Many twentieth-century American composers have written works for chorus with brass accompaniment. This study focuses on the compositional techniques Daniel Moe applies to his brass and choral works and the musical and religious influences that aided in the development of Moe's composition language. Eight of Daniel Moe's works for brass and chorus are analyzed to determine the influences and techniques employed in his style of composition. The analysis reveals: the choir and brass remain independent and never dominate each other, the brass consistently play at their loudest dynamic levels while the choir is not singing, the heights of the choral phrases are unaccompanied, and final cadences are voiced with the highest pitches in the choral writing which allows an equality of forces. As a conductor, Moe has encountered many Venetian and contemporary works for brass and chorus that had a direct result on the techniques he applied to his brass and choral works. The evidence suggests that Daniel Moe's choral works with brass accompaniment involve a combination of twentieth-century harmonies and rhythms, Biblical and liturgical texts influenced by his strong Lutheran heritage, and a style of transparent scoring which carefully integrates the brass instruments into the overall texture of his compositions.

The contributions made by American composers to the repertoire for women's chorus have increased significantly since 1940. This study was undertaken because previous investigations are international in scope and do not give an adequate view of the broad range of American works now available. Criteria established for works to be included in the study were as follows: (1) original compositions by American composers; (2) at least six minutes in duration; (3) available to the public from a publisher, composer, or repository of American works; (4) publication or composition date after 1940 and before 1980. The study includes both secular and sacred works. Qualitative comments were avoided because they were not consistent with the object of the study. Since numerous works are out of print and are almost impossible to obtain, the 91 works annotated in the study represent but a portion of the total output of American composers. Each annotation includes composer name; composer dates (when available); title of composition; date of publication or composition; text source; voicing; ranges of individual parts; level of difficulty; duration; accompaniment medium; and publisher and catalog information. A descriptive paragraph on the work in toto and on each movement or set piece briefly discusses text content, harmonic background, melody, rhythm, tessitura, meter, texture, form, role of accompaniment, and/or other salient features.

Although much has been written on the subject of conducting, it is generally recognized that a great deal can be learned through discussion with and observation of successful conductors. Direct contact with master conductors is an excellent learning tool, but seldom do high school or college choral conductors have the opportunity for direct individual study of the experts in their normal situations. This study provided the opportunity for one practitioner to work with two expert choral conductors. The report was written with the hope that other practitioners might also benefit from the results of the investigation. The purpose of this study was to identify and compare preparations and experiences, philosophies of music, and observable choral concepts which may have contributed to the superior choral achievements of B. R. Henson and Lloyd Pfautsch.

There is a need for a systematic collection of ideas concerning blend in choral sound. Many authorities discuss blend, but their concepts of the term are very divergent. These divergent concepts lead to emphasis of various factors which are important to the development or achievement of blend in choral sound. This emphasis in turn leads to various methods of achieving blend. Authorities ascribe several definitions to the term blend, as it relates to choral tone. These definitions should be studied collectively in order that a clearer concept of the term blend in choral sound may be developed. In studying blend in choral sound, several factors are generally deemed important. No study has been made which leads to a consensus concerning the relative importance of these factors. Scientific studies have been made of these factors, but the results have not been compiled and presented in one source. Authorities employ various methods in working with the factors which affect blend in choral sound. No study has been made which includes these methods. It is hoped that this study will contribute to the collecting and organizing of ideas regarding blend, including its various definitions and its important factors. It is also hoped that this study will contribute to the understanding of these factors as they relate to the achievement of blend in choral sound. It is intended that this study will present this information in such a manner as to be of assistance to the musician in the field of choral music.

