# Short list of essential composers of sacred choral music



## NightHawk (Nov 3, 2011)

I want to keep this list as short as possible, but I want it to link the past, beginning with the School of Notre Dame, to the present using the best examples. I do not want multiple composers for each historical period (hence Josquin but no Isaac or Obrect or Di Rore, Palestrina but no Victoria etc.). Please amend or add to this list any obvious omissions especially in the 19th and 20th centuries. I will also be glad of advice about the list I have given - if you think another composer should be given in place of one I have listed, please let me know. Thanks in advance for any replies.

Leonin
Perotin
Machaut
Dufay
Josquin
GGabrieli
Palestrina
Monteverdi
Carissimi 
Schutz
JSBach
Handel
Haydn
Mozart
Beethoven
Berlioz
Brahms
Bruckner
Stravinsky
Messiaen
Gubaidalina (?)


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Faure is a glaring absence.....


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## Vaneyes (May 11, 2010)

Schumann, Penderecki.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

I'd stick in Ockeghem - an essential like between Dufay and Josquin.


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## jalex (Aug 21, 2011)

John Dunstaple (or Dunstable)? He was a contemporary of Dufay and hugely influential.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

jalex said:


> John Dunstaple (or Dunstable)? He was a contemporary of Dufay and hugely influential.


I think Dunstable and his group in England introduced the third as a consonant, and Dufay perfected this sound. As far as this phase of music, I wonder if instead of presenting both of them, would it be an either/or?


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## peeyaj (Nov 17, 2010)

*Schubert* is the *most* glaring omission. He composed some of the best liturgical music in the 19th century, including; six masses, Lazarus oratorio, the setting of Psalm 23, Tantum Ergo and etc.

The Mass in E Flat is one of the most beautiful masses ever written. Far beautiful than Beethoven ever written.


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## jalex (Aug 21, 2011)

peeyaj said:


> The Mass in E Flat is one of the most beautiful masses ever written. Far beautiful than Beethoven ever written.


*sigh* If you don't like threads descending in to Beethoven vs Schubert debates then really you shouldn't post such provocative comments. I don't feel the need to write about how much better than Schubert Beethoven was every time I mention him.

That said, I agree that Schubert should be on the list.


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## NightHawk (Nov 3, 2011)

You are right, the 'English Countenance' is important and will add Dunstab(p)le. Thanks!



Manxfeeder said:


> I think Dunstable and his group in England introduced the third as a consonant, and Dufay perfected this sound. As far as this phase of music, I wonder if instead of presenting both of them, would it be an either/or?


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## NightHawk (Nov 3, 2011)

Thanks to all so far - I made the OP list quickly (obviously), but knew TC would jump on the omissions. Ockeghem is a good late Medieval representative and I troubled over leaving him off. I opted instead for the Dufay to Josquin since Dufay and Ockeghem are such close contemporaries, but I do like O's _Missa Prolationem_! Schubert, Faure and Penderecki are definitely going on the list. Really interested in the Penderecki - any other avant garde 'sacred' works out there?


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## Jeremy Marchant (Mar 11, 2010)

NightHawk said:


> I do not want multiple composers for each historical period (hence Josquin but no Isaac or Obrect or Di Rore, Palestrina but no Victoria etc.).


This is an absurd restriction!


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

Just a little nitpicky, but personally I'd like to see someone from the time between Josquin and Palestrina, like Clemens non Papa or Gombert. It was a distinctly different style from Josquin, more thickly scored, and Palestrina's pared-down style was more of a reaction to what Gombert's contemporaries were doing. But I'm probably the only one who would notice something like that.


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## NightHawk (Nov 3, 2011)

I have to keep the list short - it's a requirement not mine - I am merely a moderator for a local singing group. Sorry to be absurd and thanks for the encouragement and suggestions. This probably works well in your line of business re your windy interview.



Jeremy Marchant said:


> This is an absurd restriction!


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## hocket (Feb 21, 2010)

Seeing as they were born in the same year and died within ten years of each other don't Bach and Handel breach your peculiar restriction?

As well as the gap between Josquin and Palestrina there are fairly glaring ones between Carissimi and Bach/Handel and betwen them and Haydn (who was hardly a prolific composer for the voice...).

Some suggestions:
Ciconia
Willaert, Gombert or Richafort
Cesti, Legrenzi, Lully, Kerll or Rosenmuller
Stradella, Buxtehude or Charpentier
A Scarlatti, Purcell or Fux
Pergolesi, Gluck, Galuppi or Mondonville


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## NightHawk (Nov 3, 2011)

Yes, it is the only 'breach' (I think) and that is b/c the group I am compiling the list for will do an abbreviated 'Messiah' in a week or so, and they expressed also wanting to perform one of the shorter Cantatas of Bach in the Spring.



hocket said:


> Seeing as they were born in the same year and died within ten years of each other don't Bach and Handel breach your peculiar restriction?
> 
> As well as the gap between Josquin and Palestrina there are fairly glaring ones between Carissimi and Bach/Handel and betwen them and Haydn (who was hardly a prolific composer for the voice...).
> 
> ...


