ICBICB

Dossier

Choral Music in BelarusChoral Music in Poland

Volume XXIX, Number 4 – 4th Quarter, 2010ISSN 0896 – 0968

International Choral Bulletin

International Federation for Choral MusicThe International Choral Bulletin is the official journal of the IFCM. It is issued to members four times a year.

Managing EditorDr Andrea AngeliniVia Pascoli 23/g47900 Rimini, ItalyTel: +39-347-2573878 - Fax: +39-2-700425984E-mail: aangelini@ifcm.netSkype: theconductor

Managing Editor EmeritaJutta Tagger

Editorial TeamMichael J. Anderson, Philip Brunelle, Daniel Garavano,Theodora Pavlovitch, Fred Sjöberg, Leon Shiu-wai Tong

Regular CollaboratorsMag. Graham Lack – Consultant Editor

(graham.lack@t-online.de)Dr. Marian E. Dolan - Repertoire

(mdolan@aya.yale.edu)Cristian Grases - World of Children’s and Youth Choirs

(cgrases@gmail.com)Nadine Robin - Advertisement & Events

(nrobin@ifcm.net)Dr. Cara S. Tasher - Composers’ Corner

(ctasher@gmail.com)

Help with Texts and TranslationsEnglish: Gillian Forlivesi Heywood (coordination),

Diana J. Leland, Irene Auerbach (text and linguisticediting and revision)

French: Maria Bartha (coordination), FlorenceRécoursé (linguistic editing and revision)

German: Anne Stahl (coordination), Dr. Lore Auerbach(linguistic editing and revision)

Spanish: Maria Catalina Prieto (coordination), JuanCasasbellas (linguistic editing and revision)

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Coverthe National Academic Folk Choir named after G.

Tsitovich,photo by V.N. Vitchenko

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Contents

Dossier:Choral Music in BelarusChoral Music in PolandAspects of Choral Education in BelarusSvetlana Gerasimovich

The History of Belarusian Opera Art and theRole of the Chorus in Operas by BelarusianComposersYury Karaev

Belarusian Choral SingingNadezhda Buntsevich

To the Peak of MasteryInessa Bodyako

The Choral World in PolandMarcin Cmiel and Maciej Przerwa

IFCM NewsMeeting of the IFCM Board of Directors,8-10 July 2010, Barcelona, SpainMichael J. Anderson

9th World Symposium on Choral MusicNewsletter

In Memory of Marcel CorneloupAndré Dumont

World Youth Choir Summer SessionBetzabé Juárez Vargas

Choral TechniqueResearching the ScoreTim Sharp

Choral World NewsCantonigròs International Music FestivalAndrea Angelini

“Sounds of June” International ChoralCompetition, Petrinja, CroatiaAndrea Angelini

JuiceBox. from Germany receives the Leipzig ACAPPELLA Award 2010Press Release by Janette Riebeck

10th International China Chorus FestivalAndrea Angelini

What A Wonderful World! Corona Children'sChorus Camp 2010Sanna Valvanne

Festival Youth Choirs in Movement showscheerful and fun choral musicPress Release by Sonja Greiner

The World Peace Choir Festival 2010 celebratesits FoundationPress Release by Sarah Lnder

La Fabbrica del CantoTheodora Pavlovitch

XXth Choralies A Cœur Joie FestivalJutta Tagger

World of Children’s and YouthChoirsLet’s Talk Method: PlacementCristian Grases

Composers’ CornerThe Contenance Angloise – Part OneGraham Lack

Choral Music RecordingsCritic’s Pick… Chanticleer and CantusJonathan Slawson

EventsCompiled by Nadine RobinI. Conferences, Workshops & MasterclassesII. Festivals & CompetitionsAdvertisers’ Index

Aspects of Choral Education in BelarusSvetlana Gerasimovich

The History of Belarusian Opera Art and the Role of the Chorus in Operas byBelarusian ComposersYury Karaev

Belarusian Choral SingingNadezhda Buntsevich

To the Peak of MasteryInessa Bodyako

The Choral World in PolandMarcin Cmiel and Maciej Przerwa

Choral Music in Belarus

Dossier

Choral Music in Poland

International Krakow Choral Festival, Poland

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Aspects of Choral Education in Belarus

The phenomenon of Belarusian musicalculture represents an extensive stratum of thespiritual life of the Belarusian nation. One ofits important components is the training ofchoral conductors which, at all stages of itsdevelopment, has been closely connectedwith choral singing.

Choral education originated in the 10thcentury, in the Middle Ages. At that time,the first singing schools were establishedwithin Orthodox churches and monasteries,the most famous of which were the schoolsof Polotsk, Turov and Vitebsk. We can lookupon the time when the Grand Principalityof Lithuania was formed on Belarusianterritories, before the Renaissance andBaroque epochs (second half of the 16thcentury to the beginnings of the 17thcentury), as the “golden age of choraleducation. The traditions of WesternEuropean music and musical educationbecame firmly established here as a result ofthe union between the Grand Principality ofLithuania and the Polish Kingdom. Churchsinging was included into “the Seven LiberalArts”, studied at educational establishmentsof various religions, and thus, musicaleducation became an inalienable part offorming an individual of high culture.Choral singers – choristers and precentorsfor serving in churches, and professionalmusicians, again for the church but also forchoirs at royal and noble courts– weretrained in Jesuit educational establishments(the Academy of Vilna, colleges, musicalseminaries) and Orthodox brethren schoolssituated in Vilno, Mogilev, Brest, Grodno,Minsk and other cities. The training ofchoral singers reached a high standard andwas conducted systematically on the basis ofmanuals and methodical guidelines. Eacheducational establishment had a choir thatperformed a large repertoire of religiouscompositions, ranging from monody topolyphony. Singing groups took part in

ICB Dossier

Svetlana GerasimovichChoral Director and Teacher

church services and theatrical performancesat schools which included panegyrical andecclesiastical hymns, vocal dialogues andballet choirs. Major advancements in thesphere of choral education on Belarusianterritories are connected with the activity ofsuch prominent musicians as N. Diletskiyand S. Lauxmin, the authors of treatises onmusic theory “An Idea of Musical Grammar”and “The Theory and Practice of Music”.

Another interesting period in thedevelopment of choral education was thesecond half of the 18th century. This era sawthe intensive growth of the music culture ofthe aristocracy, characterized byperformances of large-scale works and a greatdiversity of repertoire. Peasant theatresbecame widespread. Wealthy patrons of thearts like the Radzivill, the Sapieha and theZoricz families would order theestablishment of opera and ballet groupsand various orchestras within their theatres,and would also open theatrical and musicalschools which, in contrast to church schools,trained actors and musicians for performingsecular music. Such schools were founded inNesvizh, Grodno, and Slutsk. Theircurriculum included choral lessons,

instrumental tuition and studies of theoryand composition. Students took part intheatrical performances as choristers.

The turn from the 19th to the 20thcentury was marked by active developmentof choral education. The incorporation ofBelarusian territories into the RussianEmpire and the beginning of thedemocratization of public and concertmusical activity entailed substantial changesin choral education. Alongside universalsinging training, realized in all general andspecialized musical educationalestablishments, the professional training ofchoral conductors was initiated. The teachersof church singing for “ordinary” schools,grammar schools and other educationalestablishments, and precentors of amateurand church choirs, were trained at secularcolleges (five for teachers at secondaryschools, three for future teachers in highereducation) and clerical educationalestablishments (eleven specialized schools,four seminaries), as well as in summercourses for teachers and precentors.

The process of training choir singers andteachers of religious singing was stronglyinfluenced by the popular education reform,aimed at strengthening the religious, moraland patriotic education of youth, as well asby Russian methodological techniques andsinging traditions.

The training of precentors was orientedtowards the development of musical abilitiesand skills that students would need in theirfuture profession, and the formation of anactive and conscious attitude to their futurevocation: the study of elementary theory ofmusic, harmony and of methods of primaryvocal and choral education; the mastery of acertain range of religious chants; oraltraining for “vocal” purposes, the formationof choral and conducting skills; learning toplay musical instruments – all these wereintegral parts of choral singers’ training.

A picture of N. Diletskiy’s book “An Idea of MusicalGrammar”

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Choral conductors’ education was basedon the principle of an inseparableconnection with choral practice. Students’choral singing was represented by variedchoral groups: homogeneous – female (infemale church-run schools and grammarschools), children’s (in schools run by localparishes and “exemplary” schools – theschools in which student teachers did theirteaching practice under supervision, whichwere thus particularly good and advancedschools), male (at theological seminaries andspecialized schools), and mixed – at teachers’and precentors’ courses. Students’ choirsperformed regularly. Important participantsin Sunday church services, choirs alsoengaged in many other types of performingactivity, taking part in concerts held to markanniversaries, patronal feasts, visits of high-ranking personalities and associated schoolevents, and literary and musical evenings.The repertoire of students’ choirs wasformed as a direct outcome of performingpractice and included religious music, worksby Russian and foreign composers, and folksongs. On the basis of choral performingpractice, it became possible to single outgeneral principles of the dramatic structureof choral performances (programmes werearranged according to topical, chronological,stylistic or genre subjects) and main criteriafor evaluating the level of performing skills.

After the triumph of the Great OctoberSocialist Revolution, the establishment ofthe forms and methods of choral conductors’education in Belarus became closelyconnected to the formation of Soviet art as awhole. For the first time ever, the children ofworkers and peasants got free access toeducational establishments, and the statebecame responsible for managing theeducational system. Music schools, technicalsecondary schools, conservatories wereopened in various provinces of Belarus. Theprocess of training choral conductors there

was characterized by a combination ofteaching, performing and general education.These establishments had their own choralgroups whose repertoire included quitedifficult 4- to 8-part compositions.

A lot of interesting aspects of musicaleducation in Belarus are connected to theactivity of such prominent conductors as N.Malko and M. Antsev. Their ideas on thecontents of lessons in conducting, on thecorrelation between performing andpedagogical training in the process ofeducating choral conductors, had a positiveeffect on music pedagogics in Belarus.

A significant role in the training ofnational music professionals was played bythe State Conservatory (founded in 1932)which has a special department of choralconducting.

At different times, the department washeaded by famous performers andconductors, among them I. Bari, I. Gitgartzand V. Rovdo. The entire activity of thedepartment was closely linked to Belarusianchoral performance and the development ofchoral amateur activity. Many conservatorystudents combined lessons with engagementin professional choral groups. This was notonly authorized, but even encouraged,because it favored the consolidation oftheoretical knowledge through practice. Tothis end, the students of all years were alsoexpected to conduct the choir of theconservatory. A special feature of thedepartment of choral conducting at theBelarusian State Conservatory was the closeconnection of choral class activity with otherspecialized disciplines, among themsolfeggio, harmony, choral score-reading,musical and choral literature and piano.

Every new period in the social, economicand cultural life of society posed newcorresponding challenges, including those inthe sphere of musical education. Themodern system of choral conductors’

...Aspects of Choral Education in Belarus

education represents a chain of interactinglinks: primary – secondary – higher –postgraduate. Primary conductors’ trainingperforms the double function of providinggeneral musical education to the younggeneration as well as supplying a professionalorientation to the most talented children,cultivating primary professional knowledgeand skills in them. Educationalestablishments at this level include musicschools for children, choral schools andschools of art. In the Republic, therefunction a number of specialized schools forgifted children offering a 12-year period ofstudy that encompasses the primary andsecondary stages of musical education.Primary education is characterized bydifferent study plans and the creation ofadvanced systems of assessment.

Specialized secondary choral conductors’education is the stage of professional self-determination of a creative individual; it isalso the time for acquiring professionalknowledge and skills. In Belarus, thefoundations for this level of development areprovided by the choral departments ofspecialized musical schools and colleges thatfunction according to standardized studyplans and curricula. Their 10-point gradingsystem is the most precise way to determinethe level of students’ competence.

Tertiary education (for studentscontinuing their training beyond the age ofcompulsory schooling) is the period ofprofessional establishment of a person and ofthe achievement of mastery in the sphere ofchoral art. This stage of education isprovided for by the Academy of Music (up to1992 the Belarusian State Conservatory), theUniversity of Culture and the PedagogicalUniversity, which are notable for their wideand varied approaches to the contents ofstudies at choral conducting departments.Among the important features of modernchoral conductors’ training are

The Belarusian State Conservatory named afterLunacharsky, since 1992 Belarusian Academy of Music

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diversification, the retention of traditionsand the continuity of the educationalprocess.

An integral quality of the process ofchoral performers’ training is the unity oftheory and practice – the choral class beingone of the major parts of study activity.Students’ choirs functioning at alleducational establishments actively engage ina variety of concerts and other activities thatserve to extend their experience.

Nowadays, domestic choral conductingeducation faces the challenge of preservingand developing the national music culture:the artistic works of folklore and thenational composing school; performingtraditions manifested in a range of methodsof transmitting the performer’s message; andvocal choral techniques, established in theRepublic.

Educational establishments solve this taskin a number of ways: examples of folkloreand works by Belarusians are included intothe repertoire of students’ choirs and intospecialization and singing curricula – theyare exploited according to the currentsinging tradition; and students’ groups takepart in artistic presentations of the Union ofBelarusian Composers.

Another challenge of the present day isthe integration of the educational systeminto the European community. There are anumber of extensive ways in which this isachieved:• students and choirs take part ininternational festivals, competitions andcreative projects;

• educational establishments inviteprominent professionals from the sphere ofchoral singing to deliver lectures on theissues of Western European choral singing;

• international contests, seminars, scientificand methodological conferences,workshops are put on by educationalestablishments.

An important aim of all the ramificationsof the educational system remains theenhancement of the professional training ofchoral art experts. An active application ofmodern computer technologies in class,turning the monologue of lectures into adialogue, the arrangement of new forms ofstudents’ out-of-class activities, theimplementation of role play and problem-oriented methods into the educationalprocess, the involvement of talented youngpeople into scientific research activity,graduates’ internship in amateur andprofessional choral groups – these are theleading means by which the efficiency ofstudies is increased.

The proficiency level of graduates at allstages is fairly high. Students’ choral groups

are frequently to be found as participantsand winners of domestic and internationalchoral festivals and contests. Singing groupsplay a leading role in the organization ofchoral festivals at local and nationwide level.

Svetlana Gerasimovich is associate professor atthe chair of choral conducting of the BelarusianState Academy of Music, artistic director andconductor of the children’s ‘model’ choir“Ranitsa” at Secondary School No.145 ofMinsk, a multiple prize winner of nationaland international contests and recognized as“the Teacher of the Year” (Belarus, 2003) forher accomplishments in developing the creativeabilities of children.Email: egormakcim@mail.ru •

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In the eighteenth century the developmentof music education and professionalismcaused the appearance of numerous privatemusic theaters on the territory of present-day Belarus, which invited conductors,composers, teachers and performers to workthere. In the first instance, researchersattribute this period of musical andtheatrical flourishing to the fact that thearistocracy started to take more interest inmusical and theatrical genres which requireda considerable amount of financing.

The opera “Agatka” by J. D. Goland(1746-1827) is considered to be the firstnational Belarusian opera created by aprofessional composer. It was staged on 17September 1784 in Nesvizh in honor of thearrival of the king of the Polish-LithuanianCommonwealth, Stanislav August. Theopera was a great success and was stagedseveral times in Warsaw (1785, 1788, 1791,1799, 1820), Lvov (1796-1799), Lublin(1786), Krakov (1815) and Poznan (1826).The music of the opera displays the mainfeatures of J. D. Goland’s style as a followerof the Viennese and Berlin schools. At thesame time the melodic patterns of the musicperformed by the lyric characters andemployed for dancing were also influencedby Slavic folklore.

Unfortunately, numerous opera scores byfamous composers who worked on theterritory of Belarus in the 18th and 19thcenturies disappeared without trace, or onlytheir fragments have been preserved. Theseinclude the operas “The changedphilosopher” by M. K. Oginsky (staged in1771), “Ill-gotten gains never prosper” by J.D. Goland (1780-1782), “Voit of the Villagein Alba”, also by J. D. Goland (staged in1785-1786) and “The Competition of

The distinguishing features of the nationaloperas of this period are their use of thepeople's liberation as subject matter andtheir tense dramatic plots, closely connectedwith the events of World War II. It is alsoworth mentioning that the choral episodesthat supply the background for the actionhave an everyday (genre) nature, which addsa certain national coloring to the operas.Composers often use quotations frompopular songs and dances, various types ofpopular lyric and stylized war songs. Thenational and historic foundation of operaticworks of that period contributed to theestablishment of the chorus as one of themain acting characters.

The modern period of the developmentof operatic art is connected to the flourishingof composers’ activity and starts in the1970s. During the first half of the 20thcentury the national school of composingwas developing under the strong influence ofthe Russian school (both in stylistic andartistic aspects). Only by the middle of the1970s did the impact of postmodernism andthe active synchronization of the nationalmusical and theatrical process with theEuropean one enable the artistic system ofcontemporary opera art to renew itself.

The beginning of this most recent phaseof the development of Belarusian operatic artis often linked to the staging of the opera“Giordano Bruno” by S. Cortes (1977),which touched upon the burning problemsof modern society and its outlook on theworld. The author’s original interpretation ofGiordano Bruno’s life shaped to fit the genreof “philosophic and journalistic action withoratorical features and traits ofhagiographical drama” raised much interestfrom audiences as well as from musicalspecialists. The dominating role of thechorus consists in building plotlines, in vividstructural and compositional orientation,

Musicians” and “Village Girl” by S.Moniuschko. Moreover, it is difficult tostudy the manuscripts of those works whichhave come down to us because many of themcurrently are held in musical archives beyondthe borders of the modern Republic ofBelarus. In the first instance this refers to theworks of S. Moniuschko: “RecruitConscription” (staged on 10 October 1841)and “Miraculous Water” (staged in the 1840sin Vilnius). The fragments of these works arecurrently kept by the Warsaw MusicalSociety.

A new phase of the development of theart of national opera is connected with theopening in 1938 of the State Theater forOpera and Ballet of the Belarusian SovietSocialist Republic. Numerous stagings offoreign operatic masterpieces as well as ofBelarusian national operas took place therefrom 1938 to 1940: “Mikhas' Padgorny” byE. K. Tsikotsky, “In the Woods of Palesse”by A. V. Bogatyryov and “The Flower ofHappiness” by A. E. Turenkov are amongthese.

During World War II the staff of thetheatre were evacuated from Minsk, and thebuilding of the theater was seriouslydamaged. The opening of the reconstructedtheater was marked by the première of one ofthe best national operas, “Kastus'Kalinouski” by D. A. Lukas. The pre-warrepertoire was fully restored only by the year1949. Operas staged in the late 1940s and1950s represented the very best ofBelarusian opera theatre. Among them wereoperas by E. K. Tsikotsky and A. E. Turenkovas well as works by A. V. Bogatyryov:“Nadezhda Durova” (1947), Yu. V.Semeniako: “Thorny Rose” (1960), “Whenthe leaves fall” (1968), “Star Venus” (1970)and “Your Spring” (1962) by E. A. Glebovand “Song about Fate” by V. G. Muliavin.

The History of Belarusian Opera Art

Yury KaraevPostgraduate History of Music Student,

Choral Conducting Diploma

And the Role of the Chorus in Operas by Belarusian Composers

which is expressed in the function of unitingand framing of certain episodes, as well aspermeating the opera as a whole. The factshould also be highlighted that the text ofthe chorus’s part is symbolic, which isdisplayed through metaphorical perspectivesin the text that allow us to perceive theaction beyond the boundaries of time andplace.

Other operatic works of S. Cortes include“Mother Courage” (1980) and “Visit of aLady” (1989). In both, the importance of thepart of the chorus part in building basicplotlines of the operas, defining the time andplace of action, cannot be underestimated.The introduction of the chorus contributesto the vivid representation of theculminating phases of the opera. With thehelp of choral sonority the composermanages to produce cinematographic effectsof “stopframe”, “montage” and “dissolveview”, using choral scenes to highlight suchinherent traits of the parable genre asallusiveness, semantic duality, and also theintroduction of character-commentators.

Other composers, too, enlist the help ofthe chorus to supply similar dramaturgicdevices, for example Yu. V. Semeniako in“New Land” (1978), D. B. Smolsky in“Ancient Legend” (1978) and “FranciskSkoryna” (1988), V. E. Soltan in “KingStach's Wild Hunt” (1988) and “Lady

Yadviga” (1990) and E. A. Glebov in “Masterand Margarita” (1992). Thus it can be statedthat one of the distinguishing features of thestyle of the Belarusian national musicaltheatre is the exceptional importance of theopera chorus. The most recent “big” nationalopera was composed comparatively long ago.In 1992 the Belarusian National Theater ofOpera and Ballet decided to stage the opera“The Prince of Novogrudok” by A. V.Bondarenko. The plot tells us about historicevents during the formation of the GreatLithuanian Principality in the middle of the13th century. The historic foundation andvivid spiritual and religious coloring of theplot determined the genre of this opera, inwhich choral scenes are undoubtedly thedominant part of the musical anddramaturgic action as a whole. This can beproved by the way opera specialists categorize“The Prince of Novogrudok”: “opera-oratory”, “epic choral opera”, “historicaldrama”, “choral opera”.

In the operas by Belarusian composerschoral scenes often play the main role in thedevelopment of the musical and dramaturgicaction, but in this context “The Prince ofNovogrudok” is almost unique. Large-scalechoral scenes draw up the Christian andpagan plotlines of the opera, and it’s the epicaspect represented by the chorus that

performs the unifying function within theopera. The choral part, as well as dialoguesand ensembles, allows the immediate actionof the opera to develop, and the chorus is anactive participant in this, taking part in theaction and commenting on it on behalf ofthe author; the voice of the chorus has bothgeneral and subjective meaning. The chorussympathizes with the characters and “risesabove” the action, generalizing what is goingon on-stage from the point of view ofmodern time and history.

The opera “The Prince of Novogrudok”was not only a landmark in the history ofnational opera art, but also embraced thetendency of returning to a spiritual andChristian outlook in musical and theatricalgenres. Religious music, which wasprohibited during the Soviet period(1917–1980s), again began to penetrate intosecular genres such as cantata, oratory,symphony with chorus and opera. This isprobably connected to the fact that suchworks embrace numerous topics and ideaswhich are highly significant to the composersand lie at the core of their spiritual andcreative activity.

Yury Karaev is a postgraduate student of MusicHistory Department at the Belarusian StateAcademy of Music. He graduated from theBelarusian State Academy of Music with aqualification in choral conducting. Yury teacheschoral conducting at the Minsk music collegenamed after M. Glinka and at the BelarusianState Academy of Music and is always at thecentre of choral events in Belarus, both asperformer of tenor parts and organizer ofrepublic-wide events; he undertakes research inthe spheres of history and theory of opera art,opera and choral dramaturgy.Email: karaev@tut.by •

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S. A. Cortes A. V. Bondarenko

10 ballet staging of the stage cantata “CarminaBurana” by C. Orff. Starting from 1993, thechoir was led by Nina Lomanovich. Itsmembership has been renewed significantlyby graduates from the Belarusian StateAcademy of Music, many of which alreadyunderwent practical training in the theaterduring their studies. Concert performancesby the choir also are a success – both acapella and with orchestra. A good choice ofrepertoire, including complex choral pieces,concert performances of operas which arenot in the theater’s repertoire - all thesefactors contribute to the constantimprovement of an already highlyprofessional choir. The large size of the group(it consists of 70 singers) doesn’t prevent thechoir from enjoying a well-blended soundand perfect rhythmic ensemble, and itcontributes to colorful timbre. It alsoenables it to perform in a large diversity ofsize of combinations of choral and ensemblegroups, as required by various opera scores.

During its 70-year history the StateAcademic Choir (Capella) of the Republicof Belarus named after G. Schirma(www.philharmonic.by) has changed itscreative path several times. It was founded in1939 as an amateur choir which sangBelarusian folk songs collected and arrangedby folklorist and chorus master GrigorySchirma. Having obtained the status of astate choir, the group enlarged its repertoire.Alongside its purely vocal activities, it startedto use a choreographic ensemble andinstrumental accompaniment. Today thechoir still consists exclusively of choralsingers, but it successfully performs with thebest orchestras of the world. The repertoireof the group includes not only secular choralclassics, but also religious works of differentepoques and modern works by Belarusiancomposers. In the last decade the singershave mastered the opera genre, participatingin opera performances in other countries;such performances have included “Aida”, “La

Traviata” and “Nabucco” by G. Verdi,“Tosca” and “Sister Angelica” by G. Puccini,“The Sleepwalker” by V. Bellini, “Fidelio” byL. van Beethoven and “The Mastersingers ofNuremberg” and the “Ring Cycle” by R.Wagner. Since 1987, the choir has beendirected by a representative of the St.Petersburg choral school, Liudmila Efimova.The group’s manner of performing ischaracterized by using “large strokes of thepaint brush” and vivid contrasts in order tounderline the structure of the pieces theyperform.

The Academic Choir of the BelarusianNational State Television and RadioCompany(www.tvr.by/rus/musiccol.asp?pr=choir)was created in 1931 and during the pre-warera it worked exclusively on air. From the1960s to the 1980s its primary task was tocontinuously add to the audio archives withrecordings of Belarusian academic music andarrangements of folksongs. However, in the1990s this group also started touring. Formore than 40 years the choir was led by thefamous Victor Rovdo; since 2008, after hisdeath, it has been headed by Olga Yanum, agraduate of the Belarusian State Academy ofMusic specializing in choral conducting andsinging. Nowadays the choir is involved in anew creative search, turning to the mostrecent Belarusian scores. Nevertheless, takinginto consideration the kaleidoscopic natureof the repertoire of the choir, the group’sperformances of religious music of differentdenominations remain their uneclipsedachievement.

Belarusian professional choral art is highlydeveloped. There are seven large choralgroups in the country which are financed bythe state. All of them frequently performabroad, each time praised and getting newoffers for concert touring and creativecooperation, winning prizes at prestigiousforeign festivals and competitions.

Each of these choirs has its own character,its original sound and its own favorite piecesof repertoire. In fact, such specialization isnot a matter of principle for the choralgroups – rather, it has been brought about bythe concert and theatrical institutions towhich they are affiliated. At the same time,each choir strives to widen its genre and, asmuch as possible, its stylistic palette.Therefore there is a tendency which can beconsidered common for all of them:universality of performance and the ability tointerpret professionally works of differentgenres and styles. The classics of the 19thcentury are still the most popular pieces intheir programmes.

