week of lesson plans for three ensembles.

Topic: Voice Part Placement

• Students create a voice placement/audition form.

• Following a lesson on the adolescent voice change, hold class at a local middle school. Students determine voice parts for individual singers (both tenor/bass and treble).

• Alternatively, students can complete this activity in-class determining the voice part of their peers.

Topic: Choral Tone

• During class listen to audio/video samples of various choral performances. Discuss these performances, evaluating the ensemble’s approach to tone production.

• Students lead a brief lesson and respond to poor tone qualities demonstrated by the ensemble, which have been provided to them by the instructor.

Topic: Rehearsal

• Students rehearse a university ensemble or in-class demonstration group for fifteen to twenty minutes.

Topic: Miscellaneous Classroom Business and Job Placement

• In a group, students create a trip or musical theatre schedule and budget.

• Students evaluate various music technology resources, assigned by the instructor, sharing their review of these resources with the class.

• In a group, students prepare a recruitment speech directed towards a group of visiting elementary students.

• Students participate in a mock interview.

• Students create or update their resumé.

As demonstrated in these sample activities, the FCM enables instructors to increase active and experiential learning opportunities in the collegiate classroom. Activities that would have previously been completed outside of class are now prepared under the support and guidance of the instructor, and additional class time for active and experiential learning activities is made possible through the incorporation of lecturebased homework.

Choral Conducting

Implementation of the FCM in choral conducting can also be advantageous to students. In the traditional choral conducting curriculum, a wide range of topics may be addressed including conducting technique, choral literature, aural skills, and rehearsal technique. When considering conducting technique in the choral conducting curriculum, the instructional sequence often begins with a demonstration by the teacher, followed by in-class student practice. At home, students are expected to practice these techniques on their own from memory. While the traditional instructional model for choral conducting already incorporates an extensive amount of in-class experiential learning, additional class time can be made available through the implementation of the FCM.

In a choral conducting FCM, instructional videos are prepared introducing students to various conducting skills (i.e., patterns, preparatory beat, cues, cutoffs, dynamics, etc.). Videos are viewed by students as homework, allowing for additional time during class for direct student instruction.

The implementation of instructional videos in conducting offers two advantages. First, videos can be paused and re-watched as needed. This is in contrast with the traditional model, which requires students to rely on memory (or the accuracy of their handwritten notes) when practicing at home.

Second, instructional videos encourage, and at times require, at home practice, further reinforcing correct technique through guided practice.

It should be noted here that the creation of videos for the choral conducting curriculum presents one potential challenge. In a standard video recording, the captured image is not mirrored (i.e. left is right and vice versa). As a result, the left and right gestural motions of the instructor are inverted, which may be visually confusing for students. To correct this issue, instructors can easily mirror videos on the vertical axis during the editing process using their smartphone or editing software.27

Beyond conducting based instruction, choral conducting courses addressing topics of literature and rehearsal technique may also benefit from the FCM. Similar to the discussion of a flipped choral methods course, instructional content on literature and rehearsal technique can be offloaded as homework providing additional class time for active and experiential learning activities.

Considerations and Concerns

The FCM presents a few challenges that collegiate professors should consider and address before implementing the model in their curriculum. Unfortunately for instructors, the creation of lecture videos is a time-consuming process. However, once established, instructors only need to occasionally update their video database. It is also possible to supplement instructor-created videos with other available resources. For example, this author has publicly released videos on YouTube that are purposefully designed to be used in conjunction with a flipped choral methods course. 28 In addition, as previously discussed,

27 Vertical axis mirroring is available on most modern smartphone as well as free video and image editing software such as Apple Photos and Microsoft Clipchamp.

28 The ChoralEd video podcast can be found on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and ChoralNet.

homework can appear in multiple formats including listening and reading assignments. Suggested non-video-based resources include ChorTeach , Teaching Music magazine, Music Educators Journal, Choral.Net blog posts, music education podcasts, and the instructor’s preferred secondary choral methods textbook.

When creating video content, best practice suggests videos last approximately ten to fifteen minutes and address only one academic topic for purposes of brevity, clarity, and student attention.29,30 Considering that collegiate courses convene less frequently than secondary courses, this author suggests maintaining these video parameters, but assigning up to three lecture videos for each class meeting (variable based on course meeting frequency).

Internet accessibility may be a concern; however, today’s tertiary institutions are well equipped with wireless internet capabilities and computer accessibility. If this is a concern, instructors can make videos available via DVD or flash drive download.

