Unger M.P. Historical Dictionary of Choral Music

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instruments play in various combinations but never all together)

contributes to an overall severity of effect, and although the row is

treated in a transparent manner (perhaps to achieve the repetitive ef-

fect of a litany), the work is notoriously difficult to sing in tune. Its

choral writing includes chanted passages on single pitches, which are

sometimes left indeterminate.

Stravinsky’s last works were nearly all religious. A preoccupation

with the sound as well as the structures of Renaissance vocal music

(especially also their canonic and isorhythmic structures) were in-

fluential on his final choral works, which continued to strive for free-

dom from subjective influence. A Sermon, a Narrative, and a Prayer,

for A, T, spkr., chorus, and orch. (1961), which, like Threni, includes

some unpitched chanting, was followed by the unaccompanied An-

them “The Dove Descending Breaks the Air” (1962). Introitus (T. S.

Eliot In Memoriam), for male vv., pf., hp., 2 timp., 2 tam-tams, va.,

and db. (1965), is a short, brooding setting of “Requiem aeternam,”

while Requiem Canticles, for A, B, chorus, and orch. (1966), sets

fragments of the traditional requiem text. Symmetrical in structure,

with three instrumental movements serving as outer and center pil-

lars for six choral movements, it features two distinct tone rows, and

employs a variety of choral writing, encompassing massive chords,

antiphonal effects, chordal murmuring to indeterminate rhythms, and

chromatic, angular vocal lines. It was his last major work.

Throughout his long career, Stravinsky kept reacting to the music

of others. His stubborn insistence that music (especially sacred mu-

sic) should be free of subjective elements—that its value lies in its

objective qualities, which can appeal directly to the spirit—may well

have been related to his feelings of alienation, which arose from a life

spent in exile. Although his serial works have not been widely per-

formed or enthusiastically received, his earlier neo-Classical pieces

have greatly influenced other 20th-century composers.

STRIGGIO, ALESSANDRO (BORN C. 1536/37; DIED 29 FEBRU-

ARY 1592). Italian composer and instrumentalist. Born in Mantua,

he served from 1559 at the Medici court in Florence, where he soon

supplanted Francesco Corteccia as principal composer. In 1567 the

Duke of Florence sent him as an emissary to the English court for a

brief visit; his travels also took him to Vienna, Munich, and Paris. In

1574 he visited Austria and Bavaria, and it is evident that he traveled

422 • STRIGGIO, ALESSANDRO

frequently to the Este court at Ferrara. In 1587 he returned to Mantua,

where he essentially stayed until his death.

His works include intermedi for state celebrations, seven books

of madrigals for five and six voices (three published posthumously),

a madrigal comedy, a mass for five voices, and a 40-voice motet,

Ecce beatam lucem, which was performed with specified instru-

mental doublings in 1568 at the marriage of Duke Albrecht IV of

Bavaria.

STROZZI, BARBARA (1619–11 NOVEMBER 1677). Italian com-

poser and singer. The adopted (perhaps biological) daughter of the

Venetian poet Giulio Strozzi, she occupied a position in Venetian

intellectual circles somewhere between a patron and courtesan. She

played an active role in her father’s Accademia degli Unisoni. Hav-

ing studied with Pietro Cavalli, she was known for her singing, and

most of her surviving works are for solo voice. She published one

volume of madrigals for two to five voices (1644).

SUGÁR, REZSO

(9 OCTOBER 1919–22 SEPTEMBER 1988).

Hungarian composer. Having studied with Zoltán Kodály at the

Liszt Academy of Music (1937–42), he taught at the Budapest Con-

servatory (1949–68), then at the Liszt Academy (1968–79). Among

his choral works are three oratorios, Hunyadi: ho˝si ének [Hunyadi:

Heroic Song], for S, A, T, Bar., children’s chorus, chorus, and orch.

(1951); Paraszti háború [Peasant War], for nar., chorus, and orch.

(1976); and Savonarola, for T, 2 Bar., 2 B, chorus, children’s chorus

ad lib., and orch. (1979); and the ballad Ko˝míves Kelemen, for S,

Bar., chorus and orch. (1958).

SULLIVAN, [SIR] ARTHUR SEYMOUR (13 MAY 1842–22 NO-

VEMBER 1900). English composer and conductor, best remem-

bered for his operettas, especially those written in collaboration with

the dramatist W. S. (William Schwenck) Gilbert (1836–1911). In

1854 Sullivan became a chorister in the Chapel Royal; he then stud-

ied at the Royal Academy of Music and the Leipzig Conservatory,

after which he served as a church organist in London (1861–72).

His first success in comic opera came with Cox and Box (1867),

and his collaboration with Gilbert began directly thereafter. By the

1870s he had achieved considerable renown. He invariably conducted

the opening performances of his operettas, and he also conducted for

SULLIVAN, ARTHUR SEYMOUR • 423

many other organizations. From 1876 to 1881 he was principal of the

National Training School (forerunner of the Royal College of Mu-

sic), and from 1880 to 1898 he was the chief conductor of the Leeds

Festival. For three seasons he conducted the Philharmonic Society of

London (from 1885).

Although Sullivan ultimately became most famous for his many

light works for the stage—the most popular being HMS Pinafore

(1878), The Pirates of Penzance (1879), and The Mikado (1885)—he

set much store by his “serious” compositions. Among 10 works with

orchestra are the masque Kenilworth (for the 1864 Birmingham

Festival); the oratorios The Prodigal Son (for the 1869 Worcester

Festival) and The Light of the World (for the 1873 Birmingham Fes-

tival, rev. 1890); the sacred music drama The Martyr of Antioch (for

the 1880 Leeds Festival); two Te Deum settings (1872 and 1900,

the former including a setting of “Domine salvam fac reginam”); the

cantatas On Shore and Sea (1871) and The Golden Legend (for the

1886 Leeds Festival); and two odes for ceremonial occasions (1886

and 1887). Church works include 2 services, some 17 anthems, and

more than 50 hymn tunes, among them, Coronae (“Crown Him with

Many Crowns”) and St. Gertrude (“Onward, Christian Soldiers”).

He also wrote more than 30 partsongs, among them, The Long Day

Closes for male voices.

SUSA, CONRAD (26 APRIL 1935– ). American composer. He served

as composer-in-residence for the Old Globe Theater, San Diego

(1959–94), and taught composition at the San Francisco Conserva-

tory (from 1988). Examples of his many choral works include Chan-

ticleer’s Carol, for unaccompanied male chorus (1983); Landscapes

and Silly Songs for mixed chorus, with a text by Federico Garcia

Lorca (1987); Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis, for mixed chorus and

organ (1987), and the popular Carols and Lullabies, for SATB, gui.,

hp., and perc. (1992).

SUSATO, TYLMAN (BORN C. 1510–15; DIED 1570 OR LATER).

Music publisher and composer. His Antwerp firm was the first suc-

cessful music publishing house in the Low Countries. From 1543 to

1561 he issued 22 volumes of chansons, 19 volumes of motets, 3

of masses, and 11 entitled Musyck boexken—a series comprising,

in turn, secular Dutch songs, dances based on popular tunes, and