The chorus of the National AcademicBolshoi Theatre of Opera and Ballet of theRepublic of Belarus (www.belarusopera.by)specializes, naturally, in theatrical repertoire,which embraces about 30 works with well-developed choral parts. They include suchrecognized choral operas as “Prince Igor” byA. Borodin, “Boris Godunov” and“Khovanschina” by M. Musorgsky,“Nabucco” and “Aida” by G. Verdi and a

DossierBelarusian Choral Singing

Nadezhda BuntsevichMusicologist

The chorus of the National Academic Bolshoi Theatreof Opera and Ballet of the Republic of Belarus

The Academic Choir of the Belarusian National StateTelevision and Radio Company

Belarusian folk songs are within therepertoire of most choral groups in thecountry, but the National Academic FolkChoir named after G. Tsitovich(http://belhor.org/), founded in 1952, reallyspecializes in this sphere. This group wascreated by the famous folklorist and chorusmaster G. Tsitovich (the 100th anniversaryof his birth was celebrated recently). As farback as in the pre-war period he headed anamateur village chorus which sang in a folkmanner – using the so-called “open” sound, akind of singing in which vowels are sung asthey sound in speech, in contrast to therounded, reduced sound of academicallytrained voices. This group, for the most part,became the creative laboratory for thefurther development of the country’s choralfolk singing which, as time went by, began toprogress not only spontaneously, but also inan organized and professional manner. G.Tsitovich also prepared his successor:Mikhail Drinevsky became the chorus-master straight after graduating from theBelarusian State Conservatory. Nowadays,many members of the choir are graduates ofthe Belarusian State University of Cultureand Arts, where students study folk singing.Apart from the choir, the group includes achoreographic company as well as anorchestral company in which folkinstruments are present. This makes possiblenot only the performance of separate pieces,but also of complete theatrical compositions.

Recently the choral group’s repertoire hasbeen enriched by academic a cappella worksand arrangements of original songs. But thetop achievement of the group is thereconstruction of the ritual of the Belarusianwedding which was made on the basis of truefolksongs in collaboration with folk musicspecialist Zinaida Mozheiko and composerVyacheslav Kuznetsov. Folk choirs are amongthe most popular Belarusian groups abroad.Annually this group makes more than 70guest performances, touring over Europe, aswell as Turkey, Canada, China and othercountries.The Belarusian State Chamber Choir

(www.philharmonic.by) was founded in1988 as the result of a so-called “creativecompetition” between two amateur groups,but its rival didn’t lose out either: today it’sanother philharmonic group – the vocalensemble “Camerata”. Whereas the prioritiesof the organizer and first director of theChamber Choir, Igor Matiukhov, layprimarily with very early music on the onehand and and very recent works on the other,Natalia Mikhailova, who became the head ofthe group in 2000, strives to further widenits stylistic and genre palette. Brilliantlyperforming religious works, the choir evensings jazz pieces, with other repertoireranging from staged concert performances,including some involving other groups andinvited soloists, right to opera scenes byBelarusian composers.The Musical Capella “Sonorus”

(http://sonorus.by) started in 1992, whenin Molodechno, a town not far from Minsk,a regional chamber choir of the same nameappeared, consisting of graduates andteachers of the Molodechno musical collegeas well as of leaders of independent choirs.The initiative of the organizer and directorAlexey Schut allowed the new group to makea rapid and successful career. “Sonorus”,which appeared at the dawn of Belarusianstatehood (Belarus, previously part of the

USSR, became independent in 1991),aspires to renew the best traditions ofmusical capellas, which were wide-spread inthe 18th century, when the Belarusian landswere part of the Polish-LithuanianCommonwealth. Today the capella includesa choir, soloists and an orchestra, whichallows it to include large-scale vocal andsymphonic pieces in its repertoire. The groupoften goes on tour all over Belarus,performing its educational functions. Worksof Belarusian composers of different periodsare a significant part of its repertoire. Latelythe choir has also frequently taken part inevents where music alternates with literarycontributions, and even in musicalperformances based on works of musical andpoetic classics, fairytale operas and ballets.Last but not least, two years ago the groupcame to stage the chamber opera “The LittlePrince”, which was written at its request bythe Belarusian composer Andrey Mdivani.The Chorus of the State Academic

Musical Theater (www.musicaltheatre.by)doesn’t usually perform outside the StateAcademy, except in gala concerts.Nevertheless its work in performances andparticularly in musicals arouses admiration.The members of the choir, mainly younggraduates of the Belarusian State Academy ofMusic, learned to move so delightfully thattheir agility sometimes reaches the standardof professional dancers. The management ofthe theater, which has recently changed, hasnot refused to continue staging musicalcomedies, classical operettas and musicals,but also begun to lay emphasis on thesingers’ concert activity, including in theacademic sphere. This tendency also appliesto the theatre chorus lead by SvetlanaPetrova.

One of the paradoxes of Belarusianculture is its sharp discrepancy betweensupply and demand. The level of professionalchoral singing is very high, but the interest ofthe public for it has dropped dramatically.

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ICB Dossier

The National Academic Folk Choir named afterG. Tsitovich

12 appear, competitions are held – more oftenof religious music. But the opportunities fordisplaying the best amateur groups,especially abroad, are still limited.

Nadezhda Burtsevich is a music specialist, amember of the Belarusian Union of Composers,senior teacher of the Belarusian State Academyof Music, Head of the Deparment of Music andMusical Theater, member of the editorialboard of the newspaper “Culture”, laureate ofthe national prize “For spiritual revival”(1999) and holder of a diploma of theCommission of the Republic of Belarus on

UNESCO Affairs (2004). She is a graduate ofthe Belarusian State Conservatory (1985) andundertook postgraduate studies there (1996).She has worked on the musical editorial boardof Belarusian Radio (1994-2002) andcooperated with Belarusian TV and theeditorial boards of natonal newspapers andmagazines. The author has about ten scripts fordocumentaries to her name as well as morethan a thousand radio and TV programs, aboutthree thousand publications.Email: n-bun@tut.by •

During Soviet times choral lessons were acompulsory part of general secondaryeducation, and amateur choral groups wereregularly financed. The educational reformled to a reduction not only of singinglessons, but also of all subjects in thehumanities. Apart from that, new financialcircumstances led to the dissolution ofnumerous amateur groups, although manyprofessional groups were able to survive.Today amateur choral singing, having gonethrough a range of difficulties, is beginningto recover. Orthodox and Catholic choruses

Dossier

...Belarusian Choral Singing

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ment

Are you fond of fame?- Of course, I am an artist indeed. My sphere is

the concert hall, stage, audience.

Victor Victorovich Rovdo (1921 – 2007)was a People’s Artist of the USSR. He beganthe Belarusian phase of his creative work inAugust 1956 after he had graduated fromclasses led by the People’s Artist of theRepublic of Lithuania K. Kavyatskas atVilnus music conservatory and had finishedpostgraduate studies under the direction ofthe People’s Artist of the USSR ProfessorSveshnikov at the Moscow State conservatorynamed after P. I. Tchaikovsky. For over fourdecades he was the immortal leader of twochoirs – the students’ choir of the BelarusianState Academy of Music and the choir ofBelarusian radio and television. He was atrue leader of the Belarusian school of choralconducting and a “patriarch” of nationalchoral art.

His short biography will show how theamazing sequence and purposefulness of oneman’s life can present an epoch of choralcelebration to the whole country.

Victor’s father priest Vladimir Rovdo settleddown with his family in Smorgon which waspart of Poland from 1920 to 1939. TheOrthodox Church in Smorgon was destroyedduring the war 1917–1918, so FatherVladimir equipped one of the rooms of hishouse as a domestic church¹. In the other roomFather’s Vladimir’s second son was born inNovember 1921. He was called Victor in honorof the holy martyr Victor. As a result of this,Victor Vladimirovich often said that he “wasborn in a temple”. In 1926 a primary schoolteacher in Smorgon discovered the boy’sextraordinary abilities for music, and inautumn 1929, together with his older brotherAnatoly, Victor Rovdo entered Vilnius seminary.The Vilnius phase² (1929-1951) in thebiography of Victor Rovdo is connected withstudying Latin, Greek, German, Polish andBelarusian, learning mathematics, physics,chemistry, natural science, logic, rhetoric and,of course, training in vocal skills, how to be agood precentor and learning music-theoreticalsubjects. In autumn 1936, when Victor Rovdowas almost 15 years old, the rector of theseminary presented him with a tuning-fork andappointed him the precentor of the seminary

chorus for weekday divine services. This is whenthe activity of the young conductor Rovdobegan. At the end of the 1930s small vocalgroups were especially popular in Vilnius. Someseminary students together with Victororganized a vocal ensemble that oftenperformed during church and secularcelebrations³. In the autumn of 1938 someseminary students received an invitation fromGrigory Romanovich Shirma to jooin hischorus in which progressive Belarusian youngpeople came together, Belarusian folk songs weresung and the Belarusian language was spoken.As early as June 1940, after the beginning ofthe SecondWorldWar, Victor Rovdo, amongother graduates, received the graduationcertificate of Vilnius Divinity School, aninstitution which was not recognized by theSoviet government. The mother of the futureconductor, Stefanida Rovdo, badly wanted herchildren to be doctors4, so during the war, in1942 and 1943, Victor Rovdo, together with agroup of other enthusiasts, attended lectures at aclandestine medical school. They succeeded in

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ICB Dossier

To the Peak of Mastery

Inessa BodyakoAssociate Professor,

National Music Academy of Bielorussia

A choir of amateurs (Victor Rovdo is in the middle ofthe first row)

Victor Victorovich Rovdo with his family

Victor Victorovich Rovdo (1921 – 2007)

14 Conservatory named after Tchaikovsky (fromMarch 1954). In Belarus professor V. Rovdoshowed his intense creative vitality for the firsttime when working as a choirmaster with theState Choir of the BSSR (1956-1965). FromSeptember 1965 V. V. Rovdo was alreadyworking as chief conductor and artistic directorof the choir of Belarusian radio and television.In August 1990 V. V. Rovdo was awarded thehonorary title “Academic” for majorachievements in the development of the art ofchoral music, and in September of that year hewas awarded the honorary title “People’s Artistof the USSR”. Starting in 1956, the activepedagogical work of Victor Rovdo at theBelarusian State Academy of Music worked inthree different ‘threads’ (for 50 years!): headingthe Department of Choral Conducting, leadingstudent choirs and teaching choral conducting.Over the years of work with student choirs(from 1961) more than 800 chorus masterswent through his school, his pupils now leadchurch and professional choral groups, sing andteach music and singing to children.

V. Rovdo considered AlexanderSveshnikov to have been his chief teacher, anoutstanding choral conductor in the Russianchoral tradition, the greatest interpreter ofRussian folk songs, and one of the last“Synodals” – members of the MoscowSynodal Choirhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow_Synodal_Choir

This man gave him a “start in life”. In 1972V. Rovdo organized the arrival of A. V.Sveshnikov in Minsk. The chief choirmasterof the National Opera House of the Republicof Belarus N. I. Lomanovich describes thatmeeting: “Alexander Vasil’evich Sveshnikov wasquite old and worked with us sitting on a chair. Ieven have a photo of him. Then we sang aconcert. Sveshnikov conducted some musicalpieces.We were affected by the attitude of VictorVladimirovich, maestro-musician, to his teacher– deep respect and absolute worship”.

For Maestro Rovdo the concept of“exemplary tone quality” was connected firstof all to the intensity and depth of sonoritywhich was typical for choirs under thedirection of A. V. Sveshnikov. The prideand joy of any choir – in the opinion of V. V.Rovdo – are the basses, “Russian”, manlyand high-souled, full and mellow, with theobligatory presence of octavists. The lightand powerful sound of tenors was combinedwith the chesty and intensive tone quality ofthe altos. These two sections, like Romeoand Juliet, had to complement and enricheach other. The singing tone of the sopranoswas to be mild, even, without the flickeringsilveriness which usually accompanies thesound of the top line of a choir. Theblending and merging into one chord of allchoral voices should make the impression ofa perfectly tuned instrument – an instrumentthat happened to consist of voices.

Rovdo as a conductor had colossal powerof influence on his choirs. He possessed asort of magnetism, the strongest energyemanating from a conductor, from his wholefigure, from his face, the movements ofhands and fingers. The musicians hardlynoticed that their conductor’s gestures werereserved and restrained, even laconic,because choirs were an instrument which heplayed every day.

His teacher A. V. Sveshnikov passed on toVictor Vladimirovich Rovdo the need forspecial attention and a solicitous attitude tothe word in choral scores. On the one hand,he aimed to place semantic key points in thepoetic text correctly, to put main words first,to estimate the rate of “relevant” and“irrelevant” syllables for singing, to assureclear word intelligibility for each element ofverbal “clue”. On the other hand, the final“reading” of a verbal text was carried out

concealing these lessons from the Gestapo forquite a long time, but eventually the secreteducational institution was discovered andstudents were surrounded by their enemies.Victor escaped by the skin of his teeth, hiddenbehind a bath-tub full of formalin in the cellarwhere the dissecting room was. After the warended the question “What should I do?” cameup seriously for Victor. He didn’t want to giveup his hobbies, so in summer 1945 he enteredboth the medical faculty of Vilnius Universityand Vilnius conservatory. He managed to geteverywhere in time because of having amotorcycle. From 1946 he led a choir at theMonastery of the Sacred Spirit which consistedof conservatory students such as singers andcomposers of choral music. Many choristerscame from priesthood families. This took placeat an incredibly difficult time for religiousdenominations in the USSR. Somebody made adenunciation to the conservatoryadministration that Rovdo together with someother students had taken part in an Eastervigil. The day after Easter the leader of thechoir, non-Komsomol (!) Rovdo, was dismissedfrom the conservatory by the decision of theadministration. One year later Victor Rovdowas reinstated in the fifth course with abrilliant character reference from his place ofemployment (leading the choir of the officer’swives at the military airbase outside Vilnius),and after he had successfully passed his finalexamination at the Lithuanian StateConservatory, in late autumn 1951 he arrivedin Moscow to take up a postgraduatestudentship at the Moscow State Conservatory.In Moscow from 1951 to 1956, during thesepostgraduate studies, Victor Rovdo worked as aconcertmaster (from March 1952), then aschoirmaster (from December 1954) of the StateAcademic Russian Choir of the USSR, and alsoas chorus master of a boys’ choir at the Moscowsong-school (from March 1952) as well as achorus master at the opera studio of the Moscow

Dossier

...To the Peak of Mastery

V. ovdo is conducting the USSR State AcademicRussian chorus in Zagorsk, 1953

As a memento for Vitya Rovdo as a sign of deep attach-ment and friendship" - A. Sveshnikov, 4 February 1964

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ICB Dossier

entirely according to a performing super-task– to open a deep sense of the content, tomove the listeners deeply.

In 1968 the choir of the Belarusian StateConservatory, which was to be led by thesame professor for 45 years, took part for thefirst time in student holiday courses called“Gaudeamus” in Vilnius. According to thecommittee of “Gaudeamus” leaders thestudents’ chorus from Minsk took part inseven similar holidays which took placealternately in Vilnius, Riga, Tartu andTallinn (1968, 1972, 1975, 1978, 1981,1984 and 1987). Victor had to conduct acombined choir of five thousand, performingone or two pieces together. With such a hugechoir it is very difficult to have all singersenter together, and no other conductorcould do it as well as Rovdo did. Theinspector of chorus of Belarusian radio andtelevision A. Androsov (till 2008)remembered in his interview what a hugeimpression Victor Rovdo’s conductingtechnique made on the participants of asinging holiday in Tallinn in July, 1985: “Healways appeared in a white jacket and showedoff before the public, as the madcap-hooligan.And then suddenly a finger would wave and allthe people sang, as one. In rehearsal they evenasked him to repeat this feat, because it seemedunbelievable that a choir of five thousand couldenter on just the movement of a finger”. Aprofessor at the Lithuanian Academy ofMusic and Theater, P. Gilis, one of theregular organizers of singing holidays inLithuania, shares his impression: “What can Itell about Victor Vladimirovich as theconductor on these holidays? He was so talentedthat he never had problems in communicatingwith big or small choirs. His gestures werealways absolutely clear. His requirements of thechoirs were always very high. He was neversatisfied with the level reached, always set a

super-task, sometimes not quite feasible. Theconductor’s choral achievement in a hall is oftenimpossible to repeat out of doors, on a singingfield. But it is possible to aspire to it, of course.Professor Rovdo did aspire to it, and thereforehe wasn’t always satisfied. Professor Kavyatskascalmed him down: “Everything will be fine!”And the work was indeed performed reallyperfectly. Both at rehearsal and in a concertProfessor Rovdo always proved himself to be aperformer of the highest rank.”

The students’ concert choir of theBelarusian State Academy of Music (it wasrenamed in 1992) under the direction of V.Rovdo achieved powerful successes. In June1995 this choral group won the Grand Prizeat the first international choir festival inChisinau (Moldova) in the category “Choirsfrom musical high schools in Europe andCIS”. In March 1997 the choir was awardedtwo cups and three gold diplomas at thesecond international choral competition inDarmstadt (Germany), where it also receivedthe highest award – the “Oskar”. In May1997 the concert choir of the BelarusianState Academy of Music received the grandprize at the sixteenth international festival ofchurch music in Hajnovka (Poland). Theson of a priest, former seminary student,surgeon, musician, People’s Artist of theUSSR, professor, academician of the SlavicInternational Academy, artistic director ofthe choirs of Belarusian radio and televisionand the Belarusian Academy of Music,excellent art critic, winner of two stateawards and last but not least the belovedhusband of the opera diva Sofia Voevodskaya, in her time a star on the stages of Vilniusand Minsk, and apart from all that aninteresting conversationalist with no lessinteresting a life story, was the Teacher of ourlife.

In the American bibliographicencyclopedia “Who’s Who in Classical Music

2002” we find that photography was a hobbyof Professor Rovdo’s. Many of the photos inthis article come from V. Rovdo’s personalarchive.

Associate professor Inessa Bodyako is theartistic director of students’ choirs and teacheschoral conducting and the history of Russianchoral music at the Belarusian State Academyof Music. She was chorus master of theAcademic Chorus of the national television andradio broadcasting company of the Republic ofBelarus and founder and conductor of thechamber choir “Cantemus” becoming the prize-winner of international choral competitions inItaly (Arezzo, Gorizia), Spain (Tolosa), Poland(Hajnovka) and Belarus (Minsk). Inessa hasserved on the juries of many national andinternational competitions, has given masterclasses in Germany, France, was responsible fora great number of choral projects in Belarusincluding the Open Conductors’ competitionnamed after V. Rovdo, Choral pages of thetwentieth century, and the female chorus“Charouniya lilei”.Email: inesminsk@tut.by

This article is based on an interview with Professor V.Rovdo for periodicals in the Republic of Belarus and onthe graduation library-research paper “In memoriam ofMaestro Victor Rovdo” by one of the professor’s lastpupils, Olga Korzh. Her professional work is connectedwith the temple of the blessed prince Alexander Nevsky inMinsk.

1Now the Church of the Transfiguration stands in the placeof the former house of priest V. P. Rovdo.2From 1920 to 1939 Vilnius was under Polish occupation;it was called officially Vilno.3The brother of Gennady Tsitovich, Alexander Tsitovich,directed this group. At the beginning of the 1940s he wasarrested because of being falsely denunciated and died inprison.4The older brother of Victor Rovdo, Anatoly Vladimirovich,arrived in Krakow after the war, completed his course at themedical faculty of the Jagellonian University and stayed inPoland, working as a doctor. He died in Poland in 2008.

•

V. V. Rovdo conducting a “Singing Holiday”

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Dossier

Poland, like most other Europeancountries, has a long history of choral artextending from the early 13th century“Gaude Mater Polonia” to contemporarycomposers such as Romuald Twardowskiand Krzysztof Penderecki. And in Poland asin so many other countries, choral art hashad its ups and downs over the years.

Education and ChoirsIn Poland there are two kinds of choral

education: General and Professional.In the general education system in

elementary and middle schools (a type ofschool between elementary and secondaryfor children aged 12-15 years) pupils learnthe basics of music. Many schools havechoirs but usually these are an after-schoolactivity only. These choirs are led by a musicteacher from the particular school –normally for about 3-4 hours a week – andusually only take part in activities connectedwith school life. Very seldom do schoolshave the opportunity to give concertsoutside the education facility or to take partin festivals or competitions. This is due insome cases to the limited number of hoursset aside during school time; and in someinstances pupils have no music at all. Onaverage, pupils have between 3 and 5 yearsof music study during their first 9 years ofeducation, which does not give themsufficient musical experience to singproperly. Some schools have obtainedreasonable results but this is mainly due tothe hard work of dedicated teachers whogive up their time to provide extra tuitionfor their pupils.

The second type of choral educationinvolves music schools of a different type(elementary, middle and secondary) whichprovide tuition for prospective professionalmusicians. In these schools choral study iscompulsory for all pupils, usually 2-4 hoursa week. Choirs from these schools have beenknown to win prizes at festivals and

competitions. However, the greatest impacton the development of Polish choirs has beenmade by individual conductors in theamateur choral movement.

In Poland there are mostly mixed choirs;children’s, female voice and male voice choirsare relatively few. Mixed choirs tend to becomposed of older students or adults –usually with little or no experience of musicschools – who have in common a shared loveof singing. The highest standard of choralsinging is usually found in college anduniversity choirs aged 20-30 - very oftenwith older members who are graduates oruniversity teachers. It is difficult to say whichtown or university has a leading choir, sincemembership fluctuates as choristers usuallyonly sing in the choir when they study.

The second most popular type of choirsare mixed adult choirs which in recent timeshave become stronger in membership, theirnumbers having been increased by thepresence of numerous senior singersincluding many music teachers. Lack ofeducation has led to problems with youngchoirs, which consist mainly of girls’ choirs;there are very few boys’ choirs. In addition,most boys’ choirs are not SSAA but tend tobe mixed boys and men’s choirs with a SATBformat.

As a result of this the Male Voice Choirtradition appears to be suffering –demonstrated by the fact that in the whole ofPoland there are fewer than 50 amateur malevoice choirs, of which only about 10 are of areally high level. This situation may be duepartly to the career pressure for men inprofessional life to work overtime, and partlyto the low membership of boys in schoolchoirs. There are, however, quite a fewchamber choirs or vocal ensembles of a highor very high standard - often consisting ofprofessional musicians and working as semi-professional or professional groups.

As well as established choirs, there are anumber of Choral Societies in Poland who

strive to put together more than one choir,and try to promote choral education amongchildren to help them attain a standardallowing them to take part in concerts andeven in large festivals.

As is the case all over the world, mostlarge cities have philharmonic and/or operachoruses and other professional ensembles.

OrganisationThe Polish Choirs and Orchestra

Association (www.zgpzchio.pl/2/index.php)is presently very weak due to extremelylimited support from the government and tothe general lack of funds common to mostPolish choirs. In most regions of Polandthere are local branches of Polish Choirs andOrchestra Association which sometimesoperate independently; some regionaldivisions are more active than others and arequite well managed. However, several regionshave no structures in place at all, or areunable to perform anything independentlyeven when there is a high number of choirsin their respective region. This may bebecause the Polish Choir Association iscombined with the Orchestra Associationand there is always a conflict of programmepriorities.

In Poland there is also the Polish Unionof Church Choirs (www.caecilianum.eu)which is a young organisation; it is difficultto evaluate its activity as its members aremostly from parish churches.

But despite the many problems present,Polish choral life is quite active thanks toother organisations like Choral Societies,Culture Centres, festival organisingcommittees and many choirs working andcooperating together.

RepertoireThe majority of the repertoire sung by

choirs is Polish and European sacred music.In Poland there are very few medium-size or

The Choral World in Poland

Marcin Cmiel and Maciej PrzerwaDirector and President of

the Choral Society Lira in Warsaw

17large concert halls and most concerts takeplace in churches which sometimes makes itimpossible to perform non-sacred pieces.

Until the mid-18th century Poland wasone of the most important countries inEurope, and consequently has a variety ofinteresting historic composers including, forexample, Wincenty z Kielczy, GrzegorzGerwazy Gorczycki, Wacałw z Szamotuł,Hieronim z Pokrzywnicy, Mikołaj Gomółka,Mikołaj Zieliński. They composed both inLatin and Polish.

Right up to the end of 18th centurymany non-sacred songs were also composed.Later in the 19th century sacred music wasstill very strong owing to a political climatein which the church was often the only placepeople could have a small amount offreedom.

It is worth mentioning here Józef Elsnerand Feliks Nowowiejski as well as KarolKurpiński and the most famous Polish operacomposer Stanisław Moniuszko, all activeduring this period.

The first half of the 20th century saw anotable development of folk musicconnected with the restitution of Polandwhich allowed the Polish language to be usedas well as Latin.

There are many contemporarycomposers, the most often sung andpublished being Romuald Twardowskifollowed by Józef Świder. Other importantcomposers for Polish choirs are AndrzejKoszewski, Stanisław Wiechowicz, AndrzejHundziak, Jerzy Kołaczkowski, PawełŁukaszewski, Marek Jasiński, StefanStuligrosz, Piotr Jańczak, to name just a few.Many Polish composers publish their worksabroad.

PublishersChoirs often find it difficult to obtain

legal scores as these are very often publishedin books containing several pieces by one

composer or of one type of music, whichmakes it very expensive for choirs to sing avariety of music. To solve the problem,choirs quite frequently use arrangements(most of them of a high quality) instead oforiginal compositions or unpublishedcompositions as well as many anonymousworks which are commonplace in Polishchoral music. The leading Polish publisher isPolskie Wydawnictwo Muzyczne (PWM)(www.pwm.com.pl) which unfortunatelydoes not publish many new editions forchoirs and mainly concentrates oninstrumental scores. Other publishers aremuch smaller but often provide a muchbetter selection for choirs or vocal ensembles.It is worth mentioning publishers likeTriangiel (www.triangiel.com), Hejnal(www.hejnal.eu) and more recently theChoral Society LIRA which has publishedworks for male-voice choirs. Manycomposers also publish their scoresindividually or sometimes publish for thespecific requirements of a particular festival.

Festivals and CompetitionsIn Poland there are many medium-level

and high-level festivals mostly for a cappellachoirs. However, the majority of them areeither for Polish choirs only or are not wellattended by foreign choirs owing to the lackof information in English abroad or to thelate announcement of a particular festival.Some of the most popular festivals for Polishchoirs are the Legnica Cantat(http://cantat.legnica.pl), Cantio Lodziensisin Lodz (www.ldk.lodz.pl/home/Page/115),the Youth and Children’s Choirs Competitionin Bydgoszcz(www.chory.palac.bydgoszcz.pl) and thestudent choirs festival Universitas Cantat inPoznan (www.cantat.amu.edu.pl).

There are very few festivals of aninternational level. Sometimes the word

“international” is used in the title of theevent, but all too often the Jury includesonly one member from abroad (andsometimes none) and there may be only 2-3foreign choirs participating.