Due to the emphasis placed on homework in the FCM, students must be responsible and self-motivated to complete this homework prior to class. As previously discussed, instructors should incorporate graded assessments that confirm a student’s completion of the homework. Unfortunately, at times, students attend class unprepared. In these situations, students may be dismissed (at the instructor’s discretion) to complete this homework during class. Students must then complete that day’s in-class activity as homework, in addition to any assigned homework for the next class meeting. By

29 Bergmann and Sams, Ibid.

30 Steven R. Crawford and Jinnette Senecal, “Tools of the Trade: What Do you Need to Flip?” in The Flipped College Classroom: Conceptualized and Re-Conceptualized, ed. Lucy Santos Green, Jennifer R. Banas, and Ross A. Perkins (Gewerbestrasse, Cham: Springer, 2017).

taking these actions the instructor stresses the importance of assigned homework and does not permit students to attend class unprepared.

Considering the importance of homework, instructors should be mindful of the out-of-class time requirements of their assigned homework.31 Total length of video, listening, or reading assignments should be comparable to homework expectations in a traditional classroom. It is also important to note that homework and video lectures do not have to be assigned for every class meeting and should only be implemented when appropriate.32

Conclusions

The past decade has seen radical changes in higher education’s instructional environment due to changes in the way students learn and expanding technological advancements. Yet, face-to-face lecture remains a common mode of content delivery in institutions of higher education. 33 In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, a need to rethink tertiary choral music instruction was identified by the National Collegiate Choral Organization leading to the creation of the Expanding Choral Pedagogy Task Force, charged with identifying and developing practical resources for the changing educational landscape in a COVID and post-COVID learning environment. 34 In the report, the task force identified a changing landscape that elicited the need for higher education to rethink their approach to tertiary programming and instruction. The report states:

31 Rotellar and Cain, Ibid.

32 Bergmann and Sams, Ibid.

33 Freeman et al., Ibid.

34 National Collegiate Choral Organization, Expanding Choral Pedagogy, (2020), https://ncco-usa.org/publications/expandingchoral-pedagogy.

The shifting landscape of higher education…in conjunction with the COVID-19 pandemic lends the university choral community both opportunities and challenges for rethinking and reshaping choral music at the tertiary level. This lends itself to programmatic reconsiderations ranging from subject matter to content delivery.35

As institutions of higher education continue to reevaluate their approach to content delivery in a post-COVID era, tertiary choral music instructors should consider implementing the FCM as an alternative to traditional classroom instruction.

As an effective pedagogical approach, the FCM reimagines the traditional classroom paradigm promoting student-centered instruction, engagement, and academic achievement through meaningful in-class learning activities that are advantageous to the twenty-first century learner.

—Micah Bland

Micah Bland is Director of Choral Activities at The University of Toledo, where he directs the Chamber Singers and University Chorus, and teaches courses in choral music education, conducting, and voice. He is the founder and host of the ChoralEd video podcast, and currently serves as the “Student Times” column editor for the Choral Journal.

35 National Collegiate Choral Organization, Ibid., 11.

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Choral Reviews

Nathan Reiff, editor

Yôtin (The Wind) (2020)

Sherryl Sewepagaham

SATB, vocal descant or flute, rattle/shaker, hand/ frame drum (ca. 5:10’)

Text: Woodland Cree, Sherryl Sewepagaham

Silent Dawn Publishing

Recording: musica intima and Sherryl Sewepagaham https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=wOn0fkCxkOM

As conductors continuously seek to diversify choral repertoire, it is important to look for music by culture bearers, those who have a direct connection to the piece of music or musical style they are composing. Yôtin (The Wind) is such a piece.

Sherryl Sewepagaham—whose ancestry is CreeDene from the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, Canada—wrote this original work, lyrics and music, in 2020 for Pro Coro Canada. She holds a bachelor’s degree in music therapy from Capilano University, a bachelor’s degree in music education and a master’s degree in education from the University of Alberta. Sewepagaham worked as an elementary music teacher for 14 years. She is part of the Indigenous trio Asani, which was nominated for a Juno award in 2005 and won a Canadian Folk Music Award in 2010. She is a composer of traditional and contemporary First Nation drum songs and seeks to preserve the Cree language through traditional and newly composed songs.

Sewepagaham says Yôtin was “inspired by watching the wind swirl leaves and debris.” Through this observation, she thought about all the ways the wind can present itself, from gentle and playful to demanding and biting. The piece is set in C minor to aid in creating the mood of a mysterious wind.

The introductory measures work to create a wind soundscape. Having completed the introductory material there are three main sections: Playful Wind, Nurturing Breeze, and Demanding Wind. These three parts are straightforward in their presentation. Each section is built on repetitive ostinatos in the lower two voices that propel the work forward, coupled with short melodic phrases in the upper voices. The wind starts slow and mysterious and builds through the piece to a dramatic finish.

The introductory section is perhaps the most challenging. It requires the ensemble to undertake some extended vocal techniques to create a soundscape of the wind. The choir is supposed to drone while progressing through different vowels; this evokes the idea of overtone singing. Listening to the recording linked with this review—featuring the composer—confirms the desired effect. Above the choir there is a notated descant with instructions to improvise a line like

a native wooden flute. The score does indicate that a flute could play this in place of the voice. The drum and shaker also contribute to the wind by scratching around the drumhead and giving a turn of the shaker.

