Customer Reviews

The Choral Experience: Literature, Materials, and Methods

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I teach Choral Music at a University, so every time the class comes back around that is to cover Conducting Technique as well as Choral Literature and Performance Style, I re-evaluate the available texts in case something better has come along. In several decades nothing has. In my mind it's still the one text that covers in a very basic way all the essential aspects of conducting choral music. It includes rehearsal techniques, gives voice instruction guidelines, and focuses on performance practice for each major style period in the western tradition. It even has diction charts for all the major choral languages. There are other excellent texts (which I also use in other courses) that cover a few areas of choral music-making in greater detail, but if you need one text to introduce students to the main topics in clear and authoritative language, this is still the one.

It won't make you a good choral conductor or teacher just by reading books. However, a solid groundwork is essential. This one book provides all the necessities, such as history, role & responsibility, practice technique, basic musicianship and style guide for different repertoires.

The authors treat the subjects in a no-nonsense way. For example, they didn't give you a long list of events on choral history, rather they blended them into the influencial parties and thus provide you insights on how the history evolved.

So if you'd read only one book in choral literature, this is the one!

Great service! The book arrived in the condition that was given in the description.