Choral Music

In the Romantic period two examples are very important, both of which followed the Handel style and tradition of the oratorio.

‘L’enfance du Christ’, ‘The childhood of Christ’, by the French composer Berlioz was first performed in 1854 and contains much beautiful music. Here is perhaps the most famous chorus, ‘Thou must leave thy lowly dwelling’. Listen to the homophonic texture of the music, which is strophic in style, i.e. three verses of the same music.

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(left) Hector Berlioz 1803 - 1869

Mendelssohn’s ‘Elijah’ is another important example. Listen to this example of a chorus for women’s voices from that work, in ‘Angels’. This is in a major key and is homophonic in style.

At the end of the Romantic period Bruckner composed a large number of religious works, some of which have been mentioned in other sections of this topic. He wrote many Masses. Listen to this excerpt from his Mass in E minor. Notice the use of unison singing, chromatic sequences towards the end, and organ and orchestral accompaniment, although little is heard of the orchestra in this excerpt.

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Verdi's Requiem has a similar dramatic sound to Mozart's but is perhaps more like an excerpt from one of his operas, no matter how sincere it was meant to sound. Again this is a short movement but it is even more dramatic than the Mozart version. It has a large chorus and orchestra and in particular a large percussion section including a bass drum, clearly heard on the off beat at the beginning, and crash cymbals.

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Verdi was best known as an operatic composer and in this excerpt you can clearly hear the influence of that style. Lacrymosa, 'Tearful that day shall be', is as the words suggest a more contemplative movement. Listen for the orchestral vamp at the beginning along with the mezzo soprano soloist who is later joined by a bass soloist before the chorus enters. Notice also the typical beautiful Italian melodic line.

There are other dramatic examples from this period, for instance the Requiem composed by the French composer Hector Berlioz. This is a massive work for large orchestra which contains eight pairs of timpani and four extra brass groups positioned in the corners of the performance area. Other examples are much more contemplative in style. In this example, by the French composer Faure, listen for the treble voices and the accompanying ATB (alto, tenor and bass) chorus, and the accompanying arpeggios on the organ as they sing 'In Paradisum'.

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(left) Gabriel Faure about 1889

At the end of the Romantic period, Bruckner wrote a number of motets with rich harmony and often for an a cappella (unaccompanied) choir. Listen to this setting of ‘Ave Maria’ sung by an amateur choir.

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Anthems were used through the centuries in the reformed church. Here is an excerpt from ‘Hear my prayer’ by Mendelssohn. Notice in this example the continuing use of imitation, this time between a boy treble solo voice and the mixed-voice choir.

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