The composer states that singers should carefully observe the specific accents, numerous vocal slides, grace notes, and falls related to the traditional style and language throughout the music. At least two knowledgeable percussionists are needed to provide support for the ensemble. The composer’s instructions for these techniques are clear and easy to understand. The piece’s key of C minor, coupled with writing that involves tuning octaves and parallel fourths and fifths, could present an intonation challenge.

The final challenge of Yôtin is the Cree language. Fortunately, there is a well-constructed guide provided with the score. First, there are some overall pronunciation rules for the Woodland Cree language. Second, there is an IPA transliteration and a phonetic illustration, followed by an English translation.

While a professional ensemble originally commissioned the work, this piece should be accessible to high school and collegiate choirs of varying ability levels. The introductory section may take some time to develop, as the ensemble needs to experiment with the extended vocal techniques necessary for a successful performance. The rest of the piece, with its short phrases and motivic material, should come together with several repetitions. If you are seeking something outside the traditional canon for an upcoming concert program, give Yôtin a try!

—Andy Schroetter

Andy Schroetter is pursuing a Doctor of Arts in choral conducting at Ball State University after spending nineteen years teaching choral music in the public schools.

Aquí te amo (1993)

Modesta Bor

SATB (occasional divisi) (ca. 6:00)

Text: Spanish, Pablo Neruda

https://edicionesare.files

wordpress.com/2020/09/aqui-te-amo.pdf

Recording: Coral Nacional Juvenil Simón

Bolívar de Venezuela (Lourdes Sánchez, conductor) https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=zC9PPPV-gs8

In the 20th century, Modesta Bor (1926–1998) was among Venezuela’s foremost composers, musicologists, and pedagogues. Her musical career was astonishingly broad in scope and included an active profile as a composer and pianist, teaching positions at schools ranging from elementary through university, a key position in Venezuela’s Servicio de Investigaciones Folklóricas Nacionales (National Folkloric Research Service), and more.

One of Bor’s many interests was choral music. She directed youth choirs in and around Caracas and worked with university singers at various points in her career as well. Her interest in choral music led her to create several dozen original compositions and arrangements for mixed- and equal-voice ensembles, including a substantial body of repertoire for the Christmas season.

Like many of Bor’s original choral works, Aquí te amo is a setting of a text by a poet who wrote in Spanish and for an a cappella SATB ensemble with occasional divisi. Here, the text is by the Chilean poet, Nobel Prize recipient, and politician Pablo Neruda. Neruda’s “Aquí te amo” is from an early collection of love poetry that ignited his career. Its imagery evokes an ethereal, mysterious atmosphere and seems to focus on a representation of love as melancholic and yearning.

Mirroring the text, Bor’s musical setting is both delicate and, at times, impassioned. It unfolds in several distinct but connected sections, each of varying length. Like Neruda’s poetry, Bor’s music seems to linger in some moments and to press forward with unexpected urgency at others. The opening material of the piece, in which three of the four voices hum while the first lines of the poem are passed from one section to another, returns several times and has the effect of resetting moments of heightened drama and drawing the music back to something familiar when it begins to venture into unknown territory.

Bor’s musical language is triad-based and suffused with seventh chords, added sixths and ninths, and occasional stacks of fourths. The progression of harmonies is rarely jarring but also not always what one might expect from a traditionally tonal work. Each vocal line has melodic interest (whether or not it actually carries the melody, which moves freely between voices) as well as a number of challenging moments.

Although Aquí te amo is primarily homophonic, Bor still achieves a variety of textures in support of the unfolding of the piece and its sense of drama. One of the most common is a set of slower-moving chords in two or three of the voices supporting a flowing melody or duet. When the music intensifies, voices tend to share faster-moving text. Occasionally, Bor strips away whole voice parts and layers them back into the texture one at a time. Most of the piece includes just four distinct

voices, but occasionally Bor divides one or more of the sections for a few notes at a time.

Marked “Andante espressivo,” the piece feels neither particularly slow nor particularly fast. In this reviewer’s experience, determining tempo thoughtfully and based on the specific ensemble at hand can play a significant role in the success of the piece from the perspective of tuning and vocal stamina.

Aquí te amo is best suited for an ensemble with equally strong vocal sections. Listening and a refined sense of balance will likely be some of the greatest skills necessary to realize the piece. Directors may want to program this piece for a choir of singers with a strong technical foundation, as the many long, legato lines and the ethereal character of the music are demanding from a vocal standpoint. But for choirs able to take on these challenges, Modesta Bor’s Aquí te amo will undoubtedly offer many beautiful moments and an opportunity to evoke complex and layered emotions.

Venezuelan publisher Ediciones ARE provides sheet music for Aquí te amo and many of Bor’s other choral works for download through its website, edicionesare.wordpress.com.

—Nathan Reiff

Dr. Nathan Reiff serves as the Director of Choirs at Swarthmore College.