Composers
  • Palestrina
    Posts: 422
    I'm writing a thesis about a composer who wrote decent music after Vatican II for the vernacular liturgy.

    To highlight his significance, I wish to contrast his style with the styles of other composers of the era (c.1960-1975). We all know the composers we dislike from this era, but I need a few examples of works in a blatantly secular style with which to contrast this man's work. So, if you can think of anything horribly folksy, sentimental, please reply to this post with a composer name and work.
  • chonakchonak
    Posts: 9,220
    I couldn't find a copy of "Brand New Day" or "Enter, Rejoice, and Come In" -- for facile cheeriness those would have been ideal -- but I dug up the "Glory 'n' Praise" books (Guitar Accompaniment edition, vols 1-3) and found "Yahweh, the Faithful One" by Dan Schutte, SJ, (c) 1970.
  • Charles in CenCA
    Posts: 2,416
    Palestrina, I'll offer you up some names in a second. However, I'd appreciate it, as I hope my friend and musicologist Dr. O'Connor would also, were you to provide a crux of your thesis. If, for example you intend to compare Peloquin or Marier to a Baltimore seminarian strummer, I cannot fathom the value of such analysis. Your own descriptives in your solicitation, such as "decent music," "composers we dislike," and "blatantly secular," don't particularly bespeak an academic, objective endeavor. No intent to offend. But one really cannot go far with a comparative analysis of the work of your namesake and that of a trouvere or minnesinger.

    Paul Quinlan (It's a Brand New Day)
    Peter Scholtes
    Ray Repp
    Sebastian Temple (a very nice man)
    Joe Wise
    Jack Miffleton (a real gentleman, heart of gold)
    Tim Schoenbachler
    Ed Gutfreund
    Ron Griffen
    appropriated from Protestants:
    Kurt Kaiser
    Andre Crouch
    Karen Lafferty

    Off the top of my head. Lots more if you do the legwork.
  • Palestrina
    Posts: 422
    Charles, what I am trying to do through my research is to demonstrate how my chosen composer's approach to the "problem" of music in the vernacular liturgy differed from that of his contemporaries. I do believe that there is value in this research, because I think his style provides a good model for future composers. The man that I am researching studied Chant at Solesmes, and also did some study with Casimiri in Rome. By studying his compositional technique, one can learn how a man so steeped in the Church's traditions of chant and polyphony approached the challenges presented by Vatican II (and its interpretation). In other words, I believe that this composer drew on the Church's heritage of sacred music in writing new works. In this way, they are part of a tradition. This was, however, one approach to meeting the challenges presented by the vernacular liturgy. Another was allowing secular influences (folk, rock etc) to enter into "liturgical" music. That is why I need music from the other end of the spectrum. To be honest, it's not going to be a really big part of my thesis, which is already over the word limit (and examines more than just this man's compositions and style). I think it would be useful to have a few examples of contrasting approaches to liturgical music though.
  • Charles in CenCA
    Posts: 2,416
    Hope my list provides you with sufficient leads to that "music from the other end of the spectrum." Another fellow's name came to me just now: Erich Sylvester.
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