Good examples of international festivalsare Hajnowka Orthodox Church MusicFestival in Bialystok(www.festiwal-hajnowka.pl), theInternational Warsaw Choir Festival VarsoviaCantat (www.varsoviacantat.pl) or recentlythe International Krakow Choir Festival(www.krakowchoirfestiva.pl) which is so farthe biggest Polish choir festival. Comparedto other countries there are not many Adventand Christmas festivals in December becauseaccording to the local customs the period for“Christmas singing” is different, beginningin mid-December (not everywhere) andcontinuing until the beginning of February.Consequently, most Christmas concerts orfestivals take place in January.

The recently established Krakow Advent& Christmas Choir Festival(www.christmasfestival.pl) is the first eventof this type to be held in Poland inDecember.

Nevertheless, the choral world in Polandis very active: Polish choirs are wellrepresented abroad at festivals and concerts,and very often win top prizes.

And further, Polish composers havebecome more and more popular amongforeign choirs. Hopefully, as each year passesthere will be progressively more choristers inprogressively better choirs, performing musicto a higher level and bringing their music toa wider audience.Contact:Choral Society LIRA Varsovia CantusMarcin Smiel, PresidentMaciej Przerwa, DirectorE-mail: mail@lira.waw.plWebsite: www.varsoviacantat.pl •

ICB Dossier

Choral Festival in BydgoszczChoir Festival in Lodz

Varsovia Cantat Choral Festival

IFCMMeeting of the IFCM Board of Directors, 8-10 July 2010, Barcelona, SpainMichael J. Anderson

9th World Symposium on Choral MusicNewsletter

In Memory of Marcel CorneloupAndré Dumont

World Youth Choir Summer sessionBetzabé Juárez Vargas

International Federation for Choral Music

IFCM News

Les Choralies, Vaison-la-Romaine, France

ICB IFCM News

Meeting of the IFCM Board of Directors8-10 July 2010, Barcelona, Spain

The Board of Directors and Advisors of theInternational Federation for Choral Music(IFCM) met in Barcelona, Spain 8-10 July2010. The meetings focused on challengesthat IFCM is facing due to recent economicstruggles. The outcome was very positiveand marked a significant shift toward apositive resolution and the return to ourmission: the exchange of the world’s culturesthrough choral music!

I want to bring you (our membership) asummarized update on noteworthy issuesthat transpired during this meeting so youknow that IFCM is alive and well, and has avery clear plan for the immediate and longrange future. The intent was, after 28 yearsof existence, to refine the structure to createa more robust framework that will functionsmoothly for the next quarter century.

Empowerment of the BoardOne of the main functions of this

meeting was to empower the Board. Ratherthan having the Board report on what washappening in their countries (as we did inthe past), then go back to their countries andshare what took place at the meeting, theBoard now is actively involved in the keyorganizational components of IFCM. Wecreated six Board task forces whoseresponsibility it is to focus the following:1. Operations/Strategic Plan2. Finances3. Fundraising4. Legal/Governance5. Membership Development6. Public Relations/CommunicationsEach task force has a specific charge that

will ensure the strength and movement oftheir prospective area. The result thus far hasbeen very encouraging—each board membernow has an immediate investment in theorganization and is working hard to ensureIFCM’s continued existence.

Internal RestructuringIn addition to this Board’s restructuring

(and other confidential discussions) here aresome of the issues that were addressed:• Vacancies in the Executive Committee(ExCom). We decided not to replaceany positions until the next GeneralAssembly in Puerto Madryn, August2011, when the membership will havethe opportunity to elect new officers.

• Secretary-General. It was felt that withan active Board, we can continueIFCM’s restructuring and growthwithout filling the position of theSecretary General. This will leave moretime for discussions on whether aSecretary-General is necessary or if weshould change the position to anExecutive Director. Also this will allowtime to raise money for the position.

• After the resignation of the Secretary-General, and the collapse of theInternational Center for Choral Music(along with its funding), IFCM hasbeen without a staff for the past year. Iam happy to report to you that NadineRobin Ryan has been rehired as ofSeptember 2010. Nadine hasimmigrated to the U.S. where she liveswith her husband Matt in Texas. Shewill continue to handle all matters withmembership, the layout of theInternational Choral Bulletin, andassisting the ExCom and Board withdaily responsibilities.

• The General Assembly of IFCM willcontinue to control the overall directionof IFCM and will have a chance to doso again in Puerto Madryn, Argentinanext August 2011. Please be aware thatthis positive functioning of this body iscritical to IFCM. Get involved!

• The website continues to function,transferring information to choral

world, helping members, and signingup new members. The Board felt thatrebuilding the website should be placedtoward the top of the list of things to bedone.

• The Board recognized the newManaging Editor of the InternationalChoral Bulletin, Andrea Angelini fromRimini, Italy. He has built a new teamof people working on this publicationto make sure that we bring you thelatest choral information from aroundthe world.

IFCM programs updatesWorld Youth Choir (WYC)

A very successful summer session of theWYC was taking place at the same time asthis meeting, in Tenerife (Canary Islands)with 80 singers from around the world,chosen by the international WYC jury(including Board members TheodoraPavlovitch and Aarne Saluveer). Theconductors, Ragnar Rasmussen (Norway)and Josep Vila I Casanas (Spain) worked on20th Century choral repertoire, and choralmusic of the Mediterranean. They toured theCanary Islands, the north of Spain, withfinal performances in Barcelona. It wasprepared by an organization of the CanaryIslands, under the umbrella of the MovimentCoral Catala.

The three patron organizations, JeunessesMusicales International (JMI), EuropaCantat (EC), and IFCM all played animportant role in the project, to ensure itscontinued success. Many thanks go out toour colleagues in the Canary Islands andSpain, with special thanks to BlaskoSmilevski (JMI) and Sonja Greiner (EC) fortheir exceptional support. Mr. VladamirOpacic was retained as manager of the choir

Michael J. AndersonInterim President

A member of the Town Council meets MichaelAnderson and Daniel Garavano

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...Meeting of the IFCM Board of Directors

and has done a superior job.The 2011 session is expected to take

place in Argentina, during the Symposium.Arrangements are being finalized at thistime. There are several proposals for theyears to come including Canada and USA,but nothing has been finalized.

OpusChoral (OC)OC held it General Assembly in Paris last

June where the decision was made toliquidate the organization. Since IFCM is aninvestor in the project, we will keep youapprised of the outcome.

Songbridge (SC)There is a potential Songbridge project in

Italy for next summer as well as one in LosAngeles for the following summer. At themoment there has been no agreement for theSymposium to hold a Songbridge, due to theWYC project. We are in contact with thePohjola family to ensure that the essenceErkki instilled in the project is protected.IFCM is working with Kari Ala-Pöllänenplanning future Songbridges.

Conductors without Borders (CWB)Board member Thierry Thiebaut

coordinates this program for French-speaking countries in Africa. Presently theprogram is active in Congo, Togo, and IvoryCoast. There is a contact to begin in Beninand Burkina Faso.

World Choral Day (WCD)Boardmembers ChristianGrases, Catalina

Prieto, and former Boardmember JeroenSchrijner, are heading up this project.TheWCDwill take place every year on the second Sundayof December.The Board asked that informationbe collected after eachWCD for broadcast to themedia, as a clear demonstration of theimportance and scope of this project.

IFCM PartnershipsAmerica Cantat in Brazil

The festival took place in May withparticipants from Argentina to Canada. Itwas a small festival, with outstanding music.There were several organizational problemsbut, at the end, with the help of theArgentinean volunteers, it turned out to be agood festival. It is still not decided whichcountry is going to host the next AmericaCantat.

World Symposium on Choral MusicThe 9thWorld Symposium on Choral

Music will be held in Puerto Madryn,Argentina, from 3-10 August 2011 isprogressing very well. You can find out moreinformation at the website(www.wscm9.com/en/index.php/content).This will be a unique symposium—moreexotic, more intriguing—than any in thepast. I encourage you strongly to considerextending your stay (either before or afterthe symposium) to take advantage of theinnumerable aspects of the Argentineanlandscape and culture.

WCS10 2014 KoreaBoard member Saeko Hasegawa, and the

IFCM ExCom will be present in Novemberas members of the jury for the Busan ChoralFestival. We will use this time to work withBoard member Ambassador Dho Young-shim to further negociations with ourKorean colleagues, and set in motion astrategy for the 2014 Symposium.

WS2017Cities who wish to bid for the 2017

Symposium (of which there are presently two)will be asked to do so sometime in late 2012.

Significant Votes1. The Board voted unanimously to “createa Legal Commission with theresponsibility of legal matters, andspecial emphasis on preparing theGeneral Assembly’s election procedurefor 2011.”

This will ensure that the 2011 elections arehandled correctly and will address any otherlegal matters that may come up duringIFCM’s reconstruction.2. Perhaps most importantly, the Boardvoted unanimously “to reconfirm thecontinued existence of IFCM, withpledged support by the Board ofDirectors and Advisors.”

This was an exceptionally positiveconfirmation that IFCM is needed in theworld of choral music. Organizations,choirs, and conductors all around the worldare teaching, researching, and performingextraordinary music by inspired composers.Even in this day of instant communication,it appears to be an undeniable reality that aworld-wide organization, whose sole purposeis address the ongoing challenge ofexchanging of the world’s cultures throughchoral music, must continue to exist to bringpeople together in song and peace.Email: mja@uic.edu

NoteIf you have not done so already, pleaseconsider renewing your membership, or ifyou are new to IFCM, please considergetting involved. For more information,click on www.IFCM.net or go directly to themembership form atwww.ifcm.net/index.php?m=60.

There is a whole world of choral opportunityout there waiting for you.Come join us! •

Meeting time in Barcelona

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Thousands of choirs have joined in the celebration of World Choral Day on or around the 2nd Sunday in December in the past twenty years.Millions of singers across the globe have been involved in World Choral Day concerts, festivals, sing-alongs, choral seminars, Days ofFriendship and other events.The IFCM views World Choral Day as an important opportunity to promote the social values of choral singing and invites the choirs of theworld to celebrate World Choral Day and share your experiences with colleagues across the globe.

SShhaarree yyoouurr aaccttiivviittiieess oonn oouurr wweebbssiittee aanndd oonn YYoouuttuubbeeWe are inviting you to announce your World Choral Day activities - and to report to us about the event afterwards:• Please write to WorldChoralDay@ifcm.net. Let us knowWHAT EVENTS you are taking part in or organizing, HOW MANY peoplewill be involved, WHERE it is taking place and WHO is/are responsible.

• Let us know afterwards HOW it all worked out

We would like to publish filmed recordings of the events on our special World Choral Day channel on Youtube. Please take note of thefollowing recommendations:

• The maximum length of any uploaded film is 15 minutes.• Please save your video in a format that YouTube can accept. Unless you're a professional videoproducer, we recommend that you save your videos as either QuickTime .MOV, Windows.AVI, or .MPG files - these are the most common formats and they work well withinYoutube system. Youtube specifically recommends the MPEG4 (Divx, Xvid) format at640x480 resolution with MP3 audio. Please resize your video to these specificationsbefore sending them to us at WorldChoralDay@ifcm.net

• We’ll upload them on Youtube for you!• Watch your own and your colleagues’ contribution! onwww.youtube.com/WorldChoralDay

TThheemmeessThe IFCM announces themes for World Choral Day. In the year 2010 the theme will be“The rapprochement of cultures”.This is the United Nations theme for 2010 (also see http://portal.unesco.org/culture and lookfor rapprochement) and it also fits our aims with the World Choral Day.

A proclamation written for the World Choral Day is usually read during the events. It has beentranslated into eight different languages and is available for download from the IFCM website.

Thank you for making a case for Choral Music on World Choral Day!You can contact us at WorldChoralDay@ifcm.net.

Cristian Grases (All America and the Caribbean)Jeroen Schrijner (Europe and Africa)Catalina Prieto (Asia and South Pacific)Coordinators

1122 DDeecceemmbbeerr 22001100SShhaarree yyoouurr aaccttiivviittiieess oonn WWoorrlldd CChhoorraall DDaayy

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22 Maestros and with excellentdemonstration choirs are open to alldelegates who wish to attend them, butactive students (four to six people ineach Master Class maximum) must beyounger than 35 years old and mustsend their VC (no longer than one A4page) and a recommendation letter by aprestigious maestro before March 31,2011 to presidente@fundacioncic.org

2. You can only register to participate inthe Symposium “on line” atwww.wscm9.com Please remember thatbefore registering as a participant youmust log in as a website user, where youmust indicate your e-mail address. Wewill contact you in reference to yourregistration.

Please carefully read the “Guide forsuccessful registration” in the websitebefore you register. In case of doubt,please write to info@wsm9.com

3. YES! It is possible to attend theSymposium with an accompanyingperson. The cost is just € 100.- whichgrants access to Mid-day and GalaConcerts with a seat by the delegate tothe Choral Expo, the Open Singing andthe Social Activities.

4. Many people are asking how to get toPuerto Madryn: simple! From any pointof the planet, there are more than fortyairlines flying daily to Buenos Airesfrom all parts of the Americas, Europe,Africa and Oceania arriving at theInternational Airport “MinistroPistarini” in Ezeiza (Buenos Aires).From there, travelers move to thedomestic airport “Aeroparque JorgeNewbery”, from where there are at leastfive daily flights to the cities ofPUERTO MADRYN (Andes LíneasAéreas) or TRELEW (AerolíneasArgentinas). You won’t be alone!

Dear Friends of Choral Music

The beautiful experience of organizing aWorld Symposium on Choral Music hasgiven me the possibility of getting to knowthe huge magnitude of choral activityaround the world and reinforces the presenceof IFCM in different continents.

In the past months, the Symposiumorganizers, members of CIC Foundation,participated in varied activities where weperceived the enthusiasm and the motivationof many colleagues from all around theWorld arriving at PUERTO MADRYN inAugust next year.

First, it was the AMERICA CANTATFestival in May in Brazil where conductorsand choirs from the continent spent ten daysof intense activity and shared experiencesprior to the Symposium. Latin America andArgentina are preparing with greatexpectation to welcome the choral world.

Then, the IFCM Board met in Barcelona(8-10 July) and once more we received thesupport from the numerous members andadvisors present there as well as from newinstitutions from Australia to South Africa tothe NKF (Nordisc KorForum), variousextremes of the world, who are cooperatingwith us in spreading the word. I alsoattended the World Choir Games inShaoXing, China, meeting friends andcolleagues and talking with the directors ofthe Interkultur Foundation. This reinforcedthe idea that the coming Symposium inPatagonia will reunite the great world choralfamily.

As organizers we are astonished becauseour website www.wscm9.com has more thaneight hundred and fifty active users and wedaily receive registrations and questions fromall over the world.

This is why we want to tell you that: 1. The Master Classes directed by Great

Members of our organization and ofArgentina Visión – official tour operatorfor the Symposium – will be clearlyidentified waiting for travelers at theairports.

5. Aerolineas Argentinas has an interestingoffer to fly to Trelew and other touristiccities in our country for a relativelyinexpensive price with a package ofmany related flights named “VISITARGENTINA”. Ask for this alternative! Choral Music purifies the soul and fills

the heart with life. We are waiting for you atthe 9th World Symposium on Choral Musicin Puerto Madryn in Argentinean Patagonia,a small city where we will meet on everycorner, in every concert, in every restaurantand where we’ll all enjoy close contact withNature, SINGING THE WORLD…!

For anticipation check the AGENDA ATA GLANCE!

Translated from the Spanish by Maria de lasMercedes Zavala Tello, CIC Foundation'sSecretaryRevised by Philip Brunelle, USA •

9th World Symposium on Choral MusicNewsletter

Argentinian Singers in the World Youth Choir 2009

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In Memory of Marcel Corneloup

On 30 June 2010, at the age of 82, MarcelCorneloup left us. His funeral took place on5 July in Autun Cathedral, in the presence ofhis family, public authority representatives,his nearest and dearest and his many friendswho had come to demonstrate their affectionand recognition for this craftsman in choralsinging in France and in the wider world.

Marcel Corneloup passionately devotedhis life to the À Cœur Joie movement. Hismeeting with César Geoffray in 1948 was thedetermining moment. Very soon they cameto share the same humanist vision of choralsinging. From their intimate friendshipwould grow the great plan for À Cœur Joie.Marcel was a primary school teacher bytraining. Military service took him toMeknès in Morocco where he set up his firstchoir. It was there that he met his wifeJacqueline who shared his epic musical andpedagogical journey for 60 years.

From 1950 to 1962, charged with theresponsibility for musical education inMorocco, he developed a network of choirswith the Psalette du Maroc as its jewel. In1962 he succeeded Reine Bruppacher asgeneral secretary of the À Cœur Joiemovement in Lyon. Under his direction ÀCœur Joie developed in France andestablished its international dimensions and

its francophone character. He helped to setup the Choralies at Vaison-la-Romaine,known today as a European Choral City. In1969 the International Council of the ÀCœur Joie movement was established in Lilleunder the chairmanship of César Geoffray.Nowadays the International Council bringstogether a number of federations in Franceand abroad. After the death of CésarGeoffray in 1972, Marcel Corneloup tookon the chairmanship of the InternationalCouncil from 1973 to 2003. With his friendFrançois Bourel, he expanded the European

Federation of Young Choirs – Europa Cantatwhich he chaired from 1982 to 1994. Thischairmanship was notable for two events :the EUROPA CANTAT IX festival inStrasbourg in 1982, in the presence ofPresident François Mitterrand andChancellor Helmut Kohl, and, in 1988, theEUROPA CANTAT X festival in Pécs inHungary, a choice of venue whichanticipated the disappearance of the IronCurtain. Marcel Corneloup was famous inFrance as a teacher. He was also a builder.

He used to say that it was necessary to createvenues for choral singing. Thus wereestablished Les Passerelles, the administrativecentre of À Cœur Joie in Lyons, the À CœurJoie Centre in Vaison-la-Romaine (whichwas built and then rebuilt) and the Maisondu Beuvray in the Morvan area. Marcel was amusician, a choirmaster and a composer. InLyons he created and directed the Éditions ACœur Joie which still enjoy an internationaldimension.

This is a short account of the life ofMarcel Corneloup. Those who knew andloved him are fortunate: they will remembera man who was committed, sure in hisbeliefs, rich in knowledges and a loyal friend.For those who did not know him, Historywill tell that he brought growth in thepopularity of choral singing in France forhalf a century.

Thank you, Marcel ! Your task isaccomplished. It was at once exhilaratingand inspiring for all of us who are invited tocontinue with it from now on. •

André DumontHonorary President of À Cœur Joie International

Honorary President of the Choral FederationÀ Cœur Joie of Wallonia-Brussels

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World Youth Choir Summer Session

Many years ago, some people had a dream,to create a place where nationalities do notmatter, nor skin colour, political or religiousbeliefs, a place where all speak the samelanguage and live together as one. 21 yearsago, that dream became real, the name:World Youth Choir, the language: music.

The World Youth Choir is indeed aneducational experience in every sense; youngsingers from all around the world cometogether for a month just to sing in one ofthe most important and unique choirs inexistence, where they get to perform musicat the highest level. I could not be moreproud to be part of such an amazing project.In the beginning you know that you will getthe chance to sing new repertoire, work withimportant conductors, improve as amusician and test your musical standard, butthis choir is so much more than that.

This summer session, we were hosted byone of the most beautiful places on earth,Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife, Canary Islands,this thanks to the Cultural Association ReyesBartlet (CARB) and Moviment Coral Catalawho, along with the World Youth Choirpatron organizations: the InternationalFederation for Choral Music, Europa Cantatand Jeunesses Musicales International,believed in the project and helped to keepthe dream alive.

And so the session began. It is veryexciting to see how young singers fromaround the world come together with onlyone purpose, to create music. The first day isall about welcome. You can see new singerswho do not know exactly what to expect, allexcited and nervous about this amazingexperience, and also old members huggingeach other and getting to know all these newpeople with whom they are going to spendso much time.

Under the baton of Mr. RagnarRasmussen (Norway) and Mr. Josep Vila ICasañas (Spain), we had days full of singing,studying and rehearsing, with the additionalhelp of our excellent section leaders, MariaValdmaa, Lhente-Mari Pitout andKristopher Snarby, in order to ensure thatthis cohort would not fall below the musicalexcellence and high standard that the WorldYouth Choir is known to have.

But not everything was hard work, we gotthe chance to experience Tenerife in a veryV.I.P way; the organizers took us on a tourto the Teide, a gorgeous place where we hada great time, also during the rehearsal campsome of us managed to go to the beach, LagoMartiánez, Loro Parque and some others fora walk in the city and at night salsa dancing.During our time at Puerto de la Cruz, agroup of volunteers were with us every daywith big smiles and working very hard: OtiBazo, Susi Pérez, Marianne Fernández,Sergio Rodríguez, Lisa and Nieves Su Ming,Leire Acosta, Aitor Mora, Cristo Velázquez(President of CARB), we will always bethankful for your efforts, the good companyand the time you spent with us.

This summer session Marina Velasquezfrom CARB joined the choir, she was ourguardian angel, she took care of every detailand we appreciate all her hard work and thelove that she put into this project.

Too soon, it was time for our firstconcert; you could hear among themembers: “Are we ready? Will it be a goodconcert? Will we be able to perform thisdifficult music?” We felt we could use morerehearsals, but then, we were on stage at thisbeautiful church and the show began. Theresult was wonderful, we sounded like onesoul, a big voice that speaks through music; Ican only try to describe the feeling of beingthere with all these people who just met acouple of days before, but it felt as if we had

been working together for much longer, andthe most magical thing is that it got evenbetter: as we got more comfortable with themusic, we connected more with theconductors and so, we gave our best to everydifferent audience.

The first part of this year’s repertoireconsisted of choral music by Scandinaviancomposers of the 20th century, this wasunder the baton of Mr. Rasmussen who,with a unique style, let us dazzle theaudience with a different performance everyconcert. The challenge of this repertoire layin really expressing the contrasting moodsthat the pieces offered: “Våren” by EdvardGrieg, an evocation of spring with abeautiful melody, “Warning to the rich” byThomas Jennefelt, where we had todemonstrate not only good singing butacting as well; “Luceat” by Mikko Heiniö,“Laudes Debitas Deo Nostro” by WolfgangPlagge, “Peace I leave with you” by KnutNystedt, “Credo” by Egil Hovland, “Anddeath shall have no dominion” by SverreBergh, and finally, we got to sing to themountain wind with “Biegga Luothe” by JanSanström, you could hear a soloist yoikingaccompanied by the ceremonial drum. Theversatility that this choir can achieve willnever stop surprising me.

The journey that came after was a bitdifferent, but very exciting as well, Mr. Vila ICasañas took us on the most interesting tripthrough the choral music of theMediterranean. We sang: “Esbozos sobre untema cántabro” by Jesús Eguiguren,“Campanes sobre el mar” by Joan MariaThomas, “Chácaras Blancas” by Juan JoséFalcón Sanabria, “Ohihu hau” by DavidAzurza, “Dos canciones de anochecer” byAlejandro Yagüe to poems by FedericoGarcía Lorca, “Les neus que es fonen” byEnric Morera, “Lela” by Rosendo Mato,“Nawa Isbahan” by Juan Pablo de Juan,

Betzabé Juárez Vargas World Youth Choir Singer (Mexico)

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27“Canto negro” by Xavier Monsalvage and“Després” by Feliu Gasull, which was one ofthe most challenging pieces of the entirerepertoire. This was commissioned by theCatalan Choral Organization for the WorldYouth Choir 2010, it was quite anexperience to sing it and Mr. Vila did a greatjob putting together what in the beginningseemed impossible. When we finally gotthrough the piece the feeling was reallyoverwhelming, we had a lot of fun and mostof it was because we enjoyed so muchworking with Josep.

Las Palmas was the first place to witness avery colourful country presentation, at thisconcert we all dressed up in our traditionalcostumes, we had the chance to bring ourcountry on stage, 80 singers from 38different countries standing in the sameplace. Music is one of the few things thatreally unifies the world, we were all standingthere despite any conflict or doctrine, whenyou witness something like this, you have nodoubt of why the World Youth Choir isUNESCO’s Artist for Peace, and being apart of something as important as this issomething that I could never compare withanything.

During our concert tour we visited verycharming places such as Tenerife, LasPalmas, Donostia-San Sebastián, Burgos,Menorca and Barcelona. This would nothave been possible without the collaborationof Canarias’s Government, Cabildo deTenerife, Puerto de la Cruz, Las Palmas andBurgos’s Town Hall, the Confederation ofchoirs of País Vasco, Joventuts Musicals ofCiutadella and Linguamon.

There is someone who works before,during and after every session, dedicating abig part of his life just to see that this projectmoves in the right direction; that is theproject manager Mr. Vladimir Opačić, heorganizes everything so we can find our way

easily through this wonderful experience, buthe is more than just the manager, he is theone who welcomes every member into thisspecial family, he promotes respect,friendship, tolerance, and most of all heencourages the choir to give its best in everyrehearsal and concert, he is a trueambassador of the World Youth Choirmessage and we could not be more lucky tohave him as our guide.

The last concert was filled with emotionsbecause we realized that it was time to gohome, for some of us this might be the lastconcert with this wonderful choir, meaningthat we might not see each other or singtogether for a long time. We sang for theaudience but most of all, we sang for us, forour friends, for those who were there and forthose who were in our hearts; suddenly thepast weeks seemed to have passed tooquickly, all this experience felt as if it hadhappened in just one short second; thatnight we sang, laughed and cried, for me itwas the best concert, all of these emotionswere printed in the music and, therefore, youwould not be able to listen to anything like itanywhere else.

Nowadays we need a place that remindsus that we can live in peace and join forces toachieve something pure, a place that gives usthe strength to keep preparing ourselves tobe professionals, which is why this choir

must live a long life.This choir made me see myself

differently; it changed the ideas I used tohave about my talents and limits. Beingamong these great people put things inperspective not only in professional terms,but also in a very personal way, to live,explore and manage myself for the rest of mylife. This can only be learned at home, andthis is what it is for me, a second home.

In the end, the World Youth Choir is abig network, not only of top qualitymusicians, but also of amazing humanbeings with extraordinary souls, here you canfind your best friend, soul mate or even yourpartner for life.

The World Your Choir does change yourlife forever!

Betzabé Juárez Vargas (Mexico)World Youth Choir 2009 and 2010. WorldChamber Choir 2009 Anniversary Session.Member of La Capilla Virreinal de la NuevaEspaña conducted by Aurelio Tello, CapellaCervantina conducted by Horacio Franco andthe Chamber Choir of the National School ofMusic (ENM) of the UNAM conducted by Dr.Samuel Pascoe. Studies singing at the ENM.

