News from the cozy corner?

Sometimes it is regrettable that the crazy times of experimental choral music of the 1960s and 1970s are over, when new ways were sought with space notation, improvisational elements, aleatoric and all other possible forms of sound production. In comparison, some of today's choral music comes across as somewhat streamlined, market-adapted, interchangeable and surprisingly traditional, sometimes a little overdressed. The accusation of a neo-romantic style can therefore not be dismissed out of hand, and some people perceive the flat, cuddly atmosphere of the many strongly repeated seconds, sevenths and non-chords as musical "soft porn".

On the one hand, new "mystics" such as Arvo Pärt, John Tavener or Jan Sandström naturally gave choral music interesting new impulses towards the end of the 20th century. On the other hand, there are the prolific pop stars among choral composers such as Eric Whitacre, Morten Lauridsen or Ola Gjeilo, to whom the above-mentioned attributes can be applied more readily, but who also capture a certain zeitgeist with their film music-like sound world. This category of choral music, which is very popular with many choirs and audiences because it is relatively easy to perform, sounds good and is stylistically moderate, also includes the choral works of the Swede Mårten Jansson, the Briton George Arthur and the German Max Beckschäfer.

A large number of a cappella works by Mårten Jansson for mixed choir, male and female choir have already been published by Bärenreiter (cf. Review SMZ 12/2014, S.19). New additions are now a Missa brevis in the unusual key of E flat minor and a Missa Popularis. The Missa brevis is consistently set for 4-part mixed choir and is in the tradition of the short mass (without Credo). It is recommendable, easy to master and its concise brevity makes it suitable for use in church services as well as for integration into a concert program. The instrumentation of the Missa popularis is Ikea modularly variable: it can be performed with female choir (SSA) and string quartet or mixed choir (SSATB) with string quintet. It has its roots in Swedish folk music and uses a different type of dance as a source of inspiration for each movement. The result is a rhythmically lively piece lasting approx. 25 minutes, which does not place too many demands on the choir and strings.

A number of exciting new church music works by the young award-winning English composer George Arthur have been published by Universal-Edition Wien. Ave maris stella and Hail Mary are calm and beautiful meditations for mixed choir of medium difficulty (with partial voice divisions) on these famous and frequently set texts. They are joined by the short motet All Angels and the clever arrangement of the English Christmas carol I Saw Three Ships. There are some audio samples on YouTube, recorded by choirs under the direction of the composer.

Also published by Universal-Edition are the Five Christmas motets for 4-part mixed choir a cappella by Max Beckschäfer, who has a somewhat more individual style than the other two composers. They are partly reminiscent of the Christmas motets by Francis Poulenc, but are varied short pieces on less well-known Latin texts of the Christmas season and form a small cycle lasting 10 minutes. An interesting alternative for a varied Christmas concert program or as individual motets in church services.

Mårten Jansson: Missa brevis in E flat minor SATB, choral score BA 8521, € 4.95, Bärenreiter, Kassel 2016
id., Missa Popularis for choir SSA (TB ad lib.) and string quartet (double bass ad lib.), score BA 7420, € 24.95; piano reduction, BA 7420-90, € 13.95

George Arthur: Ave maris stella, for mixed choir a cappella, choral score UE 21716, € 3.50, Universal Edition, Vienna 2016
id., Ave Maria, for mixed choir a cappella, UE 21715, € 3.95
id., All Angels, for mixed choir a cappella, UE 21714, € 2.95
id., I Saw Three Ships, for mixed choir a cappella, UE 21717, € 3.50

Max Beckschäfer: Five Latin Christmas motets for mixed choir SATB a cappella, UE 37125-37129, € 2.95-3.50 each, Universal Edition, Vienna 2016