800 works of choral music

Church musician and editor Bernd Stegmann has undertaken a commendable undertaking: An overview of European choral literature, beginning at the end of the 16th century up to the present day. The comprehensive compendium from Bärenreiter-Verlag, a reliable supplier of choral literature of all kinds for decades, is aimed at choir conductors and interested singers alike. Arranged alphabetically, the 800 works of a cappella choral music are accompanied by notes on the history of their composition, performance practice and aesthetic aspects, making practical repertoire work easier. A categorization into levels of difficulty from 1 to 5 (geared towards a choir of "medium ability") can serve as a guide if a work has not yet been rehearsed. The catchy introduction allows the user to travel through European music history and participate in the developments of composition, interpretation and cultural practice of communal vocal music.

The portraits of the works vary in depth; the 22 authors succeed in providing differentiated analyses, descriptions of the works and information on the history of their creation as well as a "ranking" within the wide-ranging musical and cultural-historical treasure trove of "choral music". The comprehensive 718-page handbook also includes indexes on composers, authors, text sources and scoring requirements, a practical categorization for quick orientation; the performance period and publisher are also given for all works.

This successful handbook encourages you to take a closer look at the actual content of your daily work or to consider one or two unknown works for your own ensemble. And it gives choir conductors the motivation to be prepared for better times with programmatic work after the gloomy winter of the pandemic.

Handbook of choral music. 800 works from six centuries, edited by Bernd Stegmann, XX + 718 p., € 89.99, Bärenreiter/J.B. Metzler, Kassel/Stuttgart 2021, ISBN 978-3-7618-2342-2