Dessoff Choirs
Encyclopedia
History
The Dessoff Choirs is an independent chorus based in New York City. Margarete DessoffMargarete Dessoff
Emma Margarete "Gretchen" Dessoff was a German choral conductor, singer, and voice teacher.-Germany:...
established the organization in 1930 as the union of two choirs she directed, the Adesdi chorus and the A Cappella Singers, whence the plural Choirs. Today, the plural connotes Dessoff's various ensembles, which range from the large Dessoff Symphonic Choir, which appears with major orchestras, to the smaller Dessoff Chamber Choir, which performs in more intimate settings.
The performance of new, unusual, or rarely-heard works is a central facet of Dessoff's mission. Under Mme. Dessoff's baton, the Dessoff Choirs gave many premieres, including the American premiere of Arnold Schönberg
Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg was an Austrian composer, associated with the expressionist movement in German poetry and art, and leader of the Second Viennese School...
's Friede auf Erden, the first American performance of Orazio Vecchi
Orazio Vecchi
Orazio Vecchi was an Italian composer of the late Renaissance. He is most famous for his madrigal comedies, particularly L'Amfiparnaso.- Life :...
's L'Amfiparnaso, and the New York premiere of Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
's cantata Christ Lag in Todesbanden. Dessoff's second conductor, Paul Boepple, continued to champion early music
Early music
Early music is generally understood as comprising all music from the earliest times up to the Renaissance. However, today this term has come to include "any music for which a historically appropriate style of performance must be reconstructed on the basis of surviving scores, treatises,...
, and when he retired after 32 years as musical director, early music had seen its modern renaissance, one in which Dessoff had played a significant role. In 1951, the Dessoff Choirs performed with the New York Wind Ensemble at a special Peabody Mason Concert series commemorating the Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
Bi-Millennial year. During Mr. Boepple's tenure, the Choirs released 13 recordings, and his editions were published by Theodore Presser as the Dessoff Choir Series.
From 2005 through 2010, James Bagwell served as the musical director of Dessoff. Under his direction, Dessoff performed several large works not often heard, including Kurt Weill
Kurt Weill
Kurt Julian Weill was a German-Jewish composer, active from the 1920s, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fruitful collaborations with Bertolt Brecht...
's Berliner Requiem, Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith was a German composer, violist, violinist, teacher, music theorist and conductor.- Biography :Born in Hanau, near Frankfurt, Hindemith was taught the violin as a child...
's Apparebit repentina dies, and William Bolcom
William Bolcom
William Elden Bolcom is an American composer and pianist. He has received the Pulitzer Prize, the National Medal of Arts, two Grammy Awards, the Detroit Music Award and was named 2007 Composer of the Year by Musical America. Bolcom taught composition at the University of Michigan from 1973–2008...
's The Mask. In addition, Mr. Bagwell expanded Dessoff's repertoire with regard to American music, including in the choir's concerts Sacred Harp
Sacred Harp
Sacred Harp singing is a tradition of sacred choral music that took root in the Southern region of the United States. It is part of the larger tradition of shape note music.- The music and its notation :...
music and American music from the 18th and 21st centuries. Dessoff's May, 2009, concert, which included works by Charles Ives
Charles Ives
Charles Edward Ives was an American modernist composer. He is one of the first American composers of international renown, though Ives' music was largely ignored during his life, and many of his works went unperformed for many years. Over time, Ives came to be regarded as an "American Original"...
and his teacher Horatio Parker
Horatio Parker
Horatio William Parker was an American composer, organist and teacher. He was a central figure in musical life in New Haven, Connecticut in the late 19th century, and is best remembered as the teacher of Charles Ives....
, was recorded live and released on CD and by mp3 download in December, 2009. In September, 2009, Mr. Bagwell was named musical director of the Collegiate Chorale
Collegiate Chorale
The Collegiate Chorale is a symphonic choir based in New York City, USA. It was founded in 1941 by Robert Shaw, who was later to found the professional Robert Shaw Chorale. The Collegiate Chorale continues to give several performances annually in Carnegie Hall and other major venues...
.
In June, 2009, the Dessoff Symphonic Choir joined the New York Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
and the New York Choral Artists for seven performances of two programs (Britten
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
's War Requiem and Mahler
Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic...
's Symphony No. 8) marking Lorin Maazel
Lorin Maazel
Lorin Varencove Maazel is an American conductor, violinist and composer.- Early life :Maazel was born to Jewish-American parents in Neuilly-sur-Seine in France and brought up in the United States, primarily at his parents' home in Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood. His father, Lincoln Maazel , was...