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## jalex (Aug 21, 2011)

hocket said:


> Haydn (who was hardly a prolific composer for the voice...).


14 Masses, 2 (religious) oratorios and a Stabat Mater ain't bad.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

NightHawk said:


> Any other avant garde 'sacred' works out there?


Have you heard any James MacMillan? Try his Seven Last Words from the Cross.

Is there a reason Arvo Part was left off? He seemed to be a major force at the end of the 20th Century, spawning a lot of imitators.


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## Lukecash12 (Sep 21, 2009)

peeyaj said:


> *Schubert* is the *most* glaring omission. He composed some of the best liturgical music in the 19th century, including; six masses, Lazarus oratorio, the setting of Psalm 23, Tantum Ergo and etc.
> 
> The Mass in E Flat is one of the most beautiful masses ever written. Far beautiful than Beethoven ever written.


And let's not forget Mendelssohn's Oratorios. I'm puzzled, with no offense to the person who started this thread, that Beethoven was mentioned as opposed to Schubert or Mendelssohn.

I'd also like to mention Vivaldi, because he wrote hundreds of sacred works.


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## hocket (Feb 21, 2010)

jalex said:


> 14 Masses, 2 (religious) oratorios and a Stabat Mater ain't bad.


Fair point. I'm ashamed to say that I was completely oblivious to his Masses.


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## jalex (Aug 21, 2011)

Lukecash12 said:


> I'm puzzled, with no offense to the person who started this thread, that Beethoven was mentioned as opposed to Schubert or Mendelssohn.


Well, since the Missa Solemnis is considered (along with Bach's Mass in B Minor) to be not only the greatest Mass setting of the common practice period but also one of the supreme compositions of any kind ever, it would be quite an omission from the list. There is also the fine oratorio 'Christ on the Mount of Olives' and the 'long underrated masterpiece' (Penguin Guide to Compact Discs), the Mass in C.


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## jalex (Aug 21, 2011)

hocket said:


> Fair point. I'm ashamed to say that I was completely oblivious to his Masses.


 You haven't heard the Lord Nelson?


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## NightHawk (Nov 3, 2011)

Beethoven was mentioned b/c of the Missa Solemnis - Schubert was left off only b/c I'm trying to keep the OP Short List request - and Schubert died a year after B. But, yes...I appreciate your question. Schubert should have been included, and probably will be by the director of the choral group I'm trying to make a dot by dot connecting list from 12th c to 21st.



Lukecash12 said:


> And let's not forget Mendelssohn's Oratorios. I'm puzzled, with no offense to the person who started this thread, that Beethoven was mentioned as opposed to Schubert or Mendelssohn.
> 
> I'd also like to mention Vivaldi, because he wrote hundreds of sacred works.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

I know I've been throwing in things left out, but all told, I appreciate the thought you've put into all this in order to make it something an average person would feel like tackling without becoming overwhelmed.


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## hocket (Feb 21, 2010)

jalex said:


> You haven't heard the Lord Nelson?


It'd be nice to be able to say that I had heard it but didn't know that it was Haydn, but truth be told it's not ringing any bells. At least I have now heard some of it, so thanks for that.


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## tannhaeuser (Nov 7, 2011)

Thomas Tallis


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## Lisztian (Oct 10, 2011)

Vaneyes said:


> Schumann, Penderecki.


I've been interested in Schumann's choral music for quite awhile, so it interests me that you believe is worthy of being listed here. What are his main choral works, and some good recordings of them?


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## CVM (Apr 2, 2012)

"Haydn (who was hardly a prolific composer for the voice...)"

Yes, I agree, Haydn wrote virtually nothing for voice. Just four oratorios, fourteen masses, two Te Deums, three Salves, quite a few songs with piano, I've forgotten how many operas, numerous insertion arias, various miscellaneous church pieces - in fact, he wrote so little for voice that it was necessary to split the Hoboken catalogue into two volumes, one instrumental, the other vocal....

Of course, if we want a truly prolific Haydn, there's his brother Michael. Far too neglected particularly for his church music, which Joseph specifically considered superior to his own.