American composer Andrew Rindfleisch (b. 1963) has contributed twenty-one pieces to the repertoire of contemporary choral literature to date. His works have been commissioned, premiered, and recorded by notable choral ensembles and performed in significant venues around the country. Influenced by his own early choral singing experience in his native Wisconsin, much of Rindfleisch’s choral music is infused with influences of the music of earlier composers and choral idioms. With these works, Rindfleisch participates in a long-standing trend in choral composition of looking to the musical past for inspiration and procedure while writing in a contemporary harmonic vocabulary, and his efforts can be evaluated through the lens of a study of musical borrowing. Through a case study of five of Rindfleisch’s choral works – “In manus tuas,” “Mille regretz,” “Psalm,” “Anthem,” and “Graue Liebesschlangen” – this document identifies common characteristics of Rindfleisch’s choral music and demonstrates his uses of musical borrowing and allusion. The influence of Renaissance polyphony, Debussy, Brahms, and German expressionism is revealed.

This dissertation consists of two parts, an essay and a four-part cycle of choral works, including four full scores of A Time for Everything (meditation on Ecclesiastes 3), Come Away, My Beloved (meditation on Song of Songs), Intercession (meditation on Romans 8), and Faith, Hope, and Love (meditation on 1 Corinthians 13). The essay includes an introduction presenting an overview of A Time for Everything for chorus, a description of my creative process, and my ideas of music and spirituality that inform the composition. It also includes an in-depth analysis of each of the four choral works. A Time for Everything for chorus was conceived as a series of musical meditations, and composed for the vocal ensemble Ekmeles. The four pieces were premiered at Roulette Intermedium, and Issue Project Room in New York, and at Nassau Presbyterian Church in Princeton, New Jersey between 2012-2013. Scores and recordings of these works make up the second part of the dissertation.

Choruses, sung by the Kansas State University Chamber Choir; Jess Wade, piano; the author, conductor; with historical and critical analysis of the works. / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University / The objectives of this study were as follows: (1) to determine which movements in the large choral works of J. S. Bach are contrafacta; (2) to compare those movements with their prototypes; (3) to document changes which were made in the adaptation; and (4) to speculate on what reasons may have prompted these alterations. In assessing the relative value of the contrafactum and its prototype several aspects were considered: what type of parody was involved; whether the prototype was a great work of art; whether its textual content was similar to that of the later version; and whether the music fitted its new setting. The method of the composer was also considered: were there many changes or was it a mechanical transformation; even if it was'merely a "mechanical transformation," was it successful? An attempt was also made to determine whether or not there was a symbolic connection between the parody and its prototype. The conditions under which the contrafacta were written were also considered. To such questions, unequivocal answers were not always possible since clear and precise documentation was often unavailable. In many instances one could only suggest possible solutions. However, the investigation confirmed Schering's thesis that, even though Bach's borrowings were usually due to pressures of public performance, the contrafacta contain several aesthetic improvements and reveal a high degree of artistry. Indeed, they may be considered the climax in the Baroque Era of this particular compositional technique. Some of the transformations provided excellent examples of typically Bachian traits, the most common of which was textual and formalistic symbolism. Another noticeable feature was a general tendency to make the later setting more extensive and massive than the original composition. Consequently, wherever it was possible, Bach added new instrumental and vocal parts, increased the length of the later versions, augmented certain melodic intervals, and usually made the contrafacta more melismatic than their models. In the smaller Masses, however, Bach tended to simplify harmonies making the later composition more austere than its model. Although the tendency throughout the parodies was to improve the setting, the functional aspect still influenced the transformation to such a degree that a few of the parodies seem inferior to their prototypes. This was especially evident in the contrafacta sections of the Christmas Oratorio. Nevertheless, perhaps the most distinct trait in all of the contrafacta was the care with which Bach chose his models; inevitably the texts of both versions were formally similar and often a subtle symbolism in the relationship between text and music was preserved. In addition to these specific aspects, another conclusion can be drawn which is equally important--the need for further study in this area of musical research. For instance, in Bach's own works there is still much to learn from his instrumental contrafacta and those in the Cantatas. Moreover, a perusal of the literature revealed that there is a dearth of material available on the contrafactum as a recurring phenomenon in music history and as a technique employed by other composers. By filling in this gap, scholars might gain further insight into the work methods of other great masters.

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