's final concerts as music director of the Philharmonic. Coincidentally, Dessoff also shared the stage at these concerts with its previous music director, Kent Tritle
Kent Tritle
Kent Tritle is a choral conductor and organist in New York City, United States. He is the current director of the professional chorus Musica Sacra and of the Oratorio Society of New York, and director of cathedral music and organist at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine...
, the Philharmonic's organist.
In November, 2009, the Dessoff Chamber Choir performed songs from The Kinks Choral Collection
The Kinks Choral Collection
The Kinks Choral Collection is an album, released 15 June 2009 in the UK and 10 November 2009 in the US, by Ray Davies and the Crouch End Festival Chorus...
with Ray Davies
Ray Davies
Ray Davies, CBE is an English rock musician. He is best known as lead singer and songwriter for the Kinks, which he led with his younger brother, Dave...
on The Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman is a U.S. late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and band-leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, is...
and at two Town Hall
The Town Hall
The Town Hall is a performance space, located at 123 West 43rd Street, between Sixth Avenue and Broadway, in New York City. It seats approximately 1,500 people.-History:...
performances.
In May 2010, Christopher Shepard became the seventh music director of The Dessoff Choirs.
The Dessoff Choirs 2010-2011 concert season
- October 8–9, 2010, (Dessoff Symphonic Choir) Radio City Music HallRadio City Music HallRadio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in New York City's Rockefeller Center. Its nickname is the Showplace of the Nation, and it was for a time the leading tourist destination in the city...
, Howard ShoreHoward ShoreHoward Leslie Shore is a Canadian composer, notable for his film scores. He has composed the scores for over 80 films, most notably the scores for The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, for which he won three Academy Awards. He is also a consistent collaborator with director David Cronenberg,...
's score to The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, performed during a live projection of the film. With the Brooklyn Youth Chorus and the 21st Century Symphony Orchestra, Ludwig Wicki conductor - November 21–22, 2010, St. James Church (Madison Ave. at 71st St.), French Masters from JosquinJosquin Des PrezJosquin des Prez [Josquin Lebloitte dit Desprez] , often referred to simply as Josquin, was a Franco-Flemish composer of the Renaissance...
to DurufléMaurice DurufléMaurice Duruflé was a French composer, organist, and pedagogue.Duruflé was born in Louviers, Eure. In 1912, he became chorister at the Rouen Cathedral Choir School, where he studied piano and organ with Jules Haelling...
, Chris Shepard, conductor - November 24–28, 2010, (Dessoff Chamber Choir) East Coast tour with Ray DaviesRay DaviesRay Davies, CBE is an English rock musician. He is best known as lead singer and songwriter for the Kinks, which he led with his younger brother, Dave...
, The Kinks Choral CollectionThe Kinks Choral CollectionThe Kinks Choral Collection is an album, released 15 June 2009 in the UK and 10 November 2009 in the US, by Ray Davies and the Crouch End Festival Chorus...
- November 24, 2010, The Beacon Theatre, New York
- November 26, 2010, The Wellmont TheatreWellmont TheatreThe Wellmont Theatre, at 5 Seymour Street and Bloomfield Avenue, is a theater and music venue in downtown Montclair, New Jersey.-History:The theatre opened in 1922 for live entertainment then switched to movies in 1929. In 2008 it completed a $3 million renovation and became a music venue. The...
, Montclair, New Jersey - November 27, 2010, Verizon HallKimmel Center for the Performing ArtsThe Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts is a large performing arts venue located on Broad Street, along the stretch known as the "Avenue of the Arts", in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is owned and operated by Kimmel Center, Inc., an organization which also manages the Academy of Music in...
, Philadelphia - November 28, 2010, Wilbur TheatreWilbur TheatreWilbur Theatre is a historic theater at 244-250 Tremont Street in Boston, Massachusetts. It is located in Boston's theatre district.Clarence Blackall built the theatre in 1913. The National Historic Register added the Wilbur in 1980....
, Boston
- December 13, 2010, (Dessoff Symphonic Choir) Avery Fisher HallAvery Fisher HallAvery Fisher Hall is a concert hall, in New York City and is part of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts complex. It is the home of the New York Philharmonic, with a capacity of 2,738 seats.-History:...
, Maurice RavelMaurice RavelJoseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...
