Unit XX Choral and Dramatic Music in the Nineteenth Century

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Unit XXChoral and Dramatic Music in the
Nineteenth Century

• Chapter 56
• Romantic Choral Music

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Amateur Choral Groups

• The nineteenth century saw a tremendous rise of
  amateur choral groups.
• choral singing, while it has its demands, is
  largely accessible to the general public as
  opposed to orchestral playing, which requires
  many years of careful study before a player can
  become a permanent part of an orchestra.

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Choral Composers

• Some of the most important composers of the day
  were active as composers of choral music
  Schubert, Berlioz, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Liszt,
  Verdi, Franck, Brahms and Dvorák.

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Forms

• Mass - a musical setting of the most solemn
  service of the Roman Catholic Church.
• Requiem - a musical setting of the Mass for the
  Dead. It takes its name from the opening text
  "Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine" (Give them
  eternal rest, O Lord).

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Forms

• Oratorio - a dramatic composition based on a text
  of religious or serious character, performed by
  chorus, solo voices, and orchestra.
• Partsongs - short secular choral pieces based on
  lyric poetry. Partsongs illustrate a tremendous
  variety of moods and styles.

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Venue

• The Mass, Requiem and Oratorio were originally
  all intended for church performance. As the size
  of the forms grew, they became inappropriate as
  service music and became concert vehicles which
  were as often as not performed in the public
  concert hall.

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A German Requiem
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A German Requiem

• Unlike most requiems, Brahms's A German Requiem
  is rooted in Protestantism the texts associated
  with the Roman Catholic Mass for the Dead are not
  contained in this work. The texts were taken,
  instead, from the Old as well as the New
  Testament. The aim of the text selection was to
  create a work which would console the living and
  lead them to a serene acceptance of death as an
  inevitable part of life

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A German Requiem

• Brahms was not a religious man in the
  conventional sense, therefore Christ's name is
  not mentioned throughout this work.
• Brahms was compelled to compose his requiem by
  the death, first of his benefactor and friend
  Robert Schumann, then of his mother, whom he
  idolized. The depth of this piece endures as a
  song of mourning for all mankind.

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Structure

• Written for soloists, four-part chorus, and
  orchestra.
• Seven movements, arranged in an arch, the first
  and last movements being musically related, as
  are the second and sixth and the third and fifth.
  The fourth movement, "How Lovely Is Thy Dwelling
  Place," is the centerpiece of the work.

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Fourth movement Mässig bewegt

• Centerpiece of the work, "How lovely is thy
  dwelling place, O Lord of Hosts!" (Psalm 84).
• Rondo (A-B-A-C-A).
• See Listening Guide 33, pp. 293-294 (CD 3/29-33)
  for analysis and themes.