E-mail: betzasinger@gmail.com •

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Choral Technique

Choral Technique

Researching the Choral ScoreTim Sharp

If you would like to write an article andsubmit it for possible publication in thissection

Please contact Andrea Angelini, ICBManaging Editor

E-mail: aangelini@ifcm.net

The development of the choral program hasalways been of interest and concern to thechoral director, but more and more thedevelopment of the program has become akey factor in audience development as well asin sustaining ensemble interest. Thesystematic development of the choralprogram begins naturally with theidentification of the type of literature desiredfor study and performance. In order tochoose choral literature that will giveconfidence to a developing program orensemble, the following questions first cometo mind:• What is the desired musical period(s) ofthe program?

• Who is the composer of the music?• What is the desired voicing?• Is the piece a major work or smaller inscope?

• What is my long-term plan for thisensemble?

• What are my obligations to theseperformers?

• What are my obligations to ouraudience?After these questions have been

considered, the next set of importantquestions must be considered: • How do I find ideas for this program?• How do I know if the edition underconsideration is reliable?

• Where can I find the best edition?• Where can I find a choral piece writtenon a particular text?

• How can I find a complete listing of acomposer’s works?

• How can I best discern the musicalintentions of the composer?

• How can I find if a work is still in print?These questions reveal what type of

source needs to be consulted.Knowing the best and most appropriate

source and having a research system to

discover good sources enables the conductorto find answers for all of these questions.

Primary and Secondary SourcesSource materials used by the conductor

are approached from two levels: primarysources and secondary sources. Primarysources are original documents, and becausethey are firsthand information, they areconsidered to be most reliable sources ofresearch information. When data is notoriginal to the researcher they becomesecondary sources. Secondary sourcesrepresent varying degrees of likeness toprimary sources. They also vary in degreesof reliability due to the increased level ofremoteness from the original source and thevarious levels of the strength of scholarshipused in the editing of the secondary source.

The distinctions between primary sourcesand secondary sources require that weconsider the following questions before thesearch for the desired edition:• Does the literature sought merit thestudy of the original source?

• If so, is it possible to view the originalmanuscript or a facsimile?

• If not, are scholarly secondary studyeditions available?

• Are reliable editions available for use inperformance?

Understanding the Nature ofSources

Conductors and performers would seemto be working with the most importantsource, the actual musical score. However,all musical sources are not the same. Thescore in the hands of the conductor orperformer is at least one step removed, if notmany steps removed, from the primarysource – the composer’s original manuscript.

The information we know about musiccomes from four principal sources:

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ICB Choral Technique

Researching the Choral Score

Tim SharpExecutive Director of the American

Choral Directors Association andConductor of the Tulsa Oratorio Chorus

1. Documents of record, such as programsor newspaper accounts.

2. Essays and treatises on the theory andpractice of music.

3. Composer biographies or contemporaryaccounts.

4. The musical score itself. Some editions are more accurate than

others. The most correct edition of a score isthe one that most precisely conveys the finalintentions of the composer. FriedrichHänssler, former senior editor of thepublishing firm Hänssler-Verlag of Stuttgart,Germany, states that the ideal edition is onethat, “seeks to accurately present thecomposer’s last wish for the composition”.However, determining the exact intentionsof the composer is not as simple as renderingan exact duplication of the originalmanuscript. Such a rendering would fail toconvey to the modern audience matters suchas the reconciliation of differences induplicate versions of the originalmanuscript, differences in notationalpractice between the time of the originalmanuscript and today, and questionsregarding original performance practice.

For this reason, editions are indeedcritical as we seek to develop a reliable andconfident choral program.

Editorial ProcessEditions are only as good as the

scholarship that led to their publication.The ideal that any editor is working towardis a trustworthy representation of themusical intentions of the composer. If thecomposer is living, the published edition hasthe opportunity to accurately represent thecomposer’s musical intentions and is mostoften accurate. However, even under theseconditions mistakes are made in the printingprocess. These are often corrected in asecond printing, but many original printings

Choral Technique

footnotes, research relative to theunderstanding of the original manuscript.The performer, on the other hand, expectsthe performance edition to render a scorethat is honest to the intentions of thecomposer, yet easily readable in performancesetting. The performance edition does notdistract the performer with possiblyconfusing notation alternatives anddescriptions printed in the musical score.The historical edition is found in either acollected edition that contains a composer’scomplete compositional output, or in ananthology that contains a variety of works ofa similar genre. A facsimile in which theprimary source is reproduced – with orwithout scholarly commentary – isconsidered a category of the collectededition. Collected editions, anthologies, andfacsimiles are usually available in ongoingseries published by musicological societiesand usually found in libraries. Performanceeditions exist separately as independentpublications due to their practical functionas a performance copy for either conductoror performer. They are published in largequantities because of the needs of theperforming ensembles for which they areintended. Performance editions are usuallyfound by searching the catalogs of musicpublishers, by speaking with colleagues, orby contacting a reputable music dealer.

As stated above, the historical editions arebased upon primary and secondary sources.Performance editions may also be basedupon primary or secondary sources, as in thecase of the Urtext edition. Urtext is a termapplied to a modern printed edition of earliermusic in which the aim is to represent aliteral rendering of the original score withouteditorial additions or alteration.

Although it is greatly preferred for editorsto include references to source materials,many performance editions do not indicate

30 of the incorrect score will be available andwidely distributed before a publication isreprinted. If the published score is from asearlier musical period, the editorial process isessential to an accurate publication.Editorial methods vary greatly, and theimportance of the editor in the processcannot be overstressed; the results are crucial.The motivation to publish historical works isto direct the attention of the musicalcommunity to worthy music. Therefore, anyform of simplification that makes the musicimmediately accessible to the greatestnumber of people is desirable. However, inwhatever manner information and notationmay be simplified, the overriding caveat is toconvey accuracy in a final edition. Therefore,the most important editorial marking is theindication that distinguishes between what isoriginal and what has been supplied oramended by the editor. Any informationprovided by the editor is valid, as long as theeditor demonstrates the original musicalmarkings and explains what has happened inregard to the original. The conductor mustbe certain that nothing has been changedfrom the original without some indication inthe score. The use of editorial brackets orparenthesis is the common indicator ofinformation supplied by the editor todistinguish it from original material.

Toward Ideal SourcesThe ideal for every conductor is to have

scholarly scores informed by the originalmanuscript. The opportunity to see theexact musical markings made by thecomposer brings great understanding andconfidence to the research, interpretationand performance process. However, originalscores before 1500s are extremely rare. Thisis true of all early editions and indiminishing levels of rarity as the process ofmusic printing progressed through the

...Researching the Choral Score

centuries. Therefore, conductors, likeresearchers of any music, must depend uponeditions of the original manuscript for studyand performance.

The Search for the Right SourceIn order to begin the search for literature,

the conductor should ask the followingquestions at the outset of every programchoice:1. What kind of literature do I want tostudy or program?

2. What is the best source for the literatureidentified?

3. What process do I follow in order toreview the source identified?In general, the term historical edition may

be applied to any music publication devotedto a past repertoire. The serious investigatorand/or performer is interested ininvestigating scholarly editions, also termedcritical editions. Such published historicaleditions are based upon an editorial processthat involves comparing and contrasting thecomposer’s original manuscript or otherhistorical editions upon the originalmanuscript. The alternative to thehistorical/critical edition is the performanceedition. The performance edition involvesan editorial process, which may – but notnecessarily – use primary or scholarlysecondary sources. The performance editionoften does not footnote or reference itssources, and often incorporates editorialmarkings designed in a modernperformance.

The historical or critical edition and theperformance edition need not be mutuallyexclusive in editorial process, but the factthat they are intended for two differentaudiences usually determines the choicesmade in the editorial process. The scholarexpects the historical or critical edition toindicate, through verbal description and

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ICB Choral Technique

sources. If sources are not referenced, theperformer must either take the responsibilityof comparing the performance edition tocritical source materials, or trust thescholarship of the editor to be true to theoriginal intentions of the composer.

Acquiring SourcesAfter determining the literature type and

the source desired, the final step in theresearch and program development processis to acquire the edition of the musical score.In some instance, more than one source maybe identified. In other instances, the desiredscore may not be available. When beginningthe quest for the source and edition desired,it is important to note the descriptiveelements regarding the composition:1. Title of composition2. Composer and author of text source3. Editor4. Setting

5. Publisher and/or distributor6. Item number7. Copyright date or publication dateIt is the rare and privileged one who has

the opportunity to view original manuscriptsof early music, especially if the music score isa classic, but it is important to know thatsuch works are indeed available and can beviewed. As you would expect, rare andimportant original documents are keptunder lock and key and behind glass or inenvironmentally protected libraries or vaults.These are typically found at the importantresearch libraries, national libraries andnational archives. However, under specialconditions and with ample advance notice,interested researchers can view suchmaterial.

When the viewing of the originaldocument is difficult or impossible, it isquite possible for the researcher to refer to aphotographic facsimile. Manuscripts datingfrom as early as medieval works are available

through facsimile editions. If a facsimile isnot available for the desired score, the studyof a primary source is still possible throughspecially ordered digital or film copies, orthrough microfilm or microfiche copies.Libraries and archives that have acquiredhistorical manuscripts often make theseresources available through copy services.Such formats are relatively inexpensive toacquire and are excellent sources of study.Their availability has made scholarshippossible on a much broader scale, allowingresearchers to command the resources oflibraries around the world.

The next step for study beyond digitaland photographed likeness of the originalscomes through scholarly historical editions.Typically, such editions describe the originalsources on which the modern edition isbased as well as other sources for informationemployed. Information regarding modernscholarly editions has been consistentlychronicled through journals and other

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Choral Technique

...Researching the Choral Score

periodicals dealing with historicalmusicology. Information about the primarysources on which modern editions are basedis best obtained from the editionsthemselves, but this information may needto be amplified by consulting the catalogs ofprinted and manuscript music in a majorresearch library. Indispensible referencebooks, dissertations, catalogs, and onlinesources exist today for locating bothhistorical editions and performance editionsof choral scores. Such reference materials areavailable in libraries with a focus on musicresearch.

Due to the expense involved in preparingand publishing historical editions, librariesare generally the only place historicalcollections are found. Performance editions,on the other hand, are affordable forindividuals interested in collecting andstudying specific compositions. Performanceeditions are published with the intention ofmaking them available to conductors on amass scale for performance. Libraries are lesslikely to shelve individual performingeditions of small compositions. However,major works such as oratorios, cantatas,symphonies, incidental music, concertos,and operas are often found in libraries. Theperformer interested in locating performingeditions of smaller works must contactpublishers, specialized archives and libraries,rental agents, or retail music suppliersdirectly to secure a particular composition.Only the most popular of performingeditions stay in print for extended periods.

References for Finding SourcesThe most thorough and accessible

English-language list of historical editions isfound in a A. H. Heyer’s Historical Sets,collected Editions, and Monuments of Music: AGuide to Their Contents. The most recentedition of Heyer’s monumental work

includes the complete editions of the musicof individual composers and the majorcollections of music that have beenpublished or are in the process ofpublication. Each entry follows the U.S.Library of Congress format and contains thecomposer or compiler of the collection, thetitle, the place of publication, the publisher,the date of publication, the paging ornumber of volumes, and a brief descriptionof illustrative material. After any specialnotes, a listing of the contents is given. Thissource can be found in most music researchlibraries.

Three other English-language works arealso very helpful for identifying historicaleditions:• Historical Musicology, by L. B. Spiess• The list of historical editions publishedin Willi Apel’s Harvard Dictionary ofMusic, under the entry “Editions,historical,”

• “Editions, historical,” in The New GroveDictionary of Music and Musicians,edited by Stanley SadieThe German musical encyclopedia Die

Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart is anotherstandard reference for scholars seekinghistorical editions. Collected editions andtheir contents are listed in this German-language reference under the headingDenkmaler, or monuments. (Appendix E listsother resources for researching credible sources)

Digital technology is being used today forviewing printed editions through imagesdelivered electronically and viewed online.In this process, printed editions are scannedand transferred into digital format. Imagesstored digitally can be viewed on screen orprinted in hard copy. This process is in fullcommercial use with popular performingeditions and with some historical editions.This technology can be used to store a fulllibrary of scholarly and performing editions

to be made available to the widest possibleaudience through the Internet. Lasertechnology allows the transference of morethan eight thousand pages of information toa compact disc. When this process becomescompletely economical for all users, theprinting of editions as we know them maybecome irrelevant.

Elements Contributing to anExcellent Edition

It is entirely possible to edit a historicalmanuscript oneself. In fact, the best way tounderstand the process that contributes to anedition is to work through the various stepsnecessary for producing an accurate historicaledition.

The first step in creating your own editionis to seek out the best sources for the work tobe edited. This step requires securingprimary or secondary sources and assessingthe accuracy and reliability of these sources;it is less difficult if there is only a singlesource for the desired composition. Thesecond step in the process is to compare andtake into account versions deemed reliablefor the desired work. If there are severalsources for the desires composition, theeditor must compare and contrast thesesources, always keeping in mind that theintent is to discover, as best as one can, howcarefully the source mirrors the composer’sfinal intention for the work. The next step inthe editorial process is to consider thenotational devices used in the original work,and then make decisions how best to conveythe original markings into notation that hasmeaning to the modern reader. For earlymusic, this is a particularly difficult task.Even as late as the eighteenth and nineteenthcenturies, notation markings conveyedmeanings that are interpreted differentlytoday. The modern editor must decidewhether to keep the original markings and

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ICB Choral Technique

explain the modern difference forinterpretation in footnotes, or change themarkings to convey modern meaning, againnoting the editorial change by way offootnotes. The fourth step in the editorialprocess is to factor in the performancepractice. The editor must consider how thework was intended to sound during theperiod in which it was written. Whatimplications do these facts have upon amodern performing edition? Composers inearlier times often left some notation orinterpretive markings off their manuscript,leaving some decisions to the performer.This meant that there was a differencebetween how the manuscript looked andhow it actually sounded. For example, in theBaroque period composers used figured bassto indicate the harmony desired for acomposition. The informed keyboard playerknew to render the indicated figured bassinto a correct performance. However, whatdoes the modern editor do with suchmarkings? This is one example of theperformance practice consideration everyhistorical editor must face.

Finally, the editor must decide who theintended audience is for the edition chosen.In other words, is the edition intended to bea performing edition, or is the final work ahistorical/critical edition intended forscholarly study? Or, is the final editionintended to satisfy both performance andscholarly study? The Urtext edition attemptsto convey the original composer’scomposition without editorial markings.Such an edition translates into modernnotation all the notes and details of theoriginal manuscript. At the other extreme isa heavily edited performance edition.Characteristics of the pragmatic performanceedition are exact markings for variousinterpretive characteristics. Such an editionmakes the work immediately available for a

wide group of performers. These twoextremes in types of editions do not need tobe mutually exclusive. If the editor is carefulto clearly indicate editorial additions andinterpretations from what was in the originalmanuscript, an edition can be both ascholarly and performance edition.

Creating your own Choral EditionFollowing the directions outlined below,

create your own researched edition of a workfor study or performance, and considermaking your edition and scholarshipavailable to others. Here are the steps:1. Identify the best primary source orreliable secondary source(s):a. If an original source is available,consult this as a primary source.

b. If more than one original source isavailable (copy, revision, etc.),consult each copy and compare thesources.

c. If reliable secondary sources areavailable, consult and compare allsecondary sources.

2. Take into account all versions deemedreliable for the desired edition:a. The intent is to discover, as best asone can, how carefully the sourcemirrors the composer’s finalintentions for the work.

3. Consider the notation devices usedduring the period of the original work:a. Make editorial decisions on how bestto convey these notes to a modernperformer.

b. Note changes made to the score byway of footnotes and parenthesis.

4. Consider the performance factor for theera the work was composed, andconsider the issue of performance is amodern setting:a. How was the work intended to soundwhen it was originally written?

b. How can the original intentions beconveyed to a modern performer?

c. What did performers know to doduring the era this piece was writtenthat is not indicated in the score(and that modern performers wouldnot necessarily know to do today)?

d. How can such performance practicesbe conveyed to a modern performer?

5. Decide who is the intended audiencefor the edition you are creating:a. Is this a historical edition for studyonly?

b. Is this a performing edition for easeof performance only?

c. Is this a historical/performanceedition, which shows historicaleditorial changes, but in the contextof a practical, performable score?

6. Indicate decisions made in the finaledition:a. Either by footnotes or parenthesis,show what decisions were made thatvaries from the original source.

b. Provide a cover page that indicateseditorial decisions.

ConclusionFor the conductor, the ethics of

conveying the intentions of the composershould weigh heavily in the building of aprogram. The choice of the right choralscore and edition, and confidence in theeditorial practices that went into the creationof that score, are the foundation for thecreation of a confident choral program.

E-mail: sharp@acda.org •

WorldCantonigròs International Music FestivalAndrea Angelini

“Sounds of June” International Choral Competition, Petrinja, CroatiaAndrea Angelini

JuiceBox. from Germany receives the Leipzig A CAPPELLA Award 2010Press Release by Janette Riebeck

10th International China Chorus FestivalAndrea Angelini

What A Wonderful World! Corona Children's Chorus Camp 2010Sanna Valvanne

Festival Youth Choirs in Movement shows cheerful and fun choral musicPress Release by Sonja Greiner

The World Peace Choir Festival 2010 celebrates its FoundationPress Release by Sarah Linder

La Fabbrica Del CantoAnnemarie van der Walt

XXth Choralies A Cœur Joie FestivalJutta Tagger

Choral World News

News

Choral

35

ICB Choral World News

Cantonigròs International Music Festival

Cantonigròs: a delightful village in thePyrenees where the brick-faced housesdisplay bright red geraniums in their windowboxes. Small as it is, the village is well-known, having been for the last twenty-eightyears the venue for a major Music Festival.This event takes place out of doors, trustingthat the July days will always be sunny. TheFestival welcomes Choirs and Dance Groupsfrom all over the world, and every yearprovides stirring moments. This event is notjust a meeting of immensely differingcultures, but also a meeting of people,individual persons who all come away greatlyenriched by this kaleidoscope of sounds andcolours. Catalonia is a proud land: proud ofits history, its traditions, and its language. “Ihave a long-term project in mind” says JosepMaria Busquets, President of the Festival. “Iwant to found a multi-purpose theatre largeenough to accommodate the Festivalaudiences, and adaptable enough to be usedon other occasions as an auditorium forplays, for chamber music, and so on.” Hereat Cantonigròs, the whole world paradesbefore you as you watch and listen,enthralled by the sound of the many choirsand by the energy and vitality of the variousdancers. The musical instruments used andthe colourful costumes combine tocommunicate instantly the spirit of a people.Narendra Kotiyan, President of the Juryresponsible for evaluating the dance groups,remarks with obvious approval: “They aretraditional”, referring to the Città diCanicattì Folk Group from Italy, which wonfirst prize. The days of the Festival are veryfull, enlivened with varied events which areplayed out against the magnificent backdropof the mountains; and in the evening, whenthe concerts are over, the lights of the nearby

Andrea AngeliniICB Managing Editor

villages and the deep silence of the woodskeep you company. Faultless and very highlytrained, the Choir of Santo TomasUniversity, Manila (Philippines) was thewinner in the Mixed Voice Choirs and FolkMusic Choirs classes; well-trained and veryattentive to their conductor the youngmembers of the Hangzhou Aiyue TianshiChoir (China) who took first place in theChildren’s Choirs class. The much-applauded winner of the Female VoiceChoirs class was the Cantilena Choir fromPrague (Czech Republic).

And of course, a visit to nearby Barcelonais a “must”. The innate friendliness and “joiede vivre” of its inhabitants extend a verywarm welcome to visitors to this splendidcity. Among the many highlights of the city,the magnificent fourteenth-centuryCathedral – situated at the heart of theBarrio Gotico – has twenty-eight sidechapels with superb Baroque altarpieces, andthe Sagrada Familia, Gaudì’s unfinishedmasterpiece, is utterly captivating. Thefamous architect’s creation combines simpleplain materials – wood, rough-hewn stone,fragments of brickwork – with meticulously-worked wrought-iron and stained glass.From Cantonigròs, you can also visit the

little town of Cadaqués, somewhat remote atthe end of a bumpy track, where the peacefulatmosphere evokes everywhere the greatartist Salvador Dalì. For information on the Cantonigròs Festival,visit: www.fimc.esE-mail: aangelini@ifcm.net

Translated from the Italian by Gillian ForlivesiHeywood •

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36 best performance of a piece written by aCroatian composer. Out of doors thetemperature dropped considerably with theunexpected arrival of a heavy summer mistbut inside the Auditorium the busy to-ingand fro-ing of people preparing for theirperformance on stage or going to join thevarious groups gathering spontaneously insurrounding rooms, kept the atmospherewarm and welcoming.

Well-deserved applause went to SnežanaPonoš (Croatia) and Marjetka PodgoršekHoržen (Slovenia), recognised as the bestdirectors. Music traverses time, evolving,experimenting, linking closely with a place,touching the emotions, telling of people andevents, dreaming. Composers, likehistorians, may narrate their own times orrange further afield. The first prize in theChoral Composition festival was won byBruno Vlahek (Croatia) for his setting of‘Laudate Dominum’. And speaking ofwriting – writing music, but not only music– we owe to Slavoljub Penkala of Zagreb theinvention of a little gadget destined torevolutionise writing: the fountain pen. Thebrilliant inventor opened the first factory forproducing fountain pens in 1911, andimmediately met with huge success, so muchso that the name Penkala became a synonymfor the pens he produced.

If it is true that environment forgescharacter, apart from one’s personalinclinations, it is equally true of music:many-faceted and widely differing musicalexperiences nevertheless have a commondenominator, intrinsic to the formation ofcharacter. Character may be formedgradually, or it may be a sudden whirlwind,like a gust of the cold, dry ‘bora’ which inthis part of the world has been known toreach 100 km an hour. The ‘bora’ has itspositive side, too, since it clears the air andalso the surface waters of the sea, makingthem clear and transparent.

And last but not least, the local cuisinealso deserves a mention. Croatia is acomposite country, which makes for greatvariety even within a relatively small region:from harsh stony Istria to Slavonia andBarania, where crops abound, to the coastand the riches offered by the sea. In short,there is something for everyone!For further information visit:www.choralcroatia.com

E-mail: aangelini@ifcm.net

Translated from the Italian by Gillian ForlivesiHeywood •

On arrival in the little town of Petrinja, youare welcomed by the all-enveloping scent ofthe ancient lime trees, although the June airis none too warm. The atmosphere, however,is warm and friendly, and made festive by thepresence of so many youth choirs, so manyyoung voices, vivid and dynamic. The“Sounds of June” International ChoralCompetition is taking place here in Petrinja,Croatia, for the third year. Choirs fromZagreb and from a number of other towns inCroatia and neighbouring Slovenia havefollowed one another on the stage in the twoclasses of the competition: Classical ChoralMusic and Choral Folk Music. The richvariety of the music performed reflects therichly varying landscapes of this countryshaped like a boomerang, stretching from theslopes of the Julian Alps in the west to theplain of the ancient region of Pannonia inthe north-east. An attentive andparticipatory audience welcomed thewinners selected by the Jury comprisingBranko Starc (Croatia), President, AndreaAngelini (Italy), and Bojan Pogrmilović(Croatia). The Grand Prix was awarded tothe ‘Dišpet’ ensemble from Zagreb, directedby Jurica Bošković. The same choir,performing the traditional piece ‘Procvalagrana ljiljana’ harmonised by Joško Ćaleta,also won the prize awarded by theAssociation of Croatian Composers for the

Sounds of JuneInternational Choral Competition, Petrinja, Croatia

Andrea AngeliniICB Managing Editor

The Award Ceremony The ‘Dišpet’ ensemble from Zagreb The Petrijna Theatre

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ICB Choral World News

Press Release byJanette Riebeck

More groups than ever had the chance topresent themselves within the 4thInternational A CAPPELLA Contest Leipzig2010 in the crowded Mendelssohn Hall ofthe Gewandhaus Leipzig. During two days ofcompetition, 20th and 21st May, 14 groupscoming from nine European countriesperformed a various and ambitious programon stage. Especially one group couldconvince the jury, headed by SimonCarrington (founder member of the King’sSingers), in all criteria. The six singers ofJuiceBox. from Hanover/Hamburg(Germany) won the Leipzig A CAPPELLAAWARD 2010 and a prize money of 2.000euro. Furthermore the group is invited toperform their own paid prize¬winner’sconcert within the 12th International

Festival of Vocal Music “a cappella” (18th till26th June 2011).

The winner group JuiceBox. had thechance to perform at the closing concert ofthis year’s International Festival of VocalMusic “a cappella” in the Great Hall of theGewandhaus Leipzig. During this concertthe group convinced with their charmingentertainment and their various program, amixture of jazzy melodies and intoxicatingvocal electro pop music, so called “e cappellamusic”, supported by a grooving beatbox,which demands full physical exertion.

Two groups received the second prize anda prize money of 1.000 euro: WortartEnsemble (Germany) and Voicebox(Sweden). The Russian women of Aquarelleachieved the third prize and 500 euro. For

the first time, this year the audience wasallowed to vote for their favourite. It wasWishful Singing from the Netherlands whoreceived the Audience Award and gained 500euro.

The 5th International A CAPPELLAContest Leipzig will take place from 23rd to26th June 2011. Further information aboutthe application will be available in July onthe internet website:www.a-cappella-contest.comE-mail: info@a-cappella-contest.de •

JuiceBox. from Germany Receives the Leipzig A CAPPELLA Award 2010

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10th International China Chorus Festival

Andrea AngeliniICB Managing Editor

It isn’t a secret. There is a country that isworking hard to become a world leader: weare talking about China. This intent toemerge is evident in every sector, also inmusic. The great general desire to come toknow European and other overseas culture,to study it and to leave behind decades ofisolation brought about for geographical,politic and social reasons, is remarkable. InJuly, the 10th China International ChorusFestival was held in Beijing, with a hugenumber of choirs participating. The city ofBeijing is the heart of China: history,culture, language, food and everything elserevolves around it. “Singing becomes a trueinstrument of personal expression that elicitsthe very deepest of human emotions. Then,when singers are put side by side, it has thepotential of generating a unique level ofopenness and honesty. It pulls people

together into a unified one that transcendsgeo-political and cultural boundaries” saysMichael J. Anderson, Interim President ofthe IFCM. And between the many concertsone could enjoy the interesting visit to theForbidden City, a stroll across themagnificent Tiananmen Square, the bustle ofumbrellas to shelter from the heat, the smellof roast duck, the thousands of bicycleseverywhere, the aviaries at the windows. Thechoirs expressed their passion for musicalactivity through good preparation,continuous attention to the conductor andthe commitment of individuals to benefit theentire choir. All this was supported by a trulyefficient organizational staff. A computerand a cup of tea: technology, modernity andrespect for traditions coexisted at any time.They must be safeguarded, as must be the"hutongs" which, with their courtyard

houses, represent the essence of Old Beijing.Many of these bear the names of businessesthat used to operate in the streets: Cotton’sHutong, rice’s, tea leaves’ … “Choral musicis a harmonious chord of wonderful singing,it is the soul associated with grace andbeauty” – these are the words of Zhanng Yu,President of China Art EntertainmentGroup. Dynamism and industriousness arethe salt of an ongoing transformation, in thechoral scene as everywhere else. The ideas aremany and crowd the mind, as do the colorfulkites that intertwine and then float off intothe infinity of the sky.