's Daphnis et ChloéDaphnis et ChloéDaphnis et Chloé is a ballet with music by Maurice Ravel. Ravel described it as a "symphonie choréographique" . The scenario was adapted by Michel Fokine from an eponymous romance by the Greek writer Longus thought to date from around the 2nd century AD...
, with the JuilliardJuilliard SchoolThe Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
Orchestra, Yannick Nézet-SéguinYannick Nézet-SéguinYannick Nézet-Séguin is a French Canadian conductor. He is Music Director Designate of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and will become Music Director in 2012.-Biography:...
, conductor - February 25, 2011, Church of St. Mary the VirginChurch of Saint Mary the Virgin (Times Square, New York)The Church of Saint Mary the Virgin is an Episcopal Anglo-Catholic church within the Episcopal Diocese of New York and the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. The church complex is located in the heart of Times Square on West 46th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues in the borough of...
, Arvo PärtArvo PärtArvo Pärt is an Estonian classical composer and one of the most prominent living composers of sacred music. Since the late 1970s, Pärt has worked in a minimalist style that employs his self-made compositional technique, tintinnabuli. His music also finds its inspiration and influence from...
's PassioPassio Domini Nostri Jesu Christi secundum JoannemPassio Domini Nostri Jesu Christi secundum Joannem is a passion cantata by Arvo Pärt for solo baritone , solo tenor , solo vocal quartet , choir, violin, oboe, cello, bassoon and organ...
, Chris Shepard, conductor - May 14, 2011, St. George's Episcopal ChurchSt. George's Episcopal Church (Manhattan)St. George's Episcopal Church is a historic church located at 209 East 16th Street at Rutherford Place, on Stuyvesant Square in Manhattan, New York City. Called "one of the first and most significant examples of Early Romanesque Revival church architecture in America", the church exterior was...
, Dance On! Music for Choirs, Pianos, and Percussion, Chris Shepard, conductor
The Dessoff Choirs 2009-2010 concert season
- November 12, 2009, Congregation Rodeph SholomCongregation Rodeph Sholom (Manhattan, New York)Congregation Rodeph Sholom is a Reform synagogue in New York City. Founded in 1842 by immigrants form the German lands, it is one of the oldest synagogues in the United States.- History :...
, Ernest BlochErnest BlochErnest Bloch was a Swiss-born American composer.-Life:Bloch was born in Geneva and began playing the violin at age 9. He began composing soon afterwards. He studied music at the conservatory in Brussels, where his teachers included the celebrated Belgian violinist Eugène Ysaÿe...
's Sacred Service. Paolo Bordignon (organ), Charles Perry Sprawls (bass-baritone), James Bagwell, conductor - March 6, 2010, Merkin Concert HallMerkin Concert HallMerkin Concert Hall is a 449-seat concert hall in Manhattan, New York City. The hall, named in honor of Hermann and Ursula Merkin, is part of the Kaufman Center, a complex that includes the Lucy Moses School, a community arts school, and the Special Music School , a New York City public school for...
, Kyle GannKyle GannKyle Eugene Gann is an American professor of music, critic and composer born in Dallas, Texas. As a critic for The Village Voice and other publications he has been a supporter of progressive music including such Downtown movements as postminimalism and totalism.- As composer :As a composer his...
's Transcendental Sonnets (New York premiere), Harold FarbermanHarold FarbermanHarold Farberman is an American conductor, composer, and percussionist.-Biography:Farberman studied percussion at Juilliard and composition at the New England Conservatory and at Tanglewood with Aaron Copland...
's Talk (world premiere), and Lukas FossLukas FossLukas Foss was a German-born American composer, conductor, and pianist.-Music career:He was born Lukas Fuchs in Berlin, Germany in 1922. His father was the philosopher and scholar Martin Fuchs...
's Psalms. James Bagwell (conductor) - March 28, 2010, Avery Fisher HallAvery Fisher HallAvery Fisher Hall is a concert hall, in New York City and is part of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts complex. It is the home of the New York Philharmonic, with a capacity of 2,738 seats.-History:...
, BeethovenLudwig van BeethovenLudwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
's Symphony No. 9Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven)The Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, is the final complete symphony of Ludwig van Beethoven. Completed in 1824, the symphony is one of the best known works of the Western classical repertoire, and has been adapted for use as the European Anthem...
. Budapest Festival OrchestraBudapest Festival OrchestraThe Budapest Festival Orchestra was formed in 1983 by Iván Fischer and Zoltán Kocsis, with musicians "drawn from the cream of Hungary's younger players", as The Times put it...
