The Cambridge Companion to Choral Music

by André de Quadros, Matthew W. Mehaffey (Contributor)

Choral music is now undoubtedly the foremost genre of participatory music making, with more people singing in choirs than ever before. Written by a team of leading international practitioners and scholars, this Companion addresses the history of choral music, its emergence and growth worldwide and its professional practice. The volume sets out a historical survey of the genre and follows with a kaleidoscopic bird's eye view of choral music from all over the world. Chapters vividly portray the emergence and growth of choral music from its Quranic antecedents in West and Central Asia to the baroque churches of Latin America, representing its global diversity. Uniquely, the book includes a pedagogical section where several leading choral musicians write about the voice and the inner workings of a choir and give their professional insights into choral practice. This Companion will appeal to choral scholars, directors and performers alike.

Genres: Music

358 pages, Paperback

First published August 16, 2012

Reviews

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

This solid volume looks at western choral music from both a historical and practical view. I really enjoyed the chapters that examined the history of the chorus and its repertoire. The sections on choral life around the world were very interesting, but did at times skirt uncomfortably around issues of colonialism and imperialism. On the other hand, I did like that the authors for most of those sections were from or involved in the region they were covering. I also liked the attention several sections paid to the interpersonal and societal aspects of choral singing.

[Mills College Library]

782.5 C1782 2012