For more information visithttp://en.cicfbj.cn/

E-mail: aangelini@ifcm.net

Revised by Irene Auerbach, UK •

28 July – 2 August 2010

The Capital Veteran Soldiers Art Troupe

Phot

o: A

ndrea Ang

elini

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What A Wonderful World!

Sanna ValvanneConductor and Music Director of

the Corona Children's Chorus Camp

Nearly hundred children are singing beforeme with their faces shining, eyes glowing andwhole beings fully engaged. People aregathered at the park in front of the QueensMuseum of Art, in New York, to hear thefirst ever Corona Children's Chorus Campperform. Just 2 weeks ago, when the campstarted, most of these children had neversang in a choir before, some had never sungat all. This is the first concert and time everto be on stage for most of them. The skyreally is blue and the sun shining, just like inthe song “What a Wonderful World”, whichthe children are singing from their hearts.

The concert and the camp have been likea miracle and a realized dream. Only half ayear ago, I made the plan for this camp. Myfriend, Alvaro Rodas, asked me to create achoir project of my dreams for children andyouth in Corona. This was the first step inhis El Sistema inspired youth music project,in New York. I had no limitations, sinceeverything had to be created from scratchanyways. It was inspiring to have thisfreedom, and to plan the best kind ofopportunity I could imagine for childrenwho normally don't have it to experience theuplifting and life-changing power of musicmaking.

Corona is a lively, dense and 80%Hispanic neighborhood in Queens, NewYork. Almost half of all the adults therehaven't finished high school, and about 20%live below the line of poverty. No largecommunity music programs oriented to itsyouth exist there. Through creating musiceducation programs with youth choirs andorchestras, Alvaro's goal was to transformand improve the life, not only of the kids,but of the whole area. His model came fromthe Venezuelan Youth Orchestra Movement,also known as El Sistema, lead by Dr. JoséAbreu, which had succeeded to do this for

35 years in Venezuela and other LatinAmerican countries. Originally aprofessional percussionist and artsadministrator from Guatemala, Alvaro wasone of the first 10 people trained last year inthe Abreu Fellowship Program, at the NewEngland Conservatory, in Boston.

I was very familiar with the phenomenalVenezuelan Youth Orchestra and Choirmovement, and happy and honored to bepart of it now through the camp. I knew wellthe Venezuelan Choral Masters, AlbertoGrau and Maria Guinand, and had met Dr.Abreu and Gustavo Dudamel through ErkkiPohjola. I had given workshops in Venezuela.In Guatemala, with Kari Ala-Pöllänen, wehad initiated a children's and youth choirmovement, inspired by the Venezuelans. Ihad witnessed the power singing really has,to change lives and make socialimprovements. The mission was to do it nowin Corona.

My plan was ideally to have about 100kids, ages 9-15, rehearsing for 2 weeks, withenough breaks for playing and eating, as wellas a weekend, and some non-choral activitiesin between. My goals for the camp were thesame as what my creative and holistic choralmethod “Making Music with Body andSoul” is always about: 1. To awaken in the kids the love andenthusiasm for music and singing, bysharing mine with them.

2. To introduce them to songs of differentcultures and styles using movement,imagination, drama, creativity and funexercises in the process.

3. To show them what all they can do withtheir voice, and how fun it is to sing andplay with the voice.

4. To free and open them up, so that theycan express themselves and music freelyand happily with their voice and theirwhole beings.

5. Shining like stars, to share the joy ofsinging and music making witheveryone in a closing concert.Alvaro really worked hard to make the

impossible possible. The first CoronaChildren's Chorus Camp successfully tookplace in Corona, Queens, New York, 9-21August, 2010! All of what I had planned,and much more happened. Approximately100 singers, ages 6-16, stayed through thewhole camp. We had as many boys as girls.In the 10 days with them miracles tookplace. First, many of the participants werevery insecure, shy, and nervous, and I couldhardly hear their voices. But each day,moment by moment, these beautiful andtotally inexperienced young people openedup, giving their attention, voices, and beingsto the music and singing, more and more.They learned 12 songs in 13 differentlanguages from around the world, withdifferent styles, sounds, movement,harmonies, solos, in accapella, and somewith different instruments. They learnedeverything by heart and all by ear.

In such a short time these kids becameshining performers and brave soloists singingin front of audiences not only at the finalconcert. Because the project drew incredibleamounts of attention from the media, thechoir ended up also performing at a live TV-Show, to New York City Mayor MichaelBloomberg at an impromptu streetperformance, and to numerous newspaperand radio reporters.

The singers truly became a team, a realchoir, and one voice. They learned,developed, practiced, and worked so hard inthe middle of the summer heat without evenany air conditioning or chairs. They didn'thave any previous knowledge of what a choiris, sounds like, how a rehearsal is, how onebehaves at a performance, what musicalterms mean, what singing in tune or out of

Corona Children's Chorus Camp 2010

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o: Tero Pa

juka

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ICB Choral World News

41tune means, or about dynamics, silentbreathing, making the music and the voiceflow, etc...Everything had to be taught andshown from the scratch. All my experience,method, techniques, tricks, imagination,creativity, patience and faith were put in totest and real use. And they did learn!! Eventhough I knew children are capable ofanything, I still was mind-blown how it allwas possible.

Without the fantastic team of 8 musicteachers it would not have been possible.They participated in the choir, receivedtraining from me, assisted and managed thecoordination of the camp, took care of thekids, and enabled the camp to run smoothly.They made it possible for me to attend to thesingers also individually. I think why the kidsbecame so engaged in the choir, was partlybecause during the camp I decided to listento them all individually and give voiceinstruction. Just for a few minutes each, butit did the magic. Most of them had no ideauntil then how good they sounded, and thatthey actually could sing.

Taking the time to talk with some of themore troubled kids individually I found outhow I needed to explain to everybody thateach voice mattered, each one of them wasequally important to the choir, and to be achoir we needed all of them. Just like in asoccer team. Just like in life. And not to giveup. That to become really great insomething, one had to work hard, even whenit didn't feel fun. It would be worth it andbear great fruit. They needed to hear all this,and that they had all it takes to becomegreat. And they became so great! At the finalconcert they remembered everything I hadtaught and gave their ultimate best. Withoutany previous experience, and in-spite of allthe challenges an outdoors concert brings toeven experienced performers, they sangbetter than ever before! I even had 24 soloists

from the choir singing fearlessly bythemselves to a microphone at the concert,sounding fantastic.

After the concert one mother expressedher gratitude for the kids receiving thischance, in a loving environment, to opentheir hearts and connect to their feelings.Thanks to the healing effect of the camp, shesaid her daughter had for the first been ableto cry and express the pain of the parents'divorce. All the parents wanted the choir tocontinue. It should, and the rest of Alvaro'sMusic Project should come true too. Just likein Finland and Venezuela, where high qualitymusic education programs have been madeavailable for everyone regardless of theirfinancial or social status, nothing shouldstop these kids here in the USA, oranywhere, from receiving theseopportunities. I am forever grateful andmoved by the generosity of Freddie andMyrna Gershon, who donated almost all of

the money for the camp. They made itcompletely free for the kids, gave us hope forthe future, and showed us that it is possible!

The effects of the camp weretransforming to all of us. Mayra, a little girlat the camp, gave me a beautiful drawing shehad made. She had created an image of us,the camp and our theme song “What AWonderful World”. There were hearts,flowers, rainbow, sunshine, and treesflowing out from a brown brick building,exactly like the Louis Armstrong RecreationCenter/ELMCOR where we rehearsed. Itrevealed to me the most important lesson ofthe camp: The circumstances don't have tobe perfect, but we can create a wonderfulworld with our music, love and play. Wehave that power. Music has that power. Andthat's what we did at the Corona Children'sChorus Camp. We created a wonderfulworld inside and outside us. The kids, theirshining faces, pure hearts, innocent spirits,bright voices, the songs, games and makingmusic together generate so much joy, loveand beauty, revealing the wonder ineverything. What a Wonderful Worldindeed!

Sanna Valvanne is an innovative conductor,originally from Finland. She is recognizedworldwide for her creative and holistic choralmethod: “Making Music with Body and Soul”,which combines vocal expression withmovement and drama. She is a former singer,assistant and vocal trainer of the world famousTapiola Choir, with a Masters Degree in Musicfrom the Sibelius Academy. Sanna lives in theUSA and is a popular clinician, guestconductor and performer with choirs aroundthe world.

Email: info@sannavalvanne.com •

Singers with Sanna & Alvaro after concert

Phot

o: Sergio R. Rey

es

Bonn, 11.7.2010 – On July 10th the festival“Youth Choirs in Movement” ended withtwo colourful, very diverse concerts. TheBrückenforum in Bonn was filled twice onSaturday; there were more than 1.000 peoplein both final concerts, participants and localaudience who had ventured to the placedespite extreme heat. On stage mixed atelierswith up to 150 singers presented choralmusic of all kinds. The programme wentfrom meditative improvisation with musicfrom Wolfram Buchenberg, to GermanFolksongs presented in a humoristic way,Indian songs from North-America, thefamous Japanese “Sakura” and even pop androck for choirs. “I would never have believedthat a choir concert can be so much fun” wasthe comment of one of the young people inthe audience after the concert – he wasprobably especially fascinated by thepresentation of the atelier “Sing & Swing”which presented pop songs in a kind of Live-Disco with coloured lights, combo soundsand break dance. The audience jumped up,clapped and danced even during the last songof the festival, the first performance ofHarold Lenselink’s Song “Today”.

On July 7th about 500 young singers hadarrived in Bonn, coming from different partsof Germany, Belgium, Bulgaria, Estonia,Greece, Iceland, Israel, Russia, Spain,Switzerland and even Hong Kong – China.They mostly stayed in families with choirsfrom Bonn and the surrounding regionwhich also participated with around 500people. Europa Cantat President SanteFornasier and the Lord Mayor of BonnJürgen Nimptsch, patron of the event,opened the festival together in the frame of awelcoming concert in which three choirssang in representation of all participants – alocal choir from Bonn and the choirs fromIceland and Hong Kong. In order to bring

the singers together, prepare the commonsinging in the workshops the following daysand introduce the subject of the festival“choirs in movement”, Hans Cassa andPanda van Proosdij from the Netherlandsimprovised a sung chocolate recipe with theaudience between two choirs.

On Thursday 20 choirs presentedthemselves in 2 hours so that all participantscould listen to each other. The concertshowed a vast variety of types of choirs, stylesand ages. There were choirs with six to sevenyear olds, girls’ choirs, mixed youth choirsand even a pure boys’ choir with young boysand young men from Estonia. Sometimesthere were only 9 singers on stage, sometimesthere were over 50, some sang folk songs orcontemporary music from their country,others chose pop songs or spirituals, andalmost all of them moved in some way.

On Friday the choirs were distributed inhalls and churches all over town and in the

surrounding region, with two or three choirsper concert singing for each other and for theaudience and in some cases even singingsome songs together.

Choral conductors had a very specialadditional offer – the renowned conductorand educationalist Zimfira Poloz fromKazakhstan, living in Canada, showed in anopen rehearsal with the Schedrik Choir fromGermany, with which methods she improvesthe vocal work of the children, how shemanages to produce a specific sound or howit is possible to create different moods in aconcert.

The festival ended with the highlights,the two atelier concerts on Saturday. Thesingers of the festival had worked for threemornings in internationally mixedworkshops conducted by renownedconductors and had learned new songs andwith movements. They learned everything byheart, with texts in German and English,

42

Choral World News

Press release bySonja Greiner

Europa Cantat Secretary General

Festival Youth Choirs in Movement Shows Cheerful and Fun Choral Music

Participants of workshop 3 "Musical Journey aorund the World" dir. Sanna Valvanne, FinlandFinal concert 10 July

Phot

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ICB Choral World News

on stage together with the team to form a“choir of conductors” performing “You’vegot a friend” with Kjetil Aamann at thepiano – and showing that they can not onlyconduct and organise but also sing.

At the very end, after the presentation of„Disco Survives“ and „September“ whichbrought a fantastic atmosphere to theconcert hall, several choirs performed thesong „Today“ together, a commissionedworked composed by Harold Lenselink fromthe Netherlands. The text “Today I amrejoicing till the air is full of song, and todaymy feet are dancing, I am swinging all daylong” fit the motto of the festival perfectlyand the audience left the hall singing and fullof swing.

„It was a wonderful festival“, „Theatmosphere was fantastic“, „We learned somuch“, „Bonn is a great city“, „It was veryinteresting to sing with choirs from othercountries“, „The concerts were so much fun“

– these and other comments could be heardafter the concert while the participants hadfood and drinks before they had to sayfarewell. A conductor from Bonn saidenthusiastically that participating in thefestival was like an intense conductorstraining on the highest level – and all that forfree and at home. And many asked “Whenwill the next festival of this type take place?”

Further information onwww.EuropaCantat.orgEuropa Cantat, Haus der Kultur,Weberstr. 59a, DE-53113 BonnTel: +49 228 9125663

E-mail: info@EuropaCantat.org •

Estonian or Japanese and practiced allmovements including getting on and offstage. The result of the work was presentedto the other participants of the festival andthe Bonn audience on Saturday. In the firstconcert it was mostly the younger singersperforming – they sang songs like “Prinz Ali”or the “Monkey Song” as well as “Singin’ inthe Rain” and the German Folk Song “Wennder Pott aber nun ein Loch hat” but also“Silere et Audire” by Wolfram Buchenbergwhich Yoshi Mathias Kinoshita(Japan/Germany) started with animprovisation. The audience was noisy,nothing seemed to be happening on stageafter the previous workshop had left – thensuddenly small groups of 5 singers sitting allover the hall in the audience started talkingin different languages and shouting things toeach other, as if they were undisciplinedlisteners.

The second concert started with manychoirs singing the „Bonn children’s hymn“together, a song which the Lord Mayor ofBonn Jürgen Nimptsch had initiated whenhe was still director of a school. The Chorus(“Let us all be one big fam’ly, joined togetherhere in Bonn”) was sung by everybodyforming a huge choir with 1,000 voices.Pavel Brochin, Artistic Director of thefestival, thanked the atelier conductors fortheir impressive work over the three days;Sonja Greiner, Secretary General of EuropaCantat thanked the subsidizers and sponsors,the families which had hosted children andyoung people from abroad for four days, andthe small team which had made sure that theorganisation behind the stage went well.

The young singers in the audience weredelighted when shortly before the end theiratelier conductors and choir conductors went

Participants of Workshop "S(w)inging Boys" demonstrate under the direction of Hirvo Surva, Estonia, thateven for boys, singing can be fun and cool and that boys can also perform like real males. 10 July 2010

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The first World Peace Choir Festival forchildren’s and youth choirs was staged inVienna from 3-6 August. The choirs takingpart in the hour of birth of the festival werethe DO-RE-MI Children’s Singing Studiofrom Telfs in the Tyrole, the PraguePhilharmonic Children’s Choir, the PielachValley Children’s Choir, the Vienna Boys’Choir, members of the Calgary Boys’ Choirfrom Canada, and seven choirs from thedistant Chinese venues of Beijing, Sechuan,Guiyang, Jilin, Xi’an and Hefei.

Without exception the performances tookplace in renowned Viennese institutions aswell as in the surrounding area. The GreatHall of Vienna University, the UN City, thestage at the Town Hall, the RabensteinCultural Centre, the Great Hall inFrankenfels as well as the Vienna ConcertHouse transformed themselves into stages onwhich intercultural encounters took place,and on which the young singers displayedtheir talents.

Alongside songs typical for their countrieswhich were offered by the individual choirsduring the concerts, shared repertoire wassung by all choirs under the baton of GeraldWirth, the musical director of the ViennaBoys’ Choir. The audience was enchanted bythe variety put on show by the choirs, theriches of songs, as well as by the folkcostumes presented during the performances.During musical workshops on Israeli, LatinAmerican and Austrian music, the youngsingers extended their musical as well as theircultural horizons with much amazement andfascination. Within the framework of theevening programme, successful concertperformances were celebrated and newfriendships initiated which span the world.

During the festival, the artistic committeeunder the leadership of Gerald Wirthselected particularly gifted singers fromamong all the choirs taking part in thefestival, for the World Peace Choir. At theconcert in the Vienna Concert House theWorld Peace Choir celebrated its first

appearance and will now, in the coming yearsand using Vienna as a base, travel into theworld to give concerts. The first concerttour will probably take the young singers ofthe World Peace Choir to China, in 2011.

The second World Peace Choir Festivalwill take place in Vienna from 25-28 July2011. Next year further singers will beaccepted into the activities of the WorldPeace Choir.

Choirs that are interested in joining uscan gain information about the World PeaceChoir Festival 2011, and register for it, atwww.wpcf.at as well as at info@wpcf.at.

Translated from the German by IreneAuerbach, UK •

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Choral World News

Press Release bySarah Linder

Austria

The World Peace Choir Festival 2010Celebrates its Foundation

Final song with all the choirs

Phot

os: W

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ce C

hoir Fe

stival

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Choral World News

46

La Fabbrica del Canto

Theodora PavlovitchIFCM Executive Committee Member

Old and new music, traditional andmodern genres, a new view on the diversityof choral culture of our time – this is whatthe Festival “La Fabbrica Del Canto” bringsto the international choral stage. To find thebasis of its concept, we should have a look atthe history of the event. In 1992 the ChoralAssociation Jubilate based in Legnano (Italy)founded this festival with the general idea ofoffering a platform to the most innovativechoirs, and of presenting different musicalcultures. The competitive spirit, so typicalfor many events, has acquired an unusualdimension here. The choirs and ensemblesgladly sing next to each other and exchangetheir musical experience, the conductorsdiscuss and explore new ideas instead ofcompeting for awards.

The name “La Fabbrica del Canto” (whichcould be roughly translated as “MelodyFactory”), cuts the ties with all-too bindingterritorial references and describes in asynthetic and effective way the nature of theevent. The term “Factory”, apart fromreflecting the creativity and the commitmentthat are specific to any form of art, combinestradition with modernity, referring at thesame time to past environments like“laboratory”, “atelier”, “workshop”, andtouching upon a social dimension which isboth contemporary and familiar to the localpopulation. In this way a territorial referenceis maintained and at the same time a traitthat is peculiar to choral singing isunderlined, namely the rootedness of itscontemporary results in a centuries-longtradition.

This description gives us a sign about thegeneral concept of the event. The idea ofcultural diversity is the foundation on which“La Fabbrica del Canto” has been built.Discovering the richness of contemporarychoral art is what makes the event so colorfuland dynamic. Here even the mostknowledgeable people will be surprised bysomething new and unknown. FromMedieval and early Renaissance music tomost attractive new genres – all epochs,different fields and styles of singing can befound in the programme of the event.

And most importantly: apart from itscultural aspect, the festival is also developingthe idea of uniting music and solidarity. Thisyear “La Fabbrica del Canto” has donated anamount of 13.000 Euro to the EducationalCentre San Maximilian in Dar Es Salaam,Tanzania for its educational programmes.

Over the nineteen years of its existence“La Fabbrica del Canto” has welcomed 86leading choirs and ensembles from Europe,Africa, Asia and America. Their names listedin the festival’s booklet give a clear indicationof the high quality of the event.

Participants in this year’s edition of “LaFabbrica del Canto” were choirs andensembles from eight different countries onfour continents. Africa was represented bythe Nelson Mandela Metropolitan UniversityChoir conducted by Junita Van Dijk. TheTokyo Ladies Consort Sayaka conducted byKo Matsushita brought the spirit of Japan.Coro da Camera Coralina and theirconductor Alina Orraca (well known to thefestival’s audience from their participationlast year) again supplied a wonderfulexposition of Latin American music inparallel with European developments.Europe itself was represented by fivedifferent choirs and ensembles: the EllerheinChoir from Estonia (cond. Tiia Ester

Loitme), Mikrokosmos from France (cond.Loic Pierre), SPD Jedinstvo, a mixed choirfrom Bosnia Herzegovina (cond. NemanjaSavic) and, last but not least, two famousvocal ensembles: Talla from Finland andVocaldente from Germany.

More than 50 concerts in different townsin Northern Italy over the period 3 June– 1July, two Choral Marathon Days in Milano(12–13 June) – these in brief are the statisticsof the festival’s programme. At the end ofthe event the host choir Jubilate performedVespro della Beata Vergine by ClaudioMonteverdi in Legnano, Brescia andCaravaggio. Their partners in theperformances were the soloists from SingerPur vocal ensemble and GruppoInstrumentale Jubilate under the baton ofPaolo Alli, the founder conductor of Jubilatechoir.

An amazing choral feast with valuablemusic and a large perspective – this is “LaFabbrica del Canto”. The vision of Paolo Alliand the Jubilate Choir Association will bringus to the future editions of the festival andwill make their dream, a big choral eventwithin the framework of EXPO–2015 inMilano, come true.

Avanti, cari amici!

E-mail: theodora@techno-link.com •

47

ICB Choral World News

XXth Choralies A Cœur Joie Festival

Jutta TaggerFormer Managing Editor, ICB

“A Festival - A Passion”The emotion is always intense when one

enters the magnificent Roman Theatre ofVaison la Romaine in Provence. As always,the evening starts with Open Singing andthen continues with a choral concert, acappella or with orchestra and soloists, oreven creative staging, performed by hundredsof choralists or a small vocal group.

This twentieth festival with its up to6,000 music lovers who came to learn, singand listen to beautiful choral music of allorigins, traditions, styles and epochs, met thehighest expectations.

Since its beginnings, in 1953, the festivalhas been open to the world through itsmusic, participants and conductors. And theSongbook is witness to this multiculturalspirit.

The programme included workshops ofeight, five or three days’ length (the latter,called “discovery workshops” did notculminate in a concert). There were also one-day workshops (“One conductor, one day”)and more. There was something on offer forevery taste and age.

In addition to the big special concerts atthe Roman Theatre (cf. special box),numerous musical activities and concertstook place every afternoon, in the cathedral,in churches, gyms and tents, presented bythe workshops, the A Coeur Joie regions andindividual choirs. There were also placeswhere one could meet for a drink or adiscussion, e.g. the “Conductors’ Forum” orthe “Carré Jeunes” (Meeting Point for YoungSingers), or listen to conferences, sing, etc.Musical activities also took place in publicplaces; the traditional parade, the theme ofwhich this time was “The Seasons” is alsoworth mentioning. On one evening thechoirs went out of Vaison to give concerts inthe surrounding area.

A novelty: Open Singing, under thecapable and joyful direction of NéstorZadoff from Argentina, and the breaksbetween the different parts of a concert werefilled with short musical sketches by a veryfunny vocal trio from the city of Lyons,called Triplex. There was no time to get

bored between the different parts of anevening.

The Choralies have always presented afirst performance of a work written by aFrench composer for the occasion. This year,the composer was Patrick Burgan; his work,called Figures, on a poem by Pierre Caumeil,

Vaison la Romaine, France, 2-10 August 2010

XXth Choralies festival 2010 - Evening Concerts at the Roman TheatreOpening concert • Calliope women’s choir (France, cond. Régine Théodoresco)• Ensemble Sequenza 9.3 (France, cond. Catherine Simonpietri)• Schola Juvenil de Venezuela (cond. Luimar Arismendi & Ana Maria Raga)Offenbach Follies• Solistes de Lyon (France, cond. Bernard Tétu), and Percussions Claviers de Lyon (France,cond. Gérard Lecointe, France),

Soirée 20! (20th anniversary concert)• Tenebrae vocal ensemble (U.K.; cond. Nigel Short)• French Youth Choir (France; cond. Fred Sjöberg, Sweden)• Fusion youth choir (cond. Mick Wagner)Rhythm and Songs• Percussions Claviers de Lyon (France)• Witloof Bay vocal quintet (Belgium)• Voces8 vocal group(U.K.)“Dogora” by Etienne Perruchon (France)• Workshop concert (cond.Vincent Coiffet) with the Orchestre Symphonique des Alpes(France) and the Vaison-Ventoux children’s choir (France; cond. Martial Renard,France)

Vocal Jazz• The Real Group (Sweden)From Earth to Heaven• Robert Ray: Gospel Mass (workshop) and Jazz Trio, cond. by the composer (USA)• Faust (workshop “Between Heaven and Earth” and the Orchestre Symphonique desAlpes, France; cond. René Falquet, Switzerland)

Closing concert• Nils Lindberg: Requiem (workshop and Usine à Gaz big band (France), cond. FredSjöberg, Sweden

• Handel: Saul, extracts (workshop, cond. Mark Shapiro, USA)• Beethoven: Fantasy for soloists, choir, piano and orchestra op. 80 (soloist: NathanaëlGouin-Mossé, France, and the Orchestre Symphonique des Alpes; cond. MartialRenard, France)

Open Singing: Néstor Zadoff, Argentina

is a beautiful piece and was performed by agroup of singers from the Rhône regionunder the direction of Christine Morel, withthe composer present. Mr. Burgan alsoparticipated in a panel discussion“Composing today for Amateur Choir”.Aspects dealt with included writing,distribution and reproduction of the piece,the “specification sheet” for the commission,the importance of the text, et al.

This twentieth Choralies festival alsoprovided an opportunity to present anexhibition about the life of the festival since1953 in the cathedral cloister, together witha souvenir booklet.

The Choralies festival requires the help ofmore than 400 volunteers. They had comefrom France or elsewhere. Without them andthe assistance of the technical services of thecity, it would be impossible to organise suchan event every three years in a small placelike Vaison, without adequate infrastructure(except for the Roman Theatre). Everythinghas to be reinvented, recreated every time inorder to welcome thousands of singers ingood conditions (lodging, food, rehearsaland concerts venues, stage control,communications systems …). All of this isdone with a big smile!

Again, the festival in this “EuropeanChoral City” was an exceptional event;beautiful and full of human warmth.