, Iván FischerIván FischerIván Fischer is a Hungarian conductor and composer. Born in Budapest into a Jewish musical family, Fischer initially studied piano, violin, cello and composition in Budapest...
, conductor - May 8, 2010, St. George's Episcopal ChurchSt. George's Episcopal Church (Manhattan)St. George's Episcopal Church is a historic church located at 209 East 16th Street at Rutherford Place, on Stuyvesant Square in Manhattan, New York City. Called "one of the first and most significant examples of Early Romanesque Revival church architecture in America", the church exterior was...
, The Roots of Bach and Beyond. Patrick Dupré QuigleySeraphic fireSeraphic Fire is an American professional chamber choir based in Miami, Florida. Seraphic Fire collaborated with Shakira on the opening track of her album Oral Fixation Vol. 2 and became the first classical ensemble to be featured on a Billboard 200 rated album Seraphic Fire is an American...
, guest conductor
Dessoff Symphonic Choir recent performances
- (2010) 21st Century Symphony Orchestra, Howard ShoreHoward ShoreHoward Leslie Shore is a Canadian composer, notable for his film scores. He has composed the scores for over 80 films, most notably the scores for The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, for which he won three Academy Awards. He is also a consistent collaborator with director David Cronenberg,...
's score to The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Radio City Music HallRadio City Music HallRadio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in New York City's Rockefeller Center. Its nickname is the Showplace of the Nation, and it was for a time the leading tourist destination in the city...
, Ludwig Wicki conductor (Official event web site) - (2010) Budapest Festival OrchestraBudapest Festival OrchestraThe Budapest Festival Orchestra was formed in 1983 by Iván Fischer and Zoltán Kocsis, with musicians "drawn from the cream of Hungary's younger players", as The Times put it...
, BeethovenLudwig van BeethovenLudwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
's Ninth SymphonySymphony No. 9 (Beethoven)The Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, is the final complete symphony of Ludwig van Beethoven. Completed in 1824, the symphony is one of the best known works of the Western classical repertoire, and has been adapted for use as the European Anthem...
, Avery Fisher HallAvery Fisher HallAvery Fisher Hall is a concert hall, in New York City and is part of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts complex. It is the home of the New York Philharmonic, with a capacity of 2,738 seats.-History:...
, Iván FischerIván FischerIván Fischer is a Hungarian conductor and composer. Born in Budapest into a Jewish musical family, Fischer initially studied piano, violin, cello and composition in Budapest...
, conductor (New York Times review) - (2009) New York PhilharmonicNew York PhilharmonicThe New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
, MahlerGustav MahlerGustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic...
's Symphony No. 8, Avery Fisher Hall, Lorin MaazelLorin MaazelLorin Varencove Maazel is an American conductor, violinist and composer.- Early life :Maazel was born to Jewish-American parents in Neuilly-sur-Seine in France and brought up in the United States, primarily at his parents' home in Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood. His father, Lincoln Maazel , was...
, conductor - (2009) New York Philharmonic, BrittenBenjamin BrittenEdward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
's War Requiem, Avery Fisher Hall, Lorin Maazel, conductor - (2009) Mahler's Symphony No. 3, Mahler for the children of AIDS benefit concert, Carnegie HallCarnegie HallCarnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
, George Mathew, conductor - (2008) American Symphony OrchestraAmerican Symphony OrchestraThe American Symphony Orchestra is a New York-based American orchestra founded in 1962 by Leopold Stokowski, then aged 80. Following Maestro Stokowski's departure, Kazuyoshi Akiyama was appointed Music Director of the American Symphony Orchestra from 1973-1978. Music Directors during the early...
, Rued LanggaardRued LanggaardRued Langgaard was a late-Romantic Danish composer and organist. His then-unconventional music was at odds with that of his Danish contemporaries and was recognized only 16 years after his death.- Life :Born in Copenhagen, Rued Langgaard was the only son of composer and Royal Chamber...
's Music of the Spheres, Avery Fisher Hall, Leon BotsteinLeon BotsteinLeon Botstein is an American conductor and the President of Bard College . Botstein is the music director and principal conductor of the American Symphony Orchestra and conductor laureate of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, where he served as music director and principal conductor from 2003-2010...