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## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)

*A Short List of Essential Composers of Sacred Choral Music:*

*1. J.S. Bach*


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## CVM (Apr 2, 2012)

Short List of Composers Of Sacred Music Named Bach Represented In My Essential Collection:

1. C.P.E.

2. J. C.


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

Some modern era ones (not mentioned above) -

1900-1945: 
*Janacek* (eg. many works for male chorus, also _Glagolitic Mass_) ; 
*Frank Martin *- _Mass for Double Choir_
*Martinu* - _Field Mass_
*Kodaly* - _Psalmus Hungaricus_

After 1945, up to 2000: 
*Ligeti *- _Requiem_ & _Lux Aeterna _;
* Ariel Ramirez *- _Misa Criolla_ ; 
*Dutilleux* - _Shadows of Time_; 
& one involving electronics (taped sounds of African music) is *David Fanshawe's *_African Sanctus_

2000 to present: 
*John Adams *- _On the Transmigration of Souls _; 
*Jonathan Dove *-_ Kothener Mass_

I could not keep to just one per era. Just listen to these and work out what you like/need, etc...


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

As much as I admire Stravinsky's sacred works I still think Britten wins hands down in this department assuming there isn't room for both in the same timeline. My dilemma is how could I choose between Part and Penderecki for the present slot.


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## Moira (Apr 1, 2012)

John Rutter, contemporary


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## Operadowney (Apr 4, 2012)

I personally think some more modern names should show up. Any love for Healey Willan on this list?


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Where is Rachmaninoff !?


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## Lisztian (Oct 10, 2011)

Not to sound like a broken record, but Liszt absolutely should be on this list. 'Christus' is one of the greatest Oratorios ever written, the Gran Mass is another masterpiece. Via Crucis is a masterpiece of stark, almost brutal austerity (perfect for the subject of course). He wrote a few other very fine large scale choral works like his Psalm XIII, a Requiem, and the Hungarian Coronation Mass. His oratorio on St Elisabeth, while very patchy and perhaps fairly dull overall, at least deserves a listen and there are many moments and sections that deserve to not be forgotten. He also wrote a few other large scale choral works that I am not yet familiar with, like his Missa quattuor vocum ad aequales concinente organo, Missa choralis, organo concinente, and his unfinished Oratorio on St Stanislaus - which are all supposedly very fine works. He also wrote a large array of (less important) secular works.

Then there's the works on a shorter scale - and there are many gems here. Some of my favourites are: Die heilige Cäcilia, Psalms 18, 23 and 137, and a beautiful Ave Verum Corpus. I still have a LOT more to explore and become more familiar with as far as his shorter scale choral works go.

Here are some videos of the works i've mentioned.

Christus (all three parts on youtube).






Missa solennis zur Einweihung der Basilika in Gran (Gran Mass) (all six parts on youtube).






Via Crucis (all five parts on youtube).
















And many more.


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## rborganist (Jan 29, 2013)

Where is Purcell? On the modern end, there are Herbert Howells, Leo Sowerby, C. H. H. Parry, Cesar Franck, and Herbert Sumsion. Sowerby sets sacred texts with harmonies which are sometimes bluesy or jazzy (for example "I Will Life Up Mine Eyes") and Howells, who may have been inspired by Sowerby, has similar moments in "Like as the Hart Desireth the Waterbrooks." All these have a significant body of sacred choral work; I have only listed their most famous pieces.


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## Novelette (Dec 12, 2012)

Any sacred work by Cherubini:

Two requiems, many fine motets, other great masses.

The Missa Solemnis in D Minor of Cherubini's is among the greatest works of sacred music in the 19th century, in my humble opinion.


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## Jobis (Jun 13, 2013)

Purcell?

Seems like an obvious choice.


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## RobertAshby (Mar 1, 2012)

Byrd, Janacek and Dvorak.


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## Orange Soda King (Sep 14, 2010)

I agree with the person who suggested Mendelssohn, and not just his large oratorios. He has many fantastic smaller sacred choral works. Jauchzet dem Herrn, Warum Toben die Heiden, Mitten wir in Leben sind, Richte mich Gott, Denn er hat seinen Engeln befohlen über mir...


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## Notung (Jun 12, 2013)

No one beats Palestrina's perfection of vocal line. He keeps it complex while making the text understandable. The result is like the angels themselves are singing...Ahhh.


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## Vaneyes (May 11, 2010)

JS Bach, Mozart, Schubert, Schumann, Berlioz, Bruckner, Dvorak, Faure, Ligeti, Penderecki, Poulenc, Schnittke, Szymanowski.


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## Cosmos (Jun 28, 2013)

I agree with DeepR. Even though you wouldn't think of his name for this list, Rachmaninov wrote some great choral music. His All Night Vigil is amazing (My own opinion, it's his greatest masterpiece right next to the second symphony and piano concerto)


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