Thank you to all who contributed to thissuccess!E-mail: jutta.tagger@wanadoo.fr •

Choral World News

48

Public performance of the Atelier 1 "Poésie des musiques baltes et nordiques", conducted by Aarne Saluveer

Schola Cantorum de Caracas

...XXth Choralies A Coeur Joie Festival

"Sequenza 9.3" conducted by Catherine Simonpietri

All Ph

otos

: Dolf Ra

bus

Audience in the Roman Theatre

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49

Let’s Talk Method: PlacementCristian Grases

World of Children’s & Youth Choirs

Children’sand Youth

World of

Choirs

If you would like to write an article andsubmit it for possible publication in thissection

Please contact Cristian Grases, Editor

E-mail: cgrases@gmail.com

Cat-song expressions, Corona Children's Chorus Camp 2010 (photo: Sergio R. Reyes)

In this new installment of Let’s Talk Method Iwould like to explore an important and oftendownplayed aspect of our profession:placement. The strategies and techniques toplace our singers have repeatedly proven tobe one of the most important logisticaldecisions a conductor must make. Everyensemble has different needs according totheir rehearsing and concert venues, theirsize, their technical abilities, their repertoire,and also their conductor’s preferences.However, here are some general ideas thatmight help in the decisions making processof our extensive community of conductorsworldwide.

Some ensembles are able to select theirmembers based on an audition process andother ensembles accept any and all singersthat approach them with the interest andpassion for choral singing. Regardless of thisfact, every conductor should take the time tohear each member individually and try tofind the most appropriate combination ofsingers within the space. For each choristerthe conductor should pay attention to a widearray of qualities in the voice (such as depth,brightness, power, breathiness, vibrato,among many others), intonation abilities,tonal memory, and without this being theleast important, behavior and personalitytraits. This poses a tremendously complexmatrix of variables that frequently leads tono perfect solution.

Weston Noble is the Johnson ProfessorEmeritus of Music at Luther College inDecorah, Iowa. He has an extensive career insuccessful performing, especially with LutherCollege’s Nordic Choir. One of his mostcelebrated traits in choral performances isthe tone quality he is able to achieve with hisensembles. He expresses that one of thedecisions that helps to attain a better qualityin the ensemble is the placement of thesingers. Steven Demorest collected ten of

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ICB World of Children’s and Youth Choirs

Cristian GrasesIFCM Board Member

Let’s Talk MethodPlacement

Noble’s lectures in a monograph entitledCreating the Special World published by GIAPublications. The fifth lecture collected inthis work talks about auditions andplacement. Here, Noble describes his voiceplacement procedure:“What ingredients determine blend betweensingers and the choir in totality? One mustconsider tone color, vibrato, pitch, physicalheight, size of tone, and rhythm. To evaluatethe presence or absence of these factors thefollowing general guidelines might be used.• Find two people who have a natural vocalblend and have them sing together. Thesevoices are your model pair.

• Having established a model pair, bring athird individual. This singer sings first tothe left and then to the right of the firstsinger. Each time only the first and thirdsingers are performing. The same process isrepeated with the second singer. Thisperson may become the new first singer, beplaced between the model pair, be the newthird singer, or none of the above.

• When you have the best spot, have all threesing together and then bring in a fourthindividual and go through the sameprocedure. Ideally, each singer shouldblend with both the person on the rightand the left—not just one individual.

• After the entire section has been placed inorder, you might try flip-flopping them ina mirror image and hearing the entiresection just to check the blend both ways.Sometimes the result is surprising!”

When applying this procedure, I havefound that darker voices tend to unify betterand faster with brighter voices. So in the endI tend to organize each section with asuccession of voices that looks like this: dark--bright--dark--bright--dark--bright--dark--bright--dark

In many occasions a section cannot beplaced as one single line. When splitting the

line in two, the same alternation tends tofoster a good unification of the voices. Itcould look something like this:dark--bright--dark--bright--dark--bright--dark

bright--dark--bright--dark--bright--dark--bright

A conductor might want to choose asimilar alternating pattern when placing thesingers based on other important traits suchas size and power of the voice, size and speedof vibrato, intonation abilities, music readingand solfege abilities, behavior andpersonality features, or simply based onexperience. By alternating choristers basedon their individual characteristics aconductor can create the ideal conditions forall singers to excel in their educationalprocess and musical achievements, at thesame time that he might be fostering an idealunification of the voices resulting in asuccessful choral result.

Now that every section has beenorganized, the conductor must think ofplacing the sections to build the resultingensemble. Much has been written about thisand many publications offer alternative“maps” for building the ensemble. Here aresome general ideas:

For treble voices• Consider placing the Soprano 1 and thepiano on the same side to improveoverall intonation:

Piano (usually placed to the left of theconductor so the lid can open to theaudience)• Consider placing the Altos between bothSoprano sections to improve intonation(top and bottom notes of chords willthen be together):

Soprano 1 Soprano 2 Alto

Soprano 1 Alto Soprano 2

World of Children’s & Youth Choirs

52 (and even switching between severalformations), and then break the structuresand perform in a free-standing formation oreven moving during the performance.

These ideas on placement might helpcreate practical solutions for certainensembles, might encourage someconductors to explore new boundariesoutside established traditions, or may justsimply spark creative designs for innovativeconcert productions. In any which case, it isimportant to keep in mind that placement isanother tool that conductors have toimprove the quality of their ensembles,understanding the core principle thatdecisions that consider placement mustcontribute to the musical process and mustnot be taken capriciously, in which casecould hinder the overall success of themusical enterprise.

Cristian Grases obtained his Masters Degreein Choral Conducting under Alberto Grau andMaría Guinand in Caracas, Venezuela; andhis Doctorate in Choral Conducting at theUniversity of Miami. He is an award-winningcomposer active as a guest conductor, clinician,adjudicator and pedagogue in North and SouthAmerica, Europe, and Asia. He is a BoardMember for IFCM and a member of theInternational Artistic Committee forSongbridge. He is currently an assistantprofessor at the University of SouthernCalifornia in Los Angeles, USA.

E-mail: cgrases@gmail.com •

...Let’s Talk Method

• Consider placing the Soprano 1 in themiddle to improve balance andunification throughout the ensemble:

For mixed voices:• Consider placing the Soprano sectionand the piano on the same side toimprove overall intonation:

Piano (usually placed to the left of theconductor so the lid can open to theaudience)• Consider placing the Bass section behindthe Soprano section to improveintonation (top and bottom notes ofchords are together):

• Consider blocks instead of lines:

• Consider placing the Soprano and Basssections together and in the middle toimprove intonation and balance:

• All these 4-part mixed-voice structurescan be split to create 8-part structures.The two ways of splitting that are mostused are shown below and can beapplied to any of the structures shownabove:

Split by lines:

Split by blocks:

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

Soprano 2 Soprano 1 Alto

Tenor BassSoprano Alto

Bass TenorSoprano Alto

Soprano Alto Tenor Bass

Alto Soprano Bass Tenor

Tenor 2 BassTenor 1 BaritoneSoprano 2 Alto 2Soprano 1 Alto 1

Tenor 1 Tenor 2 Baritone BassSoprano 1 Soprano 2 Alto 1 Alto 2

Mixed formations:• Consider mixing each section only:

• Consider mixing each side of the choirindependently:

or

• Consider mixing the entire ensemble:

or

Or any combination of all of the above.

Nowadays there is a strong tendency inmany ensembles to not have fixed formationsand to use the entire stage, and even theaisles in the audience, to create completemusical productions that combine singing,dancing, movement, and lighting. In thesecases the possibilities for placement areinfinite and are intimately related to theconcept of the show and the repertoireselected. This is just another possibilityconductors have to create a unique musicalexperience with their ensembles. In otherwords, choirs could choose to perform aportion of the concert with traditionalformations such as the ones described above

T1 T2 T1 T2 T1 T2 T1 T2 B1 B2 B1 B2 B1 B2 B1 B2T2 T1 T2 T1 T2 T1 T2 T1 B2 B1 B2 B1 B2 B1 B2 B1

S1 S2 S1 S2 S1 S2 S1 S2 A1 A2 A1 A2 A1 A2 A1 A2

S2 S1 S2 S1 S2 S1 S2 S1 A2 A1 A2 A1 A2 A1 A2 A1

T1 T2 T1 T2 T1 T2 T1 T2 B1 B2 B1 B2 B1 B2 B1 B2S1 S2 S1 S2 S1 S2 S1 S2 A1 A2 A1 A2 A1 A2 A1 A2

T2 T1 T2 T1 T2 T1 T2 T1 B2 B1 B2 B1 B2 B1 B2 B2

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Composers’ Corner

Composers’ Corner

The Contenance Angloise – Part OneGraham Lack

If you would like to write an article andsubmit it for possible publication in thissection

Please contact Cara S. Tasher, Editor

E-mail: cara.tasher@unf.edu

AbstractThe ‘contenance angloise’ is the period in English music between

1420 and 1500 still prized for an emergent, fluid polyphony andovert, systematic consonance. Vocal writing is distinguished by amore suave sound than that of the earlier music of the Middle Ages, aresult of a new and liberal attitude to intervals previously classed asdissonances, most importantly the major third. Discussed below arethe emergence of proto-tonality in English music of the 15th century,the ‘Golden Age’ of English music in the 16th century, the ‘SecondRenaissance’ of Vaughan Williams and his followers in the early 20thcentury, and finally the development and adoption of distinctlymadrigalian and new liturgical styles by English composers in the late20th and early 21st century.

The attitudes of early music theorists toconsonance and dissonance

Music theorists in the ancient world considered only the perfectintervals as consonant, the unison, fourth, fifth and octave. All otherintervals were considered dissonant, a foreign notion to our earstoday. Remarkably, this theory continued to be used in the MiddleAges, during which these ‘perfect’ intervals were given religioussignificance. Perfection was connected with the godhead; thus, allother intervals were somehow ‘imperfect’, i.e. tainted in somemanner. There arose early on a concept of the consonant and thedissonant, which is why the major third and major sixth (minorintervals were yet not part of this theoretical construct) were treatedas dissonances. It also explains why early polyphony, or ‘organum’,moved exclusively in parallel octaves, fourths and fifths. Today ofcourse, thirds and sixths are ‘our’ most consonant intervals.

In Pythagorean theory, consonant intervals display simple numberratios. The original Pythagoreans were active in the 5th Century BCand restricted these ratios to simple ones using only the integers 1, 2,3 and 4. The octave is, for example, 2:1, and the perfect fifth 4:3.Intervals involving integers greater than 4 were treated as dissonant.The major third was rendered 5:4, and the minor third, 6:5. Laterauthors such as Gioseffo Zarlino (1517-1590) expanded the ratios inworks such as Le istitutioni harmoniche (1558), Dimostrationiharmoniche (1571) and Sopplimenti musicali (1588), and thus allowednew consonant intervals, to include the integers up to 6, embracingtheir inversions, too. All other intervals remained dissonant in hisintervallic theory. Of equal significance is Zarlino’s concept ofintervallic resolution, whereby not only the interval itself wasconsidered consonant or dissonant, but its tendency to resolveupwards or downwards to another interval was awarded similar

55

Graham Lack

ICB Composers’ Corner

credence within a harmonic system of what by now had becomeproto-tonality. Later authors such as Hermann von Helmholtz(1821-1894) developed a theory of intervals based on the harmonicseries and drew up a ‘beat theory’ (see Die Lehre von denTonempfindungen als physiologische Grundlage für die Theorie derMusik, 1877, translated by Alexander John Ellis as On the sensationsof tone as a physiological basis for the theory of music, reprinted byDover, 1954). Here, consonant intervals lack perceptible beats,meaning that an exactly-tuned octave or fifth will not audibly beat.Carl Stumpf (1848-1936) offered a convincing refutation of thistheory in 1898 with his own ‘fusion theory’, which makes forays intowhat was a new field of psycho-acoustics (see his ‘Konsonanz undDissonanz’ in Beiträge zur Akustik und Musikwissenschaft, Vol. 1,1883-1890).

Origin of the term ‘contenance angloise’ and a‘new art’ in the 15th Century

In the 15th century English composers dominated the ‘avant-garde’ of European musical thought. Their music becomes soughtafter and many works survive in foreign sources only. Thedevelopment of the ‘contenance angloise’ is easily traced to changesin style between, say, the Salve scema sanctitatis by John Dunstaple(ca. 1390-1453) and a work like Stella celi by Walter Lambe(1450/51-1504+). During the 1420s and 1430s there is evidence ofcontact between English and continental composers. The maturestyle of mid-15th century English music is the beginning of theinternational style of the early Renaissance, which the theoristJohannes Tinctoris (ca. 1435-1511) calls in 1476 the “newart…whose fount and origin is held to be among the English, ofwhom Dunstaple stands forth as chief ”. Dunstaple inherited thefauxbourdon style characterised by passages of parallel 6/3 and 6/4chords – were these harmonies ‘invented’ and allowed before 5/3 rootpositions? With its “sweet sound” (Tinctoris), we are dealing herewith a new musical language comprising an abundance of thirds andsixths, and which, significantly, leads to the use of full triads. This isthe proto-tonality mentioned above.

An interesting literary source is the epic poem Le Champion desDames by Martin le Franc (ca. 1410-1461). In the MS, a fineminiature depicts the two leading composers of the day: GuillaumeDufay (?1397-1474) and Gilles Binchois (?1400-1460). The poetserved as secretary for Pope Nicholas V (1447-1455), and the anti-pope Felix V (1439-1449). In addition, he was in the service of theDukes of Savoy, and frequently sought the patronage of Duke Philipthe Good of Burgundy (1419-1467). Le Franc alludes to the

The Contenance Angloise – Part OneHarmonic and Melodic Practice in English Vocal Music from the Time of Dunstaple to the Present Day

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Composers’ Corner

...The Contenance Angloise – Part One

The rising figure in bar 1 of the upper voice, c-e-f-g-a-g, outlines by way of the fourth the major triad, before risingto the sixth and returning to the fifth of the scale. A typically melodious and arguably English stylistic trait ofDunstaple’s music.

Music Example 1 - John Dunstaple: Sancta Maria

ICB Composers’ Corner

influence of Dunstaple on Dufay and Binchois. As Martin le Francdescribed it, this English ‘countenance’ or style was above all else, asound: “a new practice of making frisk concordance...rendering theirsong joyous and notable”. The sound resulted from the frequent useof thirds and sixths in the harmony and from a suppleness of rhythmand melody that was newly expressive, and which was taken over byDufay and Binchois in forming the Burgundian style –the realsubject of this passage in le Franc’s poem.

It would however be unfair to give Dunstaple all the credit for the‘contenance angloise’; his pre-eminence is certainly merited, butseveral other composers deserve our notice, including Benet,Bedyngham, Forest, Frye, Plummer, Pyamour and Leonel Power(1370 to 1385-1445). The music of Walter Frye (fl. 1450-ca.1475) ispreserved exclusively in continental sources. The most importantMSS are those of the Burgundian court. Frye was younger thanDunstaple and maintained a presence on the continent after theformer’s death in 1453, when English influence gradually declined.Music Example 1 (John Dunstaple: Sancta Maria, p. 56)

The Golden Age of English Music: the MadrigalSchool of the Sixteenth Century

From the middle of the 15th century to the first two decades ofthe 16th century, England cherished an insular tradition, as it did atlater points in history. The predilection for consonant intervalssurvived well into the next century: there is an unbroken connectionbetween the music of Dunstaple and Frye, and Weelkes and Wilbye.The Eton Choir Book (compiled between 1500 and 1505) is theimportant source from the period, and preserves an extraordinaryrepertoire of polyphony marked by soaring melismas and a pan-consonant style. Real innovation in English secular music only takesplace at the end of the 16th century, with the rise of the Englishmadrigal. The Italianate features of the form are immediate, andocclude the earlier style of the little secular music surviving bycomposers of the early Tudor period such as Robert Faryfax (1464-1521).

The immediate impetus for madrigal composition in England istraced to the Italian Alfonso Ferrabosco ‘The Elder’ (1543-1588),employed in London in the 1560s and 1570s at the court of QueenElizabeth I. His works proved popular and inspired imitation byindigenous composers. But important collections such as NicholasYonge’s Musica transalpina of 1588 and his second Musica transalpinaof 1597 – containing “Italian madrigalls Englished” – are a majorinfluence too. Amongst the leading English madrigal composers wereThomas Morley (1557/7-1602), Thomas Weelkes (1576-1623) andJohn Wilbye (1574-1638). Morley is the only composer of the timewho set verse by Shakespeare for which the music has survived. Hismelodic style remains popular today. Wilbye had but a smallcompositional output; his madrigals are distinctive, their

expressiveness occasioned by an extensive chromaticism not to beconfused with the Italian style. Weelkes also wrote highly chromaticmusic much in the Italian style.

The emergence of the madrigal is entirely characteristic of theRenaissance in general and Italian music in particular. The form wasclosely married to words, the poetry dominantly Petrarchan. Indeed,the nature of the Italian madrigal was defined by a close expression ofthe words: a path is glimpsed leading to declamatory solo-singing andopera itself. In the hands of English composers, the madrigal lentexpression to the words and even indulged in some word-painting,but remained a musically determined form. The melodies weresuffused with the native part-song, and relied less on strictly imitativecounterpoint. The English demonstrated once again a gift forindigenous melody while recognising the dominance of the Italianmadrigal. What emerged were a new form that merged with theEnglish Air and overtly melodic solo-songs with instrumentalaccompaniment. The English madrigal was, then, neither whollyEnglish nor justifiably Italian, the result – as so often – of fruitfulcross-fertilization. This complex period produced much fine music.The lighter madrigal style that flourished in Italy in the 1580senjoyed great popularity in England immediately thereafter, eventhough – in terms of the numbers of publications at least – themadrigal was a much smaller phenomenon in England than in Italy.

The popularity of Italian madrigals in translation, combined withdevelopments in English poetry witnessed by the sonnets of EdmundSpenser and Philip Sidney, encouraged English composers to writemadrigals using English verse. Such songs are typically light-heartedin tone. The texts are mainly pastoral or amorous or both, and are setto music admitting both short points of imitation but muchhomophony besides. The highpoint of this movement are surely theworks of Thomas Morley, whose own light and brisk style was takenup by other English composers. In 1601 Morley published TheTriumphes of Oriana, an anthology of madrigals by Englishcomposers in honour of Elizabeth I. The more serious Italianmadrigal of the later 16th century had no great influence in England,even if some composers, notably Weelkes, Wilbye and Ward,developed the style, setting darker texts and using chromaticism anddissonance. The collection by Walter Porter (ca. 1588-1659)Madrigals and Ayres (1632), evokes Monteverdi’s concerted madrigalstyle, particularly in the use of virtuoso solo and duet passages withcontinuo. By this time, however, the madrigal in England was beingsuperseded by the native lute-song and ayre.

Regarding melodic and harmonic style, in many an Englishcomposer’s mind there existed a dichotomy: easily available wereimported wares like the Italian madrigal, but present, too, was aninnate feeling for simple tunes, which had always lent such credenceto the English folk-song. The native tradition, stemming from thepart-song, maintained its independence throughout the late 16th

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century – it ‘kept its face’ – and shook off Italianate music. Themelodic idiom of the early In goinge to my naked bedde by RichardEdwards (1524-1566) displays continental influence but relies moreon the stock-in-trade idioms of English song, with its overtly triadicstructures. As for The doutfull state that I posses, by Thomas Wythorne(1528-1596), rhythmically it resembles an adaption of a villanellaalla napolitana, but melodically is again rooted in the English folk-song style. Another composer to resist Italian influence was WilliamByrd (1543-1623). From his Songs of Sundrie Natures (1589) to thecomposer’s final publication Psalmes, Songs, and Sonnets (1611), hemaintains a more Netherlandish than Italian style, cultivating alearned counterpoint and on occasion casting his chosen texts in aharmonic idiom that is quite severe. Typically, he eschews Italianteword-painting. In Come wofull Orpheus a strong native cast remains,

even if the occasional line like “sowrest sharps and uncouth flats” ischromatically aberrant.

In all manners then, the English madrigal remained a less esotericactivity, and became a more popular movement. No evidence remainsof professional madrigal singers being employed by noble families, aswas the case throughout Italy. The rise of a new gentry and a truemiddle class demanded music for private use. And while an Italiancomposer was pretty certainly drawn to all things literary anddramatic, an Englishman was more likely to be concerned with thestuff of music itself, simple diatonic harmony that coloured in itsown subtle way the melodic line, along with a sparing use ofchromaticism within a reliable tonal structure. English music displaysmost often a songlike tendency, where all voices within a polyphonictexture retain equal melodic importance. Although the top voice in

Composers’ Corner

...The Contenance Angloise – Part One

Note in bar 19 the descending major triad that occurs between the tenor, alto and bass at the point of imitation tothe words “e’en the sp[i]rit of truth”. A bell-like and harmonious moment that unites polyphony and homophony.

Music Example 2 - Thomas Tallis: If ye love me

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ICB Composers’ Corner

many a work from this period caries the burden of the tune, thistreble dominance is set off time and again by other voices, whichremain – at least to varying degrees – equally as tuneful. As always, itis impossible to separate entirely melodic thinking from theharmonic context, even if a much clearer conception of tonality – themusic of Thomas Morley is a prime example – is typical for theEnglish school at this time. The proto-tonality of the late MiddleAges and early Renaissance had developed into a tonality that may bedescribed as functional; the bass line is telling in this respect. InMorley’s own Shoote false love, the cadences fall on the dominant and,in the seventh line of the poem, on the dominant of the dominant.This assuredness of harmonic style is surely a characteristic ofEnglish music as the 16th century draws to a close. It is a kind ofassertiveness of harmony that marks out the English style, as sheturns her face towards an equally progressive continent.Music Example 2 (Thomas Tallis: If ye love me, p. 58)

The Second Renaissance of English Music It will come as no surprise if the author – writing from Munich –

calls to mind the infamous phrase by the German scholar OskarAdolf Hermann Schmitz: “Das Land ohne Musik” (The countrywithout music). This is the title of a book he published in 1904 inthe Bavarian capital, a work somewhat anti-British in sentiment andin which he accused the English of displaying a lack of “Kultur”. Hissentiments go back much earlier, at least to the critics Carl Engel andGeorg Weerth, but possibly to Friedrich Engels too. But it was CarlEngel, a musical anthropologist and based in England at the time,who claimed in his 1866 study on national music that “DieEngländer sind das einzige Kulturvolk ohne eigene Musik.” (TheEnglish are the only civilised society without its own music.) Thisforay into cultural history helps the author conveniently skip some300 years of English music history, a new Dark Age if one will,during which ‘we’ produced little of note, not to forget HenryPurcell and Georg Friedrich Händel – the most famous ‘English’composer of the 18th century.

What makes English music so quintessentially English? Until theend of the 19th century even the English themselves had no idea,allowing foreigners to gain such a prominent place in English musiclife that they were soon regarded as ‘British’. George Frideric Handel,as he was soon to style himself, lived in England for a substantial partof his life, and is still considered by many to represent English musicpar excellence. A canny explanation for this is given by George Groveas early as 1890 in the first edition of his eponymous Dictionary ofMusic and Musicians: “There is something expressly English inHandel’s characteristic. His size, his large appetite, his great writing,his domineering temper, his humour, his power of business, all areour own.” As for the oratorios written by Felix MendelssohnBartholdy, cynics would argue that they appeared to have been

penned expressly to give the numerous English choral societiessomething to do with their time.

Be that as it may, it was Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)and Gustav Holst (1874-1934) whose music represented aRenaissance of English music at the turn of the 20th century. Thismovement, variously known as a ‘New Renaissance’ or a ‘SecondRenaissance’ of English music blended effortlessly English folk-songand hymnody with the part songs and church music of theElizabethan era, while using forms and styles already extensivelyexplored by Bach and Handel. For both Vaughan Williams and Holstthe great repositories of Tudor church music, such as the CantionesSacrae published by Tallis and Byrd in 1588, were equally importantsources as the secular madrigal, the author restricting the presentdiscussion to secular music only. RVW, as he continues to beaffectionately known, wrote choral music that proved a firm base forthe next generation, comprising such major figures as BenjaminBritten and William Walton.

For over half of a century, Vaughan Williams remained afigurehead of English music. Just as William Byrd before him hadlargely ignored the perceived excesses of the Italian madrigal, heremained wholly insensitive to the upheaval in compositionalmethod promulgated by the Second Viennese school. He clung totonality. Faced with the increasing industrialisation of England, hebegan to collect the traditional folk and popular songs of the land,whose melodies he was to introduce into his own works. RVW tookhis inspiration from a deeply-rooted English tradition: the nation’slove of folk song. He was greatly influenced by the folk-song collectorCecil Sharp, with whom one had to be: “either pro-folk-song or anti-folk-song, and I came out heavily on the folk-song side”, as VaughanWilliams once pointed out, using the comment for his famous 1912article ‘Who wants the British composer?’ The face of English musicthus turned inwards once again, as New Music took new directions inEurope and the pace of musical innovation outstripped audiences’ability immediately to comprehend it.

The Second English Musical Renaissance was strongly reflected atthe time in a particular sphere: national newspaper and journalisticmusic criticism, especially at the outbreak of the first World War.This returns us neatly to the role of the journalist in music reception-history. The word ‘Renaissance’ in this new context of English musicwas first used, in September 1882, by the journalist Joseph Bennett,chief critic of the Daily Telegraph. He used the term in his review ofthe premiere of Hubert Parry’s Symphony No.1 in G, a work seen bymany as a watershed in English music.

In general, critics aligned themselves either side of the greatEuropean musical debate: on one side those of the Schumann andBrahms persuasion, and on the other side they who championedEnglish versions of this classically German idiom, which consisted ofa largely watered-down musical language as perpetrated by advocates

60

A lesson in how to set a folk-song and go well beyond its strophic form. At the local level, the original tune hasa rather stilted dotted crotchet, quaver and crotchet at ‘flowing’, but RVW finds a better match of text andmusic, setting the word to melismata which literally flow.

Music Example 3 - Ralph Vaughan Williams: Just as the tide was flowing

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Composers’ Corner

...The Contenance Angloise – Part One

of the nationalist school less able than Vaughan Williams. Wagner’swas not the music of the future; this was apparently in the safe handsof Charles Hubert Parry (1848-1918) and Charles Villiers Stanford(1852-1924), academics at London’s music conservatories. Thiscoterie then was the foundation on which the new EnglishRenaissance was to be built. Composers such as Walford Davies,Coleridge-Taylor, Mackenzie, and Somervell were welcomed, andDelius, Bantock, Cowen, Sullivan, Elgar and Boughton were rejectedas somehow ‘not very British’. This remained merely empty debate,one eclipsed by the triumph of Edward Elgar (1857-1934) in the firstdecade of the Edwardian era. Certainly, future paths taken by Englishmusic did not depend on a single work, but it was lucky for Elgarthat the German conductor Julius Buths attended in 1900 thepremiere in Birmingham of the composer’s Dream of Gerontius,under Hans Richter. This first outing of what was to become asignificant work in the English repertoire was a debacle, the chorusbeing significantly underprepared; but Buths sensed the brilliance ofthe score – he was impressed apparently with the great outburst ofthe chorus at ‘Praise to the Holiest in the Height’ – and subsequentlyconducted the piece a year later in Düsseldorf in the presence of thecomposer. The co-director of Buths was Richard Strauss, who wassuitably impressed by the work, remarking at the post-concertbanquet: “I drink to the success and welfare of the first Englishprogressive musician, Meister Elgar.” Praise indeed from the ‘Landder Musik’ (The land of Music) for the ‘Land ohne Musik’.

