In recent years, there has been a remarkable numerical increase in choirs, the largest in the history of Greek choral art, through which a modern stream of choral expression is formed, intertwined with the particularities of contemporary Greek music and culture in general.
The art of European choir, with the exception of some areas in the Ionian Islands, began to develop in Greece in the early 20th century. This is a musical innovation that is not directly connected to the Greek vocal tradition, as it was shaped in previous centuries, but was adopted from Central Europe primarily.
The main axes of its expression were the efforts of musicians of various specialties with a love for polyphonic music, who endeavored to cultivate it through the interpretation of choral works by European composers, mainly from Germany, Austria, and Italy. Soon, the repertoire was enriched with Western-style harmonizations of the Orthodox Divine Liturgy and various traditional songs, written in the native language of the choristers.
Various regions of the country created centers of choral activities, where thousands of choristers of all ages, genders, and social classes came into their first contact with European choral expression. The absence of a systematic teaching methodology and publications of authentic choral music constituted the main obstacle to the development of choral art.
The author, a Doctor of Music Studies from the Ionian University and holder of a Master’s degree from Boston University (CFA) in choral conducting, has specialized for two decades in teaching European choir to children and youth voices. This manual thoroughly presents the art of choral practice, with an emphasis on teaching children’s and youth choirs and reference to issues concerning the modern Greek choir conductor.
With the support of relevant scientific literature, the main fields of choral practice are covered: formal and essential qualifications of the conductor, audition process for choir formation, musical preparation of the conductor, repertoire selection, physiology of children’s and adolescent voices, teaching methodology for rehearsals, specifications - equipment for rehearsal rooms, artistic programming, issues of the choir’s stage presence.
The second part of the manual includes elements on the technique of musical direction, presentation of choral genres, warm-ups suitable for children and youth voices, and proposed repertoire graded by difficulty levels. Upon completing the study of the book, the choir conductor has a detailed picture of the context of their action.
Thessaloniki, May 2011, Maria Emma Meligkopoulou, MusM, PhD, Choir Conductor.
Number of pages
167
Cover
Soft
Year of publication
2011
Publisher
Panas Music
20 Coins
To earn Skroutz Coins, join Skroutz Plus and accept the terms of the reward program.
