Posts Tagged ‘ American Choirs ’

These works are neglected miniature masterpieces, which deserve to be performed more often in the future – James Litton.

A short playlist today, just two pieces – short but nevertheless beautiful music and beautifully sung. The music is by Michael Haydn (1737 – 1806) whose religious music was greatly admired both by his elder brother Joseph Hayden who said that it was far better than his own and by Mozart some of whose own religious music shows Johann Michael's influence . Michael Haydn's fame both during his lifetime and later mostly rests on this religious music of which nearly 800 compositions survive most of this is music for the Church, and includes including   settings of the Mass , vesper settings and more than 200 graduals, offertories and  propers of the Mass. His later choral compositions are firmly in the classical mould but not slavishly so. Having a famous big brother and a genius young friend didn't stop Michael Haydn putting his own stamp on his choral music which often has not only baroque elements but reaches back even earlier to use cantus firmus, and both psalmic and antiphon tones, the result is often very appealing. Another very appealing feature of much of his choral work – at least to me, is that he obviously took pains to fit his music to the abilities of those singing it you can see it throughout his writing which Litton described as perfectly fitting the 'sonority and ranges of the younger and teenage boys' Litton goes on to observe that Michael Haydn obviously took great pleasure in teaching, rehearsing, and conducting his young charges and that 'he gave them music to relish'.

Click here to listen to the music and read the rest of the posting ...