Choral conductors around the world should explore Parry’sexpressive Lord, let me know mine end, with its strong accentuationand romantic crescendi, and – another telling work – the Three LatinMotets by Stanford. Both these pieces are in eight parts. As for Materora filium, by Arnold Bax (1883-1953), it is a work of genius, anexemplary essay in writing for double choir. This is music thatsounds much more challenging than it is, a fact many conductorswith limited rehearsal time will welcome. Many other anthems insimilar vein still form the staple repertoire of today’s Anglican choralrepertoire. The tonal vocal writing in English choral music of the late19th and early 20th centuries is much influenced by Brahms. Andanother noteworthy piece is Valiant for Truth, by Vaughan Williamshimself, a setting of an extraordinarily powerful text by John Bunyan.There are other fine a cappella compositions, too, by Gustav Holst.The author hopes this call to arms will fire the imagination of thosein the business of planning choral programmes. But before setting

To our readers:In the 02/2010 edition of the ICB Andrea Angelini published an interview "In the Mirror"with Colin Mawby, who agreed to let us issue on our web pages his recent composition"Vox in Rama". The work has since been released by Edition Ferrimontana -www.ferrimontana.de

out on this voyage of discovery, it is worth picking up – on Amazonthese days one supposes – an excellent book by Frank Howes: TheEnglish Music Renaissance (Secker and Warburg/New York: Stein andDay, 1966). The present author asserts that while both RVW andHolst admitted the influence of folk-song, it was English hymnodythat played, too, a major role for Vaughan Williams (he edited TheEnglish Hymnal); Holst, for his part, had his choirs sing themadrigals of Weelkes – pioneering and neglected repertoire as the20th century was ushered in.Music Example 3 (Ralph Vaughan Williams: Just as the tide wasflowing, p. 60)(Reproduced from "Five English Folksongs" by kind permission of

Stainer & Bell Ltd.)

Graham Lack studied Composition and Musicology at Goldsmiths’College and King’s College, University of London (BMus Hons, MMus),Music Paedagogy at the University of Chichester (State Certificate),moving to Germany in 1982 (Technical University Berlin,Doktorarbeit). He held a Lectureship in Music at the University ofMaryland, chaired the symposia Contemporary Finnish Music(University of Oxford, 1999) and 1st International Symposium ofComposer Institutes (Goethe Institute, 2000), and contributes to GrovesDictionary and Tempo. A cappella works include Sanctus (Queens’College Cambridge), Two Madrigals for High Summer, Hermes of theWays (Akademiska Damkören Lyran), and a cycle for The King’sSingers, Estraines, recorded on Signum. The Munich PhilharmonicChorus commissioned Petersiliensommer, the Munich Bach ChoirGloria (chorus, organ, harp). The Legend of Saint Wite (SSA, stringquartet) was a 2008 BBC competition prize-winner. REFUGIUM(chorus, organ, percussion) was premiered by Trinity Boys Choir inLondon in 2009. Recent works include Wondrous Machine for multi-percussionist Martin Grubinger, Five Inscapes for chamber orchestraand Nine Moons Dark for large orchestra. Future projects include aFirst Piano Concerto for Dejan Lazić, The Windhover (solo violinand orchestra) for Benjamin Schmid, The Pencil of Nature (musicaviva), A Sphere of Ether (Young Voices of Colorado), and a cantata TheAngel of the East. Corresponding Member of the Institute of AdvancedMusical Studies King’s College London, regular attendee ACDAconferences. Publishers: Musikverlag Hayo, Cantus Quercus Press.

E-mail: graham.lack@t-online.de •

ICB Composers’ Corner

Critic’s Pick… Chanticleer and CantusJonathan Slawson

Choral Music Recordings

Choral Music Recordings

If you would like a CD to be consideredfor review

Please contact Andrea Angelini, InterimEditor of the column

E-mail: aangelini@ifcm.net

For years, Chanticleer has arguably reignedas the premiere male a cappella ensemble inAmerica, if not the world. They havedazzled audiences around the globe with animpressive array of eclectic music, alwayssung with pitch-perfect clarity and a truedevotion to musical style. Recently though,their talents have been met by anothergroup, Cantus. Not to say that these groupsare at all in direct competition, but those ofus that live and breathe male a cappellamusic have certainly been noting Cantus’quick rise in popularity, and look forward totheir continued success as they performaround the world. This issue of theInternational Choral Bulletin looks at twoCD’s in particular, one from each group, thatin succession complement each other quitenicely. For this reason, the Critic’s Pick looksat Chanticleer’s And on Earth Peace: AChanticleer Mass, and Cantus’ While You AreAlive.

And on Earth Peace, produced byChanticleer, celebrates the 10th anniversaryof their founder, Louis I. Botto’s death.From this marketable concept, they drewinspiration for a five-part commission,whereby internationally renownedcomposers from around the globe (Israel,Turkey, Greece, Ireland, America) each set a

piece of the mass. This seemingly patchworkdesign is woven seamlessly throughout theentire CD. The music is an impressivepolyphonic burst of energy, juxtaposed at thebeginning and end with a simple Plainsongchant, both arranged by music directorJoseph Jennings. Their sound is cleanlymanicured to perfection. The CD ismastered with a particular attention to thecounter-tenors; this feminine quality isentrancing. The high notes are impressive asthey cut through the music nicely. Some oftheir sections are uneasily dissonant, makingit somewhat difficult to listen to. The massin its entirety, however, is reflective andcertainly a tremendous brave feat. This CDaligns with their mission to advance thechoral music field through the commissionof new works. This CD certainly is notclassified as ‘easy listening’, and isrecommended only for one with a refinedmusical ear. For choral music aficionadoshowever, it is a true gem. It is layered withincredible texture and internationalperspective.

The formal, overly manicured femininequality of Chanticleer’s And on Earth Peacepairs nicely with Cantus’ While You WereAlive. In this recording, Cantus takes theclassical music and makes it a bit moreaccessible. Though their counter-tenors arenot quite as impressive and clear cut asChanticleer’s, there is a gruff masculinitythat is refreshing, particularly after listeningto the overly nuanced counter tenors inChanticleer. This CD is a bit more eclecticin music style; it is a somewhat disjointedcollection of classical repertoire without thebinding limitations of a mass or the portrayalof a particular story. In it, they include thework, much of which is new, of famedcomposers Steven Sametz, Walt Whitman,Eric Whitacre, Edie Hill, Timothy C.Takach, Velijo Tormis, and Maura Bosch.The recording is an impressive collection of

proven composers; what it lacks in risk (likethat seen in the concept for Chanticleer’smass) it more than makes up for inpresenting an array of styles.

Jonathan Slawson holds a Bachelor of Musicdegree from Westminster Choir College and iscurrently pursuing a Master’s in NonprofitManagement at the New School University. Hisprofessional interests cross arts education, policy,and management. He is the DevelopmentAssistant for the Bravo Lincoln CenterCampaign, the capital campaign to raise thenecessary funds for Lincoln Center’sredevelopment. Prior to that he served as LincolnCenter’s Government and Community RelationsIntern. In addition he has written for Disney’s,In Tune MonthlyMagazine, where he waseditor of the Teacher Guide. He also worked atNew World Stages (Stage Entertainment) and theMcCarter Theatre Center. He has taught musicat Maureen M. Welch Elementary School, theNew Jersey Performing Arts Center, andStagestruck Performing Arts Center. He serves onBlair Academy’s Board of Governors, and was therecipient of the Westminster Choir CollegePresident’s Award in 2009; the university’s tophonor.

Do you have a CD that you would likereviewed in the journal? Please contact me atjonathan.ryan.slawson@gmail.com •

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ICB Choral Music Recordings

Critic’s Pick…

Jonathan SlawsonJournalist

Chanticleer and Cantus

Events

EventsCompiled by Nadine Robin

I. Conferences, Workshops & Masterclasses

II. Festivals & Competitions

We are pleased to provide these lists ofinternational festivals, competitions,conferences, workshops and master classesto our members. They are based on thebest information available to us. However,we advise you to check the specific detailswith the organizers of the individual eventthat you may be interested in attending.

IFCM does NOT specifically recommendany of the events listed. However, weencourage you to check with the ‘ChoralFestival Network’(www.choralfestivalnetwork.org) whosemembers have signed the IFCM “TotalQuality Charter”, which is an agreementto follow the minimum requirements ofquality, transparency and fairness forchoral festivals.

Please submit event information forpublication to:

Nadine Robin1600A ValleyridgeAustin, TX 78704, USAE-mail: nrobin@ifcm.netFax: +1-512-551 0501

International Seminar for Youth ChoirConductors and Singers, Örebro, Sweden, 27-31oct 2010. Clinicians: Fred Sjöberg, AlessandroCadario, Stefan Berglund. Clinic choir: CoroAccademia Feniarco. Apply before: 30 Sep.Contact: Swedish International Choral CenterÖrebro (SWICCO), Tel: +46-19-765 2788,Email: info@swicco.se - Website: www.swicco.se

Management in International Choral Events,Saint-Lô, France, 26 Oct-2 Nov 2010. StudyTour for young choral managers and every personinterested in choral management at aninternational level. In collaboration with EuropaCantat. Apply before 28 Feb. Contact: Polyfollia,Tel: +33-2-31736919, Email:helene.leroy@polyfollia.org - Website:www.polyfollia.org

World Choral Day, 12 Dec 2010. The theme is“The rapprochement of cultures”. Contact:Cristian Grases (All America and the Caribbean),Jeroen Schrijner (Europe and Africa), CatalinaPrieto (Asia and Australia), coordinators atworldchoralday@ifcm.net

Hay-On-Wye Winter School, United Kingdom,28 Dec 2010-2 Jan 2011. A week of music-making for choral singers with Paul Spicer. Themusic will be a mixture of renaissance settings ofChristmas texts and Bruckner, Howells and two ofJames Macmillan's Strathclyde motets. Contact:Andrew van der Beek, Tel: +44-1249-730468,Email: avdb@lacock.org - Website:www.lacock.org

Annual National Conductors’ Symposium,Vancouver, Canada, 7-12 Feb 2011. Sixapplicants will be chosen from across Canada, theUnited States and overseas to participate asconductors, receiving significant time with theVancouver Chamber Choir in rehearsal andperformance. As many as ten additional applicantswill be selected as observers and be involved in allaspects of the Symposium, including oneopportunity to conduct. Contact: VancouverChamber Choir, Jon Washburn, executive &artistic director, Tel: +1-604-7386822, Fax: +1-604-7387832, Email:info@vancouverchamberchoir.com - Website:www.vancouverchamberchoir.com

Choral Workshop with Tõnu Kaljuste, Cesena,Italy, 17-19 Feb 2011. Music by Arvo Part; finalconcert of the participants conducted by T.Kaljuste. Open to singers and conductors.Contact: Musica Ficta, Tel: +39-347-2573878,Email: info@musicaficta.org - Website:http://kaljuste.musicaficta.org

Asia Pacific Youth Choir 2011, Macau, China,21-26 Feb 2011. The Asia Pacific Youth Choir'saim is to bring together talented young singersaged 18-28 years from the Asia Pacific region. Thisproject is a collaboration between the Asia PacificWorking Committeeof the InternationalFederation for Choral Music with the MacauChoral Association and Macau. Apply before 1Aug 2010. Contact: Japan Choral Association, ,Fax: +81-3-5421 7151, Email:jcmc@blue.ocn.ne.jp - Website:www.jcanet.or.jp/ap-youth/

Music in Mexico, Cholula, Mexico, 27 Feb-5Mar 2011. Directed by Carlos Fernández AransayContact: Andrew van der Beek, Tel: +44-1249-730468, Email: avdb@lacock.org - Website:www.lacock.org

ACDA National Conference, Chicago, USA, 9-12 March 2011. ACDA will hold it biennialconference for choral conductors. Included in theevent will be choral performances, interestsessions, reading sessions, the premier of the 2011Brock Commission, networking, a trade show, andother special events. Contact: American ChoralDirectors Association, Tel: +1-405-2328161, Fax:+1-405-2328162, Email: acda@acda.org -Website: http://acda.org

6th Eric Ericson Masterclass for ChoralConductors, Haarlem, Netherlands, 24 June-1July 2011. For talented young choral conductorswith 2 masters of conducting: Jos van Veldhoven(NL) and Michael Gläser (D). Choirs in residence:the Nederlands Kamerkoor and the NetherlandsRadio Choir. Repertoire for chamber andsymphonic choirs. Contact: Eric EricsonMasterclass Foundation, , Email:info@ericericsonmasterclass.nl - Website:www.ericericsonmasterclass.nl

9th World Symposium on Choral Music, PuertoMadryn, Patagonia, Argentina, 3-10 Aug 2011.Organized by the CIC Foundation in cooperationwith ADICORA. Motto: "Singing in Nature".Contact: , Tel: +54-2965-439232, Email:info@wscm9.org - Website: www.wscm9.com

Rimini International Choral Workshop withPeter Phillips, Andrea Angelini and GhilslaineMorgan, Italy, 21-28 Aug 2011. For advancedchoristers and conductors. Repertory focused onRenaissance Sacred Music. Final concert, SungMass and diploma. Individual vocal tuition.Contact: Musica Ficta, Tel: +39-347-2573878,Email: info@musicaficta.org - Website:www.musicaficta.org

6th European Academy for Choral Conductorsand Singers, Fano, Italy, 4-11 Sep 2011.Conductor: Nicole Corti (France). French andEnglish repertoire of the 20th Century. Contact:FENIARCO, Tel: +39-0434-876724, Fax: +39-0434-877554, Email: info@feniarco.it - Website:www.feniarco.it

4th International Music Council World Forum,Tallinn, Estonia, Sep 2011. Platform on musicand society in the 21st century, exploring a varietyof topics from diverse perspectives: cultural,political and economical and focusing on 5 areas:cultural diversity, music as a vector for dialogue,creativity and innovation in music distribution,new approaches to music education, changingaudiences (challenges for art music around theworld). Contact: Conseil International de laMusique, Tel: +33-1-45684850, Fax: +33-1-43068798, Email: forum.imc@unesco.org -Website: www.unesco.org/imc

Podium 2012 Choral Celebration Chorale,Ottawa, Canada, 17-20 May 2012. Canada'snational choral conference. Contact: Associationof Canadian Choral Communities and ChoirsOntario, Tel: +1-416-923 1144, Fax: +1-416-9290415, Email: info@choirsontario.org - Website:www.choirsontario.org

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ICB Events

Conferences, Workshops & Masterclasses

International Festival of Advent and ChristmasMusic, Bratislava, Slovak Republic, 2-5 Dec2010. Competition, workshop, concerts inchurches. Contact: Bratislava Choral Agency, Tel:+421-905-111827, Fax: +421-265-957054,Email: info@choral-music.sk - Website:www.choral-music.sk

Winter Choral Festival at Hong KongDisneyland Resort, Hong Kong China, 6-10 Dec2010. Be part of an enriching musical learningexperience for choirs through workshops,performance and competition with Dr EugeneRogers (USA) as artistic director. Contact: WinterChoral Festival 2010, Tel: +65-6336-6518, Fax:+65-6338-8795, Email:info@tempestmusic.com.sg - Website:www.ravegroup.sg/winterchoralfest

Krakow Advent & Christmas Choir Festival,Krakow, Poland, 10-12 Dec 2010. For all amateurchoirs. Contact: Choral Society LIRA VarsoviaCantat, Tel: +48-22-641 6157, Fax: +48-22-6416157, Email: mail@krakowchoirfestival.pl -Website: mail@krakowchoirfestival.pl

World Choral Day, 12 Dec 2010. The theme is“The rapprochement of cultures”. Contact:Cristian Grases (All America and the Caribbean),Jeroen Schrijner (Europe and Africa), CatalinaPrieto (Asia and Australia), coordinators atworldchoralday@ifcm.net

Chor@Berlin 2011 vocal festial at RadialsystemV, Berlin, Germany, 13-16 Jan 2011.Radialsystem V, a new creative space for the arts inBerlin, will turn into a centre of vocal musicduring those 4 days. Concerts, workshops,education programs presentation. With RIASKammerchor, Michael Alber, VokalakademieBerlin, Frank Markowitsch, Fabulous Fridays,Michael Betzner-Brandt. Contact: DeutscherChorverband e.V., Tel: +49-30-847108930, Fax:+49-30-847108999, Email:projektbuero@deutscher-chorverband.de -Website: www.chor.com

9th International Festival of Sacred Music SilverBells, Daugavpils, Latvia, 14-16 Jan 2011. Forchildren's, male, female, mixed choirs, vocalensembles and pop-music soloists. Contact: SilverBells, Tel: +371-5476798, Fax: +371-5423601,Email: kultura@daugavpils.lv or sb2@inbox.lv -Website: www.silverbells.narod.ru

Events

66

...Festivals & Competitions

International Choral Weekend Voices Unlimited,Veldhoven, Netherlands, 22-24 Oct 2010. Forchoirs with singers aged 15 to 40. Categories:classical, pop/musical/gospel/jazz or closeharmony/a capella. Contact: Voices Unlimited,Tel: +31-40-2545220, Fax: +31-40-2785449,Email: info@voicesunlimited.eu - Website:www.voicesunlimited.eu

4th International Showcase for Choir SingingPolyfollia 2010, La Manche, Normandy, France,27 Oct-1 Nov 2010. A reference meeting pointbetween the best amateur choirs and promotersand organizers of festivals, music seasons, etc....Plus a "choral festive party" open to all choirs.Contact: Polyfollia, Jacques Vanherle, Tel: +33-2-31736919, Fax: +33-2-31051590, Email:contact@polyfollia.org - Website:www.polyfollia.org

Mediterranean Choir Contest, Palmanyola,Mallorca, Spain, 27-31 Oct 2010. For mixedchoirs from all over the world. Contact: Festivalde Corals Mediterrani, Tel: +34-971-617 361,Email: info@fcm-mallorca.com - Website:http://fcm-mallorca.com

International Choir Festival it's oh so choir,Brussels, Belgium, 30-31 Oct 2010. Festivalfocusing on Scandinavian choral music. Readingsessions by various European publishers. Lectureon Danish choral literature by Bo Holten. Festivalguest: Sandra Miliken. Wokrhops "Singing withchildren" by Kurt Bikkembergs. Contact: VlaamseFederatie van Jonge Koren - Koor&Stem, Tel:+32-9-2202484, Fax: +32-9-2202485, Email: info

22nd Cantapueblo - La Fiesta Coral de América,Mendoza, Argentina, 2-7 Nov 2010. Great LatinAmerican festival open to mixed choirs, equalvoices, mixed youth choirs, chamber ensemblesand other vocal groups. Contact: CantapuebloArtistic Director: Alejandro Scarpetta, Tel: +54-261-4295000, Fax: +54-261-4295000, Email:cantapueblo@coppla.org.ar - Website:www.mendoza.gov.ar or www.coppla.org.ar

Alanya International Choir Festival, Alanya,Turkey, 3-7 Nov 2010. Four sections: "open air"performances (required), competition, folk music,pop music. Contact: Antalya International ChoirFestival, Tel: +90-242-316 4660, Email:festivalantalya@festivalantalya.com - Website:www.festivalantalya.com

9th International Festival "Coros en el Bosque",Pinamar, Argentina, 5-7 Nov 2010. Workshopson Argentinian and Latin American folk musicwith Néstor Andrenacci and Ricardo Mansilla, forsingers and/or conductors. Concerts byparticipating choirs, adults or youth choirs, mixedor equal voices. Contact: 9no Encuentro Coros enel Bosque - Pinamar 2010, Martín Lettieri, DiegoGarcía Picasso, Tel: +54-114-7712316, Email:info@corosenelbosque.com.ar - Website:www.corosenelbosque.com.ar

Miramar Canta 2010, Prov. de Buenos Aires,Argentina, 6-7 Nov 2010. Non-competitivechoral meeting for all kind of choirs. Contact:Miramar Canta, Tel: +54-11-47323983, Email:info@miramarcanta.com.ar orMiramarcanta2006@yahoo.com.ar - Website:www.miramarcanta.com.ar

12th International Choir Festival NordesteCantat, Maceió and Aracajú, Brasil, 7-14 Nov2010. Contact: Federação Alagoana de Coros,Tel: +82-3235-1800, Fax: +82-3033-5844, Email:nordestecantat@gmail.com

3rd International Festival Interfolk in Russia, St.Petersburg, Russia, 11-16 Nov 2010. For folkgroups, vocal and instrumental ensembles, choirsand dance groups of various styles, levels andorigins from all over the world. Contact:International Choral Festival, Tel: +7-812-3283921, Fax: +7-812-3283921, Email:singingworld@mail.ru or choirfest@inbox.ru -Website: www.interfestplus.ru

6th International Warsaw Choir Festival VarsoviaCantat, Warsaw, Poland, 12-14 Nov 2010. For allamateur choirs. Contact: Choral Society LIRAVarsovia Cantat, Tel: +48-22-641 6157, Fax: +48-22-641 6157, Email: info@varsoviacantat.pl -Website: www.varsoviacantat.pl

Cantapueblo Brasil 2010 - Vocal Tribute toBrazilian Music, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, 16-21Nov 2010. Non-competitive festival open tochoirs and vocal groups. Performances, workshopssocialization, cultural exchange, tourism andleisure. Contact: Cantapueblo Brasil, SergioSansao, Tel: +55-21-38526877, Fax: +54-261-4201135, Email: sansao@cantapueblo.com.br

The American International Choral Festival St.Louis 2010, Missouri, USA, 17-21 Nov 2010.For all kinds of choirs from all around the world.Contact: Interkultur Foundation, Tel: +49-6403-956525, Fax: +49-6403-956529, Email:mail@interkultur.com - Website:www.interkultur.com

Festivals & Competitions

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Events

68

...Festivals & Competitions

Vancouver Chamber Choir Young Composers'Competition, Vancouver, Canada, 7 Mar 2011.The competition is open to young composersfrom any country. Entries will be judged in threeage categories with special awards for the bestsubmissions by BC residents. Entries will beassessed on originality, craftsmanship of the musicand, where appropriate, the words. Finalistcompositions will be performed at the VancouverChamber Choir concert Youth & Music on Friday,May 6, 2011 at Ryerson United Church inVancouver, BC. Contact: Jon Washburn, Manager,Production & Communications, Tel: +1-604-7386822, Fax: +1-604-7387832, Email:info@vancouverchamberchoir.com - Website:www.vancouverchamberchoir.com

1st Vietnam International Choir Festival &Competition, Hoi An, Vietnam, 16-20 Mar2011. For all kinds of choirs from all around theworld. Contact: Interkultur Foundation e.V., Tel:+49-6403-956525, Fax: +49-6403-956529,Email: mail@interkultur.com - Website:www.interkultur.com

4th Fukushima Vocal Ensemble Competition,Fukushima, Japan, 19-21 March 2011. Numberof singers in ensembles limited to 2-16. 3categories: ages 12-15, 15-18 and others. Contact:Fukushima Vocal Ensemble Competition, Email:bunka@pref.fukushima.jp - Website:www.pref.fukushima.jp/bunka/seigaku/en/index.html

Music Festival of Claye-Souilly, France, 1-3 Apr2011. For choirs and musical ensembles fromaround the world. Contact: Music Festival ofClaye-Souilly in France, Tel: +33-1-60261353,Email: mh.caspar@wanadoo.fr - Website:www.festivalclaye.international.over-blog.com

29th International Youth Choir Festival, Celje,Slovenia, 6-10 Apr 2011. Competition forchildren's, youth and girls' choirs, open singing,concerts, workshops, roundtables, exhibitions,closing concert of combined choirs. Apply before31 Jan 2011. Contact: Zavod Celeia Celje, Tel:+3863-4287930 or +3863-4287936, Fax: +3863-4287931, Email: Nenad.First@celje.si ortic@celje.si - Website: www.celeia.info/

7th Palm Sunday Concerts, Portugal, 11-17 Apr2011. Guest Conductor: Jean-Marie Puissant(France). No participation fee. Maximum 30singers with singing experience. Contact: VoxLaci, Myguel Santos e Castro, Tel: +351-938407985, Email: info@voxlaci.com - Website:www.voxlaci.com

3rd Antalya International Choir Festival,Antalya, Turkey, 13-17 Apr 2011. For amateurchoirs. Categories: female, male, mixed, childrenand youth choirs. Contact: Antalya InternationalChoir Festival, Tel: +90-242-316 4660, Email:festivalantalya@festivalantalya.com - Website:www.festivalantalya.com

12th International Choir Festival "Tallinn 2011",Estonia, 14-17 Apr 2011. For mixed choirs andindividual singers. Apply before 31 Oct 2010.Contact: Estonian Choral Society, Tel: +372-627-4451, Fax: +372-627-4450, Email:kooriyhing@kul.ee - Website: www.kooriyhing.ee

10th International Meeting of Children's Choirs,Var & Bouches du Rhône, France, 14 Apr-29May 2011. Contact: Fédération Culturelle AiclerProvence, Tel: +33-4-9478 6384, Fax: +33-4-9478 6576, Email: epepro@wanadoo.fr - Website:www.aicler-provence.fr/5.html

11th International Choral Competition Maribor2011, Slovenia, 15-17 Apr 2011. Member of theEuropean Grand Prix for Choral SingingAssociation (together with Arezzo, Tours, Tolosa,Debrecen and Varna). For up to 12 selected choirs:female, male and mixed with 16-48 singers (freemeals and accomodation). Non-competitive andthree competing programs (compulsory, free andGrand Prix). Apply before: 22. Nov 2010.Contact: Mihela Jagodic, JSKD, Tel: +386-1-2410525, Fax: +386-1-2410536, Email:mihela.jagodic@jskd.si - Website: www.jskd.si

13th International Choir Competition,Budapest, Hungary, 17-21 Apr 2011.Competition in different categories and difficultiesfor all types of choirs. Contact: FördervereinInterkultur, Tel: +49-6403-956525, Fax: +49-6403-956529, Email: mail@interkultur.com -Website: www.interkultur.com

5th Children Festival Vox Pueri, Cascais,Portugal, 18-21 Apr 2011. Non-competitivefestival for all kinds of children´s choirs with manyconcerts and common singing. Contact: Vox Laci,Myguel Santos e Castro, Tel: +351-938407985,Email: info@voxlaci.com - Website:www.voxlaci.com

9th Venezia in Musica, Choir Competition andFestival, Venice, Italy, 27 Apr-1 May 2011. For allkinds of choirs from all around the world.Contact: Interkultur Foundation, Tel: +49-6403-956525, Fax: +49-6403-956529, Email:mail@interkultur.com - Website:www.interkultur.com

