A History of Western Choral Music, Volume 2

A native of Louisville, KY, Chester Alwes has served the music faculties of the College of Wooster, the University of Rochester/Eastman School of Music and, from 1982-2011, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. At Illinois, Alwes developed a national reputation as a specialist in the history and performance practice of choral literature. Alwes has authored numerous articles in a variety of journals and is a composer, editor, and arranger with works published by Oxford University Press, Roger Dean Music, Mark Foster Music, et al.

• Illustrations ; Abbreviations ; 1. The Romantic Oratorio from Haydn to Elgar ; a. English Oratorio after Handel ; b. "Oratorio Volgare"-Italy and Austria ; c. Franz Josef Haydn (1732-1809) ; 1. Die Schopfung ("The Creation") ; 2. Die Jahreszeiten ("The Seasons") ; d. Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) ; 1. Paulus (1836) ; 2. Elijah, op. 70 ; e. Beethoven and Berlioz ; f. Robert Schumann-Das Paradies und die Peri, op. 50 ; g. Franz Liszt-Die Legende der Heiligen Elisabeth ; h. Oratorio in Nineteenth-Century England ; i. Edward Elgar (1857-1934) ; 1. Dream of Gerontius-Text ; 2. Dream of Gerontius-Music ; j. Conclusion ; k. End Notes ; 2. Part Song in Nineteenth-Century Germany and England ; a. Franz Schubert (1797-1828) ; b. Robert Schumann (1810-1856) ; c. Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) ; d. Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) ; e. Other German Part Song Composers ; f. Part Song in England ; g. Rise of the Musical Competition ; h. Conclusion ; i. End Notes ; 3. Choral Music in Nineteenth-Century Drama ; a. Choral Music in Nineteenth-Century Opera ; b. Opera in Italy and Germany-Giuseppe Verdi and Richard Wagner ; c. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Dramatic Choral Music ; 1. Hector Berlioz: Le Damnation de Faust ; 2. Felix Mendelssohn: Die erste Walpurgisnacht, op. 60 ; 3. Robert Schumann: Faustszenen, WoO. 3 ; 4. Johannes Brahms ; e. Conclusion ; f. End Notes ; 4. Choral Symphony from Beethoven to Berio ; a. Ludwig van Beethoven-Symphony No. 9 in d minor, op. 125 ; b. Felix Mendelssohn-Symphony No. 2 in B-flat, op. 52 ("Lobgesang") ; c. Hector Berlioz-Romeo et Juliette, op. 17 ; d. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1739-1832) ; e. Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) ; f. The Choral Symphony after Mahler ; g. Gustav Holst-First Choral Symphony, op. 41 ; h. Benjamin Britten-Spring Symphony, op. 44 ; i. Shostakovich, Bernstein and Berio ; j. Conclusion ; k. End Notes ; 5. The Twentieth-Century Revolution: French Choral Music from ; Debussy to Messiaen ; a. Claude Debussy (1862-1918) ; b. Debussy's Predecessors ; c. Gabriel Faure (1845-1924) ; d. The Rise of the Avant-Garde-Les Six ; 1. Darius Milhaud (1892-1974) ; 2. Francis Poulenc (1899-1963) ; f. Maurice Durufle (1902-1986) ; g. Olivier Messiaen (1908-1991) ; Cinq Rechants ; h. Conclusion ; i. End Notes ; 6. "Tonal oder Atonal": Pitch Serialism in the Choral Music of Schoenberg, ; Webern, and their Followers ; a. Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951) ; b. Anton von Webern (1883-1945) ; c. Beyond the Second Viennese School ; Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) ; d. Other Dodecaphonic Composers ; e. Conclusion ; f. End Notes ; 7. Nationalism, Folksong and Identity ; a. England ; b. Hungary ; 1. Zoltan Kodaly (1882-1967) ; 1. Bela Bartok (1881-1945) ; 2. Gyorgy Ligeti (1923-2006) ; c. Russia ; d. Stravinsky-Les Noces ; e. Nationalism under the Soviet Regime ; f. Veljo Tormis (b. 1930) ; g. Conclusion ; h. End Notes ; 8. Neo-Classicism: The Revival of Historical Models in the Works ; of Stravinsky, Hindemith and Others ; a. Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) ; b. Paul Hindemith (1899-1963) ; c. German Church Music in the Twentieth Century ; e. Conclusion ; f. End Notes ; 9. After Messiaen: The Avant-Garde Aesthetic in Choral Music ; a. Boulez and Cage ; b. Karl-Heinz Stockhausen (1928-2008) ; c. Hans Werner Henze (b. 1926) ; d. Bruno Maderna and Luigi Nono ; e. Luciano Berio (1925-2000) ; f. Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001) ; g. Gyorgi Ligeti (1923-2006) ; h. Mauricio Kagel and Heinz Holliger ; i. Other Modernist Choral Composers ; j. Modernism-Practical Applications ; k. Alfred Schnittke (1934-1998) ; l. Conclusion ; m. End Notes ; 10. European Centrism ; a. Ildebrando Pizzetti (1880-1968) ; b. Goffredo Petrassi (1904-2003) ; c. Czech Republic ; d. Hungary ; e. Poland ; f. Switzerland ; g. Frank Martin (1891-1974) ; h. Scandinavian Choral Music ; 1. Sweden ; 2. Norway ; 3. Finland ; i. Modern Scandinavian Composers ; 1. Sweden ; 2. Norway ; 3. Finland ; 4. Denmark ; j. Conclusion ; k. End Notes ; 11. The American Experience ; a. The Second "New England School" ; b. Charles Ives (1874-1954) ; c. Aaron Copland (1900-1991) ; d. Randall Thompson (1899-1984) ; e. Samuel Barber (1910-1981) ; f. Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) ; g. Vincent Persichetti (1915-1987) ; h. Daniel Pinkham (1923-2006) ; i. Ned Rorem (b. 1923) ; j. Conclusion ; k. End Notes ; 12. The British Isles ; a. Herbert Howells (1892-1983) ; b. Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) ; c. William Walton and Michael Tippett ; d. Kenneth Leighton (1922-1988) ; e. Peter Maxwell-Davies (b. 1934) ; f. John Tavener (b. 1944) ; g. James Macmillan (b. 1959) ; h. Conclusion ; i. End Notes ; 13. A New Simplicity: Aleatoric and Minimalist ; Procedures in Choral Music ; a. Witold Lutos?awski (1913-1994) ; b. Krzyzstof Penderecki (b. 1933) ; c. Arvo Part (b. 1935) ; d. Minimalism ; e. Conclusion ; f. End Notes ; Bibliography ; Index

The book is replete with excerpts, facsimiles of the original manuscripts, and charts summarizing the form of many works discussed; nearly every page includes a graphic or illustration. This gives the text more readability than other similar publications. A work of monumental scholarship, Alwes's publication is valuable as a textbook, as a quick reference, or as a continuous narrative detailing choral music's dramatic history.