, conductor - (2006) NHK Symphony OrchestraNHK Symphony OrchestraThe in Tokyo, Japan began as the New Symphony Orchestra on October 5, 1926 and was the country's first professional symphony orchestra. Later, it changed its name to Japan Symphony Orchestra and in 1951, after receiving financial support from NHK, it took its current name...
, Maurice RavelMaurice RavelJoseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...
's Daphnis et ChloéDaphnis et ChloéDaphnis et Chloé is a ballet with music by Maurice Ravel. Ravel described it as a "symphonie choréographique" . The scenario was adapted by Michel Fokine from an eponymous romance by the Greek writer Longus thought to date from around the 2nd century AD...
, Carnegie HallCarnegie HallCarnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
, Vladimir AshkenazyVladimir AshkenazyVladimir Davidovich Ashkenazy is a Russian-Icelandic conductor and pianist. Since 1972 he has been a citizen of Iceland, his wife Þórunn's country of birth. Since 1978, because of his many obligations in Europe, he and his family have resided in Meggen, near Lucerne in Switzerland...
, conductor - (2006) American Symphony Orchestra, Rimsky-KorsakovNikolai Rimsky-KorsakovNikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov was a Russian composer, and a member of the group of composers known as The Five.The Five, also known as The Mighty Handful or The Mighty Coterie, refers to a circle of composers who met in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in the years 1856–1870: Mily Balakirev , César...
's Mozart and Salieri, Avery Fisher Hall, Leon Botstein, conductor - (2006) San Francisco SymphonySan Francisco SymphonyThe San Francisco Symphony is an orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980, the orchestra has performed at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall. The San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony Chorus are part of the organization...
, Charles IvesCharles IvesCharles Edward Ives was an American modernist composer. He is one of the first American composers of international renown, though Ives' music was largely ignored during his life, and many of his works went unperformed for many years. Over time, Ives came to be regarded as an "American Original"...
's Holidays Symphony, Carnegie Hall, Michael Tilson ThomasMichael Tilson ThomasMichael Tilson Thomas is an American conductor, pianist and composer. He is currently music director of the San Francisco Symphony, and artistic director of the New World Symphony Orchestra.-Early years:...
, conductor - (2005) Tan DunTan DunTan Dun is a Chinese contemporary classical composer, most widely known for his scores for the movies Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero.-Early life in China:...
's Water Passion after St. Matthew, South Street SeaportSouth Street SeaportThe South Street Seaport is a historic area in the New York City borough of Manhattan, located where Fulton Street meets the East River, and adjacent to the Financial District. The Seaport is a designated historic district, distinct from the neighboring Financial District...
, Tan Dun, conductor - (2004) Kronos QuartetKronos QuartetKronos Quartet is a string quartet founded by violinist David Harrington in 1973 in Seattle, Washington. Since 1978, the quartet has been based in San Francisco, California. The longest-running combination of performers had Harrington and John Sherba on violin, Hank Dutt on viola, and Joan...
, Terry RileyTerry RileyTerrence Mitchell Riley, is an American composer intrinsically associated with the minimalist school of Western classical music and was a pioneer of the movement...
's Sun Rings, Brooklyn Academy of MusicBrooklyn Academy of MusicBrooklyn Academy of Music is a major performing arts venue in Brooklyn, a borough of New York City, United States, known as a center for progressive and avant garde performance....
, Aaron Smith, conductor - (2004) John TavenerJohn TavenerSir John Tavener is a British composer, best known for such religious, minimal works as "The Whale", and "Funeral Ikos"...
's The Veil of the Temple, Avery Fisher Hall, Stephen Layton, conductor - (2004) New York PhilharmonicNew York PhilharmonicThe New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
, Charles Ives's Symphony No. 4 and General William Booth Enters into Heaven, Avery Fisher Hall, Alan GilbertAlan GilbertAlan David Gilbert AO, was a historian and academic administrator who was until June 2010 the President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Manchester....
, conductor
Discography
- Reflections: Four Contemporary American Composers Look Back (1997), The Dessoff Choirs, Kent TritleKent TritleKent Tritle is a choral conductor and organist in New York City, United States. He is the current director of the professional chorus Musica Sacra and of the Oratorio Society of New York, and director of cathedral music and organist at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine...
, conductor. Available from Omnitone.- Paul MoravecPaul MoravecPaul Moravec is an American composer and a University Professor at Adelphi University on Long Island, New York...