First International Festival of Children and YouthChoirs “Vivat, Odessa!”, Ukraine, 30 Apr-7 May2011. Let's break the borders and languagebarriers with our songs is the theme of this festivalfor children and youth choirs from all over theworld. Apply before 10 January. Contact: Festival"Vivat, Odessa", Larysa Garbuz, Tel: + 38-67-9743329 or +38-98-442 8753, Fax: +38-48-725 1682or +38-48-725 1682, Email: vivat-odessa@keysolution.ru or chorus@keysolution.ru -Website: www.vivat-odessa.keysolution.ru

The American International Choral Festival Reno2011, Nevada, USA, 4-8 May 2011. For all kindsof choirs from all around the world. Contact:Interkultur Foundation, Tel: +49-6403-956525,Fax: +49-6403-956529, Email:mail@interkultur.com - Website:www.interkultur.com

18th Vaasa International Choir Festival, Finland,18-22 May 2011. International large-scale choir-music happening with more than hundredconcerts at churches, concert halls, schools,restaurants, etc. Workshops. Apply before 25 Feb2011. Contact: Vaasa Choir Festival, Tel: +358-6-3253755, Fax: +358-6-3253761, Email:erkki.mendelin@vaasa.fi - Website:www.vaasa.fi/choirfestival

7th International Choir Festival Mundus CantatSopot 2010, Sopot, Poland, 25-29 May 2011. Forchoirs from all over the world. Exchange ofcultural traditions, strengthening natural humanbonds. Contact: Festival Office Mundus CantatSopot, Tel: +48-58-5558458, Fax: +48-58-5558442, Email: munduscantat@sopot.pl -Website: www.munduscantat.sopot.pl

40th International Competition "Florilège Vocalde Tours", France, 27-29 May 2011. Limited toensembles from 12 to 40 choristers (to singers over15 years). Four categories: mixed choirs, mixedvocal ensembles, equal voices (male or female), freeexpression (all ensembles). Qualifying rounds,final rounds and Grand Prix. Nationalcompetition : limited to ensembles from 4 to 34choristers (from 6 years). Renaissance competition.Contact: Florilège Vocal de Tours, Tel: +33-2-47216526, Fax: +33-2-47216771, Email:florilege.vocal@free.fr - Website:www.florilegevocal.com

ICB Events

3rd International Choral Competition AntonBruckner, Linz, Austria, 1-5 June 2011. For allkinds of choirs from all around the world.Contact: Förderverein Interkultur, Tel: +49-6403-956525, Fax: +49-6403-956529, Email:mail@interkultur.com - Website:www.interkultur.com

Harmonie Festival 2011, Limburg-Lindenholzhausen, Germany, 2-6 June 2011. 14different competitions for choirs and folk groups,concerts and folk performances with an audienceof up to 4,000 people and the hospitality of awhole region. Jury members: Prof. Robert Sund(Sweden), Juergen Budday (Germany), Josep Prats(Spain), Prof. Theodora Pavlovitch (Bulgaria),Maris Sirmais (Latvija), Reijo Kekkonen(Finland). New category for vocal ensembles with4-12 singers. Contact: HarmonieLindenholzhausen, Tel: +49-6431-732 68, Fax:+49-6431-97 66 47, Email:information@harmonie-festival.de - Website:www.harmonie-festival.de

5th International Choir Festival Harmonia,Harmanli, Bulgaria, 3-6 June 2011. Noncompetitive festival for all kind of choirs. Contact:Mixed Choir Slavej, Gencho Donchev, President,Email: harmchoir@yahoo.com orharmchoir@abv.bg - Website:www.harmchoir.hit.bg

Tampere Vocal Music Festival, Tampere, Finland,8-12 June 2011. Chorus review, contest,workshops, concerts. Contact: Tampere Sävel,Tampere Vocal Music Festival, Tel: +358-20-7166172, Fax: +358-3-2230121, Email:music@tampere.fi - Website:www.tampere.fi/vocal

12th International Chamber Choir Competition,Marktoberdorf, Germany, 10-15 June 2011. Twocategories: Mixed and female choirs (over 16 yearsold/ 36 singers max.). Compulsory work for eachcategory. Apply before Contact: Modfestivals,International Chamber Choir Competition, Tel:+49-8342-8964033, Fax: +49-8342-40370,Email: office@modfestivals.org - Website:www.modfestivals.org/iccc_ausschreibung_en.php

7th The Loto-Quebec World Choral Festival andWorld Choral Competition, Laval, Québec,Canada, 17 June-3 July 2011. Concerts,workshops, etc... No registration fee. Eventadapted to the needs and experience of each choir.Apply before 15 December. Contact: Le MondialChoral Loto-Québec, Tel: +1-888-9359229, Fax:+1-888-9381682, Email: info@mondialchoral.org- Website: www.mondialchoral.org

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Events

70 Summa Cum Laude International Youth MusicFestival, Vienna, Austria, 2-6 July 2011. Cross-cultural and musical exchange event includingworkshops, lectures, seminars, concerts in andaround Vienna, competition with an internationaland highly renowned jury. Contact: Summa CumLaude Youth Music Festival, Tel: +43-650-6192152, Fax: +43-1-968 5750, Email:office@sclfestival.org - Website:www.sclfestival.org

46th International Days of Choral Singing,Barcelona, Spain, 4-10 July 2011. Concerts andworkshops with Poire Vallvé (Catalan folksongs injazz-folch rythms), Fernando Marina (Magnificat,John Rutter), Damián Sánchez, Argentina (MisaCriolla, Ariel Ramírez). Apply before 15 March.Contact: Federació Catalana d'Entitats Corales,Tel: +34-93-2680668, Fax: +34-93-3197436,Email: fcec@fcec.cat - Website: www.fcec.cat

Songs of the World - Coastal Sound InternationalChoral Festival, Vancouver, BC, Canada, 4-9 July2011. Guest Conductors: Rollo Dilworth &Henry Leck. Imagine these 2 conductors leadingyour Children’s Choir/Boy Choir/Girl Choir oryour SATB Youth Choir at the same festivalfeaturing these voicings in separate repertoire, andalso, exciting massed works. Concert places inmulticultural downtown Vancouver andsurrounding areas. Contact: Coastal SoundInternational Choral Festival, Tel: +1-604-469-5973, Fax: +1-604-469-5974, Email:info@coastalsoundmusic.com - Website:www.coastalsoundmusic.com

Festival 500 Sharing the Voices, St. John's,Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada, 6-13 July2011. International non-competitive choralfestival featuring multiple performanceopportunities and workshops for choirs as well asindividual “Come Solo” participants. New for2011: our Professional Development Program forsmall vocal ensembles. Deadline for choir andsmall vocal ensemble applications is June 18,2010. Contact: Festival 500 Sharing the Voices,Tel: +1-709-7386013, Fax: +1-709-7386014,Email: information@festival500.com - Website:www.festival500.com

7th International Johannes Brahms ChoirFestival & Competition, Wernigerode, Germany,6-10 July 2011. Competition in differentcategories and difficulties. Contact: InterkulturFoundation, Tel: +49-6403-956525, Fax: +49-6403-956529, Email: mail@interkultur.com -Website: www.interkultur.com

International Youth Music Festival, Bratislava,Slovak Republic, 7-10 July 2011. Competition forchildren's and youth choirs, orchestras, and bands.Contact: Bratislava Choral Agency, Tel: +421-908-693395, Fax: +421-2-65957054, Email:info@choral-music.sk - Website: www.choral-music.sk

International Choir Festival of Preveza,International Competition of Sacred Music,Preveza, Greece, 7-11 July 2011. For mixed, equalvoices', children's, chamber vocal ensembles,mixed youth choirs & choirs of Byzantine chant.Repertory must include a compulsory piece, apiece composed before 1800, a piece composedduring 1800 - 1950, a piece composed after 1950& a folk song from the choir's country of origin.Contact: Choral Society "Armonia" of Prevesa,Tel: +30-2682-024915, Fax: +30-2682-029852,Email: armonia4@otenet.gr - Website:www.choralpreveza.gr

Cantus Salisburgensis International Choir andOrchestra Summer Festival, Salzburg, Austria, 7-10 July 2011. Kaleidoscope of Nations andcultures interacting in the city of W.A. Mozart´sbirth. Contact: Cultours Carl Pfliegler, Tel: +43-662-821310, Fax: +43-662-82131040, Email:office@cultours.at - Website: www.cultours-europe.com or www.cantussalisburgensis.at

Europa Cantat junior 6, Pärnu, Estonia, 9-17July 2011. For children's and youth choirs (up to20 years). With Tõnu Kaljuste (Estonia), AarneSaluveer (Estonia), Ana Maria Raga (Venezuela),Ken Wakia (Kenya), Michelle Weir (USA), Pandavan Proosdij and Hans Cassa (Netherlands). AEuropa Cantat international study tour isorganized in parallel with Hirvo Surva (Estonia).Contact: Europa Cantat Junior 6, Tel: +372-6274451, Fax: +372-6274450, Email:kooriyhing@kul.ee - Website: www.kooriyhing.eeor www.europacantat.org

1st World Choir Championships, Graz, Austria,10-17 July 2011. For youth and young adultschoirs from all over the world. Contact:Interkultur Foundation, Tel: +49-6403-956525,Fax: +49-6403-956529, Email:mail@interkultur.com - Website:www.interkultur.com

14th Alta Pusteria International Choir Festival,Alto Adige-Südtirol, Italy, 22-26 June 2011.Non-competitive festival in the heart of theDolomites: concerts, open-air reviews, day-meetings. Contact: Alta Pusteria Festival Office,Tel: +39-06-33652422, Fax: +39-06-33652422,Email: info@festivalpusteria.org - Website:www.festivalpusteria.org

Serenade! Washington, DC Choral Festival, USA,23-26 June 2011. Individual shared choir concertsin cathedrals, churches, schools, halls and NationalMonuments, workshops, choral evensong eervicesin prestigious cathedrals, churches and basilicas,sightseeing. Contact: Yarina, Classical Movements,Tel: +1-703-6836040, Fax: +1-703-6836045,Email: Yarina@ClassicalMovements.com -Website: www.ClassicalMovements.com

Sing A Mile High Children's Choral Festival,Denver, CO, USA, 23-27 June 2011. RolloDilworth, guest conductor. Non-competitivefestival for Treble-voiced choirs. Each choir willparticipate in massed choir rehearsals andperformance and individually in the finale concertat the Newman Center for the Performing Arts atthe University of Denver. Contact: Young Voicesof Colorado, Tel: +1-303-7977464, Fax: +1-303-7940784, Email: chrys@youngvoices.org -Website: www.singamilehigh.org

7th International Cantus MM Festival of SacredMusic, Vienna, Austria, 24-27 June 2011.Performing festival in Vienna and surroundings.Contact: Chorus MM, Tel: +43-662-645972, Fax:+43-662-645972, Email: chorus2000@aon.at -Website: www.chorus2000.com

12th International Cantus MM Choir andOrchestra Festival, Salzburg, Austria, 30 June-3July 2011. 10 selected choruses or orchestras ofany age and composition (also dance groups).Performances in Salzburg and surroundings.Contact: Chorus MM, Tel: +43-662-874537, Fax:+43-662-874537-30, Email: chorus2000@aon.at -Website: www.chorus2000.com

4th Musica Sacra a Roma, Italy, 2-6 July 2011.Competition in different categories anddifficulties. Contact: Förderverein Interkultur,Tel: +49-6403-956525, Fax: +49-6403-956529,Email: mail@interkultur.com - Website:www.interkultur.com

...Festivals & Competitions

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72 Hong Kong International Youth & ChildrenChoral Music Camp, Hong Kong, China, 17-21July 2011. Artistic Director: Prof. Leon Shiu-waiTong. Workshop and concert holding in bestvenues. Attractive accommodation fee, selectivetouring arrangement. Contact: Hong Kong TrebleChoirs' Association, Tel: +852-2381 9262, Fax:+852-2380 7302, Email: info@hktreblechoir.com- Website: www.hktreblechoir.com/hkiyccf

Istanbul International Chorus Competition,Istanbul, Turkey, 20-25 July 2011. For children,female, male, mxed choirs and folk groups.Contact: Istanbul Harman Folklor, Tel: +90-216-3461354, Fax: +90-216-3461308, Email:istcup@istcup.com - Website:www.harmanfolk.com

Melodia! South American Music Festival, BuenosAires, Argentina & Riode Janeiro, Brazil, 21 July-2 Aug 2011. Guest conductor: Francisco Nuñez.Accepting applications from youth and children'schoirs (treble and mixed voices), as well as youthorchestras. Outstanding artistic experiences arecombined with once-in-a-lifetime cultural andoutreach opportunities. Contact: AlessandraD’Ovidio, Classical Movements, Inc., Tel: +1-703-6836040, Fax: +1-703-6836045, Email:Alessandra@ClassicalMovements.com - Website:www.ClassicalMovements.com

57th International Choral Contest of Habanerasand Polyphony, Torrevieja (Alicante), Spain, 23-30 July 2011. Outdoors habaneras, polyphony inthe auditorium "Eras de la Sal" on theMediterranean Sea coast. Apply before: 15 Feb2011. Contact: Certamen Int'l de Habaneras deTorrevieja, Tel: +34-965-710702, Fax: +34-965-712570, Email: habaneras@habaneras.org -Website: www.habaneras.org

3rd International Boys and Men's ChoralFestival, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA, 25 July-1 Aug2011. For boys and men's choirs as well asindividual male singers from around the world.Conductors: David Hill & Julian Ackerley.Performances in Flagstaff, Mesa (Phoenix) andTucson. The program will feature music for treble& male choirs and grand finale of combinedchoirs. Contact: IBMCF, Tel: +1-520-296 6277,Fax: +1-520-296 6751, Email:IBMCF@internationalchoralfestival.com -Website: www.internationalchoralfestival.com

IHLOMBE South African Choral Festival, CapeTown, Pretoria, Johannesburg & Game Park,South Africa, 27 July-8 Aug 2011. In associationwith CHORISA, the Choral Institute of SouthAfrica. Travel to Cape Town, Pretoria,Johannesburg & a Game Park. Concerts,individual and shared with top South AfricanChoirs, Workshops, African drumming, dancing,and singing. Contact: Jayci Thomas, ClassicalMovements, Inc., Tel: +1-800-8820025, Email:jayci@ClassicalMovements.com - Website:www.ClassicalMovements.com

9th World Symposium on Choral Music, PuertoMadryn, Patagonia, Argentina, 3-10 Aug 2011.Organized by the CIC Foundation in cooperationwith ADICORA. Motto: "Singing in Nature".Contact: , Tel: +54-2965-439232, Email:info@wscm9.com - Website: www.wscm9.com

7th International Choral Festival "San Juan Coral2011", Argentina, 11-16 Aug 2011. Noncompetitive choral festival organized byUniversidad Católica de Cuyo´s Choir for 8-10selected mixed, female, male and chamber choirs.Each choir will participate in massed choirrehearsals and performance and individualconcerts at the Auditorio Juan Victoria. Concerts,lectures and workshops for choirs, singers andconductors. Contact: María Elina Mayorga, Tel:+54-264-4234284, Fax: +54-264-4234284,Email: mariaelinamayorga@gmail.com orcoro@uccuyo.edu.ar - Website:www.sanjuancoral.com.ar

EUROTREFF 2011, Wolfenbüttel, Germany, 7-11 Sep 2011. Ateliers for children choir, boys’choir and mixed youth choir. Choir to choirconcerts, open air concerts in the pedestrian area.Contact: Arbeitskreis Musik in der Jugend AMJ,Tel: +49-5331-46016 - 9009595 (from Jan 1st),Fax: +49-5331-43723, Email: info@amj-musik.de- Website: www.amj-musik.de

4th Grieg International Choir Festival, Bergen,Norway, 14-18 Sep 2011. Open to amateur choirsin all choral categories and difficulties.Competition in 4 categories: sacred & secularmusic, folk songs, contemporary music. concerts,"sing together Carmina Burana". Apply before 1April 2011. Contact: Annlaug Hus, Tel: +47 5556 38 65, Fax: +47 55 56 38 66, Email:post@griegfestival.no - Website:www.griegfestival.no

2nd Grand Prix of Choral Music, Graz, Austria,10-17 July 2011. Choirs which are singing on ahigh level but don’t have a long lasting experiencein competitions or haven’t taken part ininternational competitions for a long time get thechance to give a concert on the spot to qualify forthe Grand Prix. Contact: Interkultur Foundation,Tel: +49-6403-956525, Fax: +49-6403-956529,Email: mail@interkultur.com - Website:www.interkultur.com

29th International Music Festival, Cantonigròs,Spain, 14-17 July 2011. Competition andexhibition of music for mixed choir, female voices,children’s choir and popular dances. Contact:Anna Jover & Joana Gonzal - FIMC 2010, Tel:+34-93-2326444, Fax: +34-93-2463603, Email:fimc@fimc.es - Website: www.fimc.es

Orientale Concentus IV, Taichung City, Taiwan,14-18 July 2011. Competition for mixed, equalvoices, children’s, folklore and chamber choirs.Organised by the Singapore Federation of ChoralMusic and Ace99 Cultural Pte Ltd. ArtisticDirector: Nelson Kwei. Contact: ACE 99 CulturalPte Ltd., Ryan Goh, Tel: +65-9663-1325, Fax:+65-6368-3819, Email: event@ace99.com.sg -Website: www.ace99.com.sg

Rhapsody! Children’s Music Festival, Prague,Czech Republic & Vienna and Salzburg, Austrria,14-25 July 2011. With guest conductor JoanGregoryk. Participating choirs will perform atfamous venues in three of Europe's most musicaland historical cities: Vienna, Salzburg, and Prague,highlighted by the Grand Final Concert.Workshop, musical exchanges and sightseeingtours. Contact: Zhongjie Shi, ClassicalMovements, Inc., Tel: +1-703-6836040, Fax: +1-703-6836045, Email:ZS@ClassicalMovements.com - Website:www.ClassicalMovements.com

International Singing Week Setmana CantatTarragona 2011, Spain, 16-24 July 2011. Formixed choirs, female choirs and individual singers.With Johan Duijck (Belgium), Basilio Astúlez(Basque Country), Hugo de la Vega (Argentina)and Francisco Simaldoni (Uruguay), EdmonColomer (Catalonia). In collaboration with theCatalan Federation for Choral Associations andEuropa Cantat. Contact: Associació Cor Ciutat deTarragona (Setmana Cantant), Tel: +34-977-227721, Fax: +34-977-230514, Email:setmanacantant@gmail.com - Website:www.setmanacantant.org

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...Festivals & Competitions

Chor.com Convention for Choral Music,Dortmund, Germany, 22-25 Sep 2011. Biennalconvention including workshops, masterclasses,symposia on social and political topics, exhibition,concerts. With Simon Halsey (artist in residence),Rundfunkchor Berlin, Stefan Parkman, RupertHuber, WDR Rundfunkchor, Freider Bernius,Harald Jers, Kammerchor Consono, Brady Allred,Maybebop, Erik Westberg, etc... Contact:Deutscher Chorverband e.V., Tel: +49-30-847108930, Fax: +49-30-847108999, Email:projektbuero@deutscher-chorverband.de -Website: www.chor.com

11th International Choir Contest of Flanders,Maasmechelen, Belgium, 23-25 Sep 2011.Limited to ensembles from 12 to 40 equal voicesand 16 to 40 mixed voices. Contact: InternationalChoir Contest of Flanders, Gert Vanderlee, Tel:+32-89-769668, Fax: +32-89-721815,Email: info@ikv-maasmechelen.be - Website: www.ikv-maasmechelen.be

Rimini International Choral Competition, Italy,6-9 Oct 2011. Competition for equal voices,mixed, chamber, children, young, folk andspiritual Choirs in the beautiful ancient Town ofRimini. Possibility of a sung Mass in theRenaissance Cathedral. Contact: RiminiInternational Choral Competition, Tel: +39-347-2573878, Email: competition@riminichoral.it -Website: www.riminichoral.it

9th In... Canto Sul Garda, Riva del Garda, Italy,13-17 Oct 2011. Competition in differentcategories and difficulties. Contact: Interkulture.V., Tel: +49-6403-956525, Fax: +49-6403-956529, Email: mail@interkultur.com - Website:www.interkultur.com

Festival Magic Mozart Moments, Salzburg,Austria, 13-16 Oct 2011. Voices from all over theworld and the Salzburg Cathedral Choir &Orchestra. Singers are required to have sung theperformed piece before. Contact: CultoursEurope, Tel: +43-662-821310, Fax: +43-662-82131040, Email: office@cultours.at - Website:www.cultours-europe.com

4th International Choir Competition andFestival, Malta, 3-7 Nov 2011. Open to allcategories. Contact: Förderverein Interkultur, Tel: +49-6403-956525, Fax: +49-6403-956529,Email: mail@interkultur.com - Website:www.interkultur.com

7th International Warsaw Choir Festival VarsoviaCantat, Warsaw, Poland, 4-6 Nov 2011. For allamateur choirs. Contact: Choral Society LIRAVarsovia Cantat, Tel: +48-22-641 6157, Fax: +48-22-641 6157, Email: info@varsoviacantat.pl -Website: www.varsoviacantat.pl

Krakow Advent & Christmas Choir Festival,Krakow, Poland, 9-11 Dec 2011. For all amateurchoirs. Contact: Choral Society LIRA VarsoviaCantat, Tel: +48-22-641 6157, Fax: +48-22-6416157, Email: mail@krakowchoirfestival.pl -Website: mail@krakowchoirfestival.pl

Concorso Corale Internazionale, Riva del Garda,Italy, 1-5 Apr 2012. For all kinds of choirs fromall around the world. Contact: Interkultur e.V.,Tel: +49-6403-956525, Fax: +49-6403-956529,Email: mail@interkultur.com - Website:www.interkultur.com

3rd International Choral Competition forChildren's Choirs "Il Garda in Coro", Malcesinesul Garda, Verona, Italy, 17-21 Apr 2012.Children must be born after 1 Jan 1994. Twocategories: secular and sacred music. Contact:Associazione Il Garda In Coro, Renata Peroni,Tel: +39-045-6570332, Fax: +39-178-6017432,Email: info@ilgardaincoro.it - Website:www.ilgardaincoro.it

Venezia in Musica, Choir Competition andFestival, Venice, Italy, 29 Apr-3 May 2012. For allkinds of choirs from all around the world.Contact: Interkultur Foundation, Tel: +49-6403-956525, Fax: +49-6403-956529, Email:mail@interkultur.com - Website:www.interkultur.com

8th European Festival of Youth Choirs, Basel,Switzerland, 16-20 May 2012. Festival for 18selected children’s and youth choirs (age limit 25)from European countries. No competition. Over20 choral concerts in churches, concert halls andopen air in Basel and the surrounding region formore than 22’000 spectators. Workshop day for allparticipating choirs, party for the singers, musicculture and choir conducting education projectsorganized by Swiss music academies, open singingfor everybody. Contact: Europäisches JugendchorFestival Basel, Kathrin Renggli, Tel: +41-61-4012100, Fax: +41-61-4012104, Email:k.renggli@ejcf.ch - Website: www.ejcf.ch

41st International Competition "Florilège Vocalde Tours", France, 25-27 May 2012. Fourcategories: mixed choirs, mixed vocal ensembles,equal voices (male or female), free expression (allensembles). Qualifying rounds, final rounds andGrand Prix. International competition for youthand children's choirs - two rounds. Contact:Florilège Vocal de Tours, Tel: +33-2-47216526,Fax: +33-2-47216771, Email:contact@florilegevocal.com - Website:www.florilegevocal.com

28th International Franz Schubert ChoirCompetition, Vienna, Austria, 13-17 June 2012.For all kinds of choirs from all around the world.Contact: Interkultur Foundation, Tel: +49-6403-956525, Fax: +49-6403-956529, Email:mail@interkultur.com - Website:www.interkultur.com

Serenade! Washington, DC Choral Festival,USA, 29 June-2 July 2012. Individual sharedchoir concerts in cathedrals, churches, schools,halls and National Monuments, workshops, choralevensong eervices in prestigious cathedrals,churches and basilicas, sightseeing in Washington,DC, Alexandria, Baltimore and surrounding areas.Contact: Yarina, Classical Movements, Tel: +1-703-6836040, Fax: +1-703-6836045, Email:Yarina@ClassicalMovements.com - Website:www.ClassicalMovements.com

4th International Children's and Youth ChoirFestival "Touch the future", Dannstadt-Schauernheim, Germany, 30 June-8 July 2012.For children and youth from around the world. Atreble-voice choir festival with choir theater andshow choir elements. Guest Choreograph JohnJacobson and artistic director Judith Janzen directthe children to a wonderful experience of song anddance. Many opportunities for choirs to presentthe music of their country and meet new friends.Contact: Juventus Vocalis, Judith Janzen, Email:judith.janzen@t-online.de - Website: www.touch-the-future.com

7th World Choir Games, Cincinnati (Ohio),USA, 4-14 July 2012. WCG taking place in theUSA for the first time. The city of Cincinnati hasa long cultural tradition including the oldestongoing choral festival in the world. For choirsfrom all over the world. Contact: InterkulturFoundation, Tel: +49-6403-956525, Fax: +49-6403-956529, Email: mail@interkultur.com -Website: www.interkultur.com

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...Festivals & Competitions

Summa Cum Laude International Youth MusicFestival, held in the Musikverein in Vienna,Austria, 7-11 July 2012. Cross-cultural andmusical exchange event including workshops,lectures, seminars, concerts in and around Vienna,competition with an international and highlyrenowned jury. Contact: Summa Cum LaudeYouth Music Festival, Tel: +43-650-619 2152,Fax: +43-1-968 5750, Email: office@sclfestival.org- Website: www.sclfestival.org

8th Golden Gate International Children's andYouth Choir Festival, San Francisco Bay Area,USA, 8-14 July 2012. Competitions, concerts andsocial activities throughout San Francisco BayArea. Artistic Director: Robert Geary (USA).Festival conductors and adjudicators: MaríaGuinand and Stephen Leek. Apply before: Oct2011. Contact: Piedmont Choirs, Tel: +1-510-5474441, Fax: +1-510-5477449, Email:info@goldengatefestival.org - Website:www.goldengatefestival.org

Europa Cantat Festival 2012, Turin, Italy, 27July-5 Aug 2012. Spectacular vocal festival withparticipants from Europe and beyond. Workshopsby international conductors in all vocal genres.Open singing, concerts: sing & listen,international contacts. Contact: Europa CantatFestival 2012, Tel: +49-228-9125663, Fax: +49-228-9125658, Email: info@EuropaCantat.org -Website: www.ectorino2012.it

A regularly up-dated list of all events may befound on our website: www.ifcm.net

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