Historical Dictionary of Choral Music

585 Pages·2010·4.053 MB·English

by  Melvin P. Unger

HISTORICAL DICTIONARIES
OF LITERATURE AND THE ARTS
Jon Woronoff, Series Editor
1. Science Fiction Literature, by Brian Stableford, 2004.
2. Hong Kong Cinema, by Lisa Odham Stokes, 2007.
3. American Radio Soap Operas, by Jim Cox, 2005.
4. Japanese Traditional Theatre, by Samuel L. Leiter, 2006.
5. Fantasy Literature, by Brian Stableford, 2005.
6. Australian and New Zealand Cinema, by Albert Moran and
Errol Vieth, 2006.
7. African-American Television, by Kathleen Fearn-Banks, 2006.
8. Lesbian Literature, by Meredith Miller, 2006.
9. Scandinavian Literature and Theater, by Jan Sjåvik, 2006.
10. British Radio, by Seán Street, 2006.
11. German Theater, by William Grange, 2006.
12. African American Cinema, by S. Torriano Berry and Venise
Berry, 2006.
13. Sacred Music, by Joseph P. Swain, 2006.
14. Russian Theater, by Laurence Senelick, 2007.
15. French Cinema, by Dayna Oscherwitz and MaryEllen Higgins,
2007.
16. Postmodernist Literature and Theater, by Fran Mason, 2007.
17. Irish Cinema, by Roderick Flynn and Pat Brereton, 2007.
18. Australian Radio and Television, by Albert Moran and
Chris Keating, 2007.
19. Polish Cinema, by Marek Haltof, 2007.
20. Old Time Radio, by Robert C. Reinehr and Jon D. Swartz, 2008.
21. Renaissance Art, by Lilian H. Zirpolo, 2008.
22. Broadway Musical, by William A. Everett and Paul R. Laird, 2008.
23. American Theater: Modernism, by James Fisher and Felicia
Hardison Londré, 2008.
24. German Cinema, by Robert C. Reimer and Carol J. Reimer, 2008.
25. Horror Cinema, by Peter Hutchings, 2008.
26. Westerns in Cinema, by Paul Varner, 2008.
27. Chinese Theater, by Tan Ye, 2008.
28. Italian Cinema, by Gino Moliterno, 2008.
29. Architecture, by Allison Lee Palmer, 2008.
30. Russian and Soviet Cinema, by Peter Rollberg, 2008.
31. African American Theater, by Anthony D. Hill, 2009.
32. Postwar German Literature, by William Grange, 2009.
33. Modern Japanese Literature and Theater,
by J. Scott Miller, 2009.
34. Animation and Cartoons, by Nichola Dobson, 2009.
35. Modern Chinese Literature, by Li-hua Ying, 2010.
36. Middle Eastern Cinema, by Terri Ginsberg and
Chris Lippard, 2010.
37. Spanish Cinema, by Alberto Mira, 2010.
38. Film Noir, by Andrew Spicer, 2010.
39. French Theater, by Edward Forman, 2010.
40. Choral Music, by Melvin P. Unger, 2010.
Historical Dictionary
of Choral Music
Melvin P. Unger
Historical Dictionaries of Literature
and the Arts, No. 40
The Scarecrow Press, Inc.
Lanham • Toronto • Plymouth, UK
2010
Published by Scarecrow Press, Inc.
A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.
4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706
http://www.scarecrowpress.com
Estover Road, Plymouth PL6 7PY, United Kingdom
Copyright © 2010 by Melvin P. Unger
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by
any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval
systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who
may quote passages in a review.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Unger, Melvin P., 1950–
Historical dictionary of choral music / Melvin P. Unger.
p. cm. — (Historical dictionaries of literature and the arts ; no. 40)
Includes bibliographical references (p. ).
ISBN 978-0-8108-5751-3 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-8108-7392-6
(ebook)
1. Choral music—Dictionaries. I. Title.
ML102.V6U54 2010
782.503—dc22 2009051456
(cid:2) ™ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for
Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.
Printed in the United States of America
To Betty

Contents
Editor’s Foreword Jon Woronoff ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xiii
Acronyms and Abbreviations xv
Chronology xix
Introduction 1
THE DICTIONARY 7
Bibliography 479
About the Author 555
vii

Editor’s Foreword
The human voice is one of the most beautiful and expressive of instru-
ments, and when multiple voices come together in unified tone and
purpose a powerful communal statement is realized. No wonder choral
music—of one sort or another—can be traced far back in history and
found just about anywhere. Its strongest and most prolific source, how-
ever, is in Western civilization and Christianity, starting with the Gre-
gorian reforms of the 6th century. Developing most notably in Europe
and North America, it became an increasingly important medium for
intercultural exchange during the 20th century, and choruses are now
springing up throughout the world. More remarkably, while the canons
still prevail in many quarters, current styles are increasingly varied and
experimental, presented in a growing array of languages (and occasion-
ally no language at all). Clearly, choral music is now more widespread
than ever before, providing pleasure to the larger public than could ever
have been imagined.
This Historical Dictionary of Choral Music focuses mostly on familiar
figures like Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, and Britten. But its scope is con-
siderably broader, for it covers all periods of Western music: medieval,
classical, romantic, and modern. It includes all sorts of music—religious,
secular, and popular—from sources throughout the world, even if it is
focused more heavily on those in Europe and America. And it presents
an incredible roster of composers, some well recognized but others barely
known (at least for their choral works) or simply forgotten, as well as
technical choral information and terminology. The dictionary itself in-
cludes more than one thousand entries. The choral art’s long pedigree is
traced in a chronology, and an introduction puts it in perspective. Finally,
a comprehensive bibliography allows for further reading, directing read-
ers to other works, whether general or specialized, to various forms of
choral music, and to the individuals who have composed or practiced it.
ix