: Songs of Love and War (first recording), David Arnold, baritone - Robert Convery: To the One of Fictive Music (first recording), Steven Ryan, Piano
- Ned RoremNed RoremNed Rorem is a Pulitzer prize-winning American composer and diarist. He is best known and most praised for his song settings.-Life:...
: From an Unknown Past - John CoriglianoJohn CoriglianoJohn Corigliano is an American composer of classical music and a teacher of music. He is a distinguished professor of music at Lehman College in the City University of New York.-Biography:...
: Fern Hill (first recording of revised orchestration), Mary Ann Hart, mezzo-soprano
- Paul Moravec
- Glories on Glories (2009), The Dessoff Choirs, James Bagwell, conductor. Available from iTunesITunesiTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
, cdBaby, and Digstation..- William BillingsWilliam BillingsWilliam Billings was an American choral composer, and is widely regarded as the father of American choral music...
, Modern Music, Jordan, Chester (1781) - Horatio ParkerHoratio ParkerHoratio William Parker was an American composer, organist and teacher. He was a central figure in musical life in New Haven, Connecticut in the late 19th century, and is best remembered as the teacher of Charles Ives....
, Urbs Syon unica (from Hora Novissima) - (1893) - Charles IvesCharles IvesCharles Edward Ives was an American modernist composer. He is one of the first American composers of international renown, though Ives' music was largely ignored during his life, and many of his works went unperformed for many years. Over time, Ives came to be regarded as an "American Original"...
, Psalm 67 (1897), Glories on Glories (1902), Psalm 90Psalm 90 (Ives)Psalm 90 is a musical composition by the American composer and insurance executive Charles Ives, written in 1923–24.-Style:Psalm 90 is characteristic of Ives's style, rich with tone clusters, rhythmic complexities, and layers of dense harmonies and polyphonic material...
(1924) - Randall ThompsonRandall ThompsonRandall Thompson was an American composer, particularly noted for his choral works.-Career:He attended Harvard University, became assistant professor of music and choir director at Wellesley College, and received a doctorate in music from the University of Rochester's Eastman School of Music...
, The Last Words of David (1949) - Henry Clay WorkHenry Clay WorkHenry Clay Work was an American composer and songwriter.-Biography:He was born in Middletown, Connecticut, to Alanson and Amelia Work. His father opposed slavery, and Work was himself an active abolitionist and Union supporter...
Marching Through GeorgiaMarching Through Georgia"Marching Through Georgia" is a marching song written by Henry Clay Work at the end of the American Civil War in 1865. It refers to U.S. Maj. Gen...
/Battle Cry of FreedomBattle Cry of Freedom"Battle Cry of Freedom" is a song written in 1862 by American composer George F. Root during the American Civil War. A patriotic song advocating the cause of the Union, it became so popular that composer H. L. Schreiner and lyricist W. H. Barnes adapted it for the Confederate States of America...
(1865)/George F. Root (1862) - Tenting on the Old Camp GroundTenting on the Old Camp Ground"Tenting on the Old Camp Ground" was a popular song during the American Civil War. A particular favorite of enlisted men in the Union army, it was written in 1863 by Walter Kittredge and first performed in that year at Old High Rock, Lynn, Massachusetts....
- Walter KittredgeWalter KittredgeWalter Kittredge , was a famous musician during the American Civil War.Born in Merrimack, New Hampshire, the tenth of eleven children, Kittredge was a talented self-taught musician who played the seraphine, the melodeon , and the violin. Kittredge toured solo and with the Hutchinson Family, a...
(1864) - Oliver HoldenOliver HoldenOliver Holden was an American composer and compiler of hymns.Born in Shirley, Massachusetts, he served a year as a marine, for which he received a small annual pension. He lived most of his life in Charles Town, Boston, Massachusetts, after he moved with his parents in 1786. He was known to be a...
, Ode on Music (1792) - Andrew LawAndrew LawAndrew Law was an American composer, preacher and singing teacher. He was born in Milford, Connecticut. Law wrote mostly simple hymn tunes, and arranged tunes of other composers. His works include Select Harmony and a Collection of Best Tunes and Anthems...
, 'Bunker Hill' (1786) - J. H. Moss, Singing School (1865)
- Miss M. Durham, Promised Land (1854)
- Robert Lowry, Beautiful River (1864)
- William Walker, Saints Bound for Heaven (1884)
- John McCurry, Weeping Mary (1855)
- Anonymous, Hallelujah (Original Sacred Harp, 1844)
- A. Marcus Cagle, Soar Away (Original Sacred Harp, 1971)
- William Billings