Summary of Dissertation Recitals: Three Programs of Choral Music

Abstract

The repertoire chosen for the three conducting recitals represents a variety styles and time periods ranging from the Renaissance to modern times, varying levels of musical experience on the part of the singers, and accompaniment textures ranging from unaccompanied to piano and orchestral.

The first recital was in two parts. The first was performed on November 9, 2013 by the University of Michigan Women's Glee Club. The program commemorated the 100th anniversary of Hill Auditorium with the concert theme of “Looking Forward” and featured works composed or arranged in 2013. The second part of the recital was performed on December 10, 2013 by the University of Michigan Orpheus Singers and featured the first three movements of Miserere, ZWV 57 by Jan Dismas Zelenka (1679-1745).

The second recital was in three parts. The first was performed on January 16, 2014 by a recital choir and chamber orchestra. The program featured Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 61 by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), and In terra pax, op. 39 by Gerald Finzi (1901-1956). The second was performed on April 10, 2014 by the University of Michigan Orpheus Singers and featured Songs and Sonnets from Shakespeare by George Shearing (1919-2011). The third was performed on October 17, 2014 by the University of Michigan Chamber Choir and featured Cry out and shout by Knut Nystedt (b. 1915), Crucifixus a 8 by Antonio Lotti (1666-1740), and Der Feuerreiter by Hugo Wolf (1860-1903).

The final recital was in two parts. The first was performed on October 28, 2014 by the University of Michigan Orpheus Singers and featured Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147, by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750). The second was performed on November 18, 2014 by the University of Michigan Arts Chorale and orchestra and featured Te Deum, Hob. XXIIIc:2, by Joseph Haydn (1732-1809); Ave verum corpus, K. 618, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791); and Choral Fantasy in C Minor, op. 80, by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827).