Italicized Titles in Programs
  • madorganist
    Posts: 906
    In programs, my rule is to use italics for a multi-movement work with a non-generic title specified by the composer, but not for a work identified by form alone or by form and number, key, or voicing. One would italicize, for example, A German Requiem, but not Mass No. 2 in G. These rules are usually pretty cut-and-dried, but there is some gray area. Which of the following titles should be italicized? Why or why not?

    Christmas Oratorio
    Mass for Advent
    Solemn Mass
    Mass for Peace
    Mass for the Dead
    War Requiem
    St. Matthew Passion
    The Passion according to St. John

    What style would CMAA use in a Colloquium program?
  • chonakchonak
    Posts: 9,160
    I'd italicize them all. None of them looks quite generic.

    [update: typo corrected]
    Thanked by 1madorganist
  • CHGiffenCHGiffen
    Posts: 5,151
    With English titles one normally uses plain typeface, but with foreign titles one normally uses italic typeface. Thus:

    Christmas Oratorio - Weihnachtsoratorium
    St. John Passion - Johannespassion
    Mass for the Dead - Missa pro defunctis
    Solemn Mass - Missa Solemnis
    A German Requiem - Ein deutsches Requiem
    Anthem "How beauteous are their feet" - Motet Ego sum panis vivus

    However, consistency is the main thing, and if you encounter a different standard, don't be afraid to use it.




    Thanked by 5madorganist JonathanKK M. Jackson Osborn Ben smvanroode
  • Richard MixRichard Mix
    Posts: 2,768
    There are different approaches to style to be sure; I would call the un-italicized A Mass of Life not exactly normal. War Requiem is non-generic unless I've missed recent developments, but why not War Requiem, Op. 66? "Mass for Advent" doesn't suggest a title or even a genre to me as much as a press release. The only real grey area I can spot on the list is Christmas Oratorio, Op. 12, which I would be much tempted to sidestep with Oratorio de Noël.
    Thanked by 2madorganist CHGiffen
  • madorganist
    Posts: 906
    Thanks, everyone. Good points! CHGiffen read my mind better than Richard - I was thinking Bach rather than Saint-Saëns ;)
    Thanked by 1CHGiffen
Add a Comment