Customer Reviews

Choral Music: History, Style And Performance Practice

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2 star:		(1)
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The author, in his introduction, describes this as an attempt to create a text for college and graduate level literature and conducting courses. Unfortunately, it is to thin, inconsistent and dated to be of use for any college course. Most information is covered too briefly to be of much help and is at times inconsistent with scholarship that was current when this book was published. Though the reference lists contain a large and balanced list of sources, the ones cited in the text are almost entirely ones from the 1960's and before.

The best use for the text would be by non-college trained choral conductors and possible a freshman introductory course.

I did not read it all but I became very happy with the some pages I have read today (when I have received it). It is not too deep (35 pages for the Renaissance Choral Music), but there is not too many choral history guides (or I don't know them), and this is quite good and takes under consideration many aspects and parameters of the music of each period (like Society, composers, sort of choirs, musical style and perfomance practice, related arts, references...). But I must tell something, WARNING: it is NOT A FACSIMIL, it is a good normal edition.

This book is being used as a text for a choral literature class. It is a great overview of the history of music and is easy to read, follow and understand. A great resource for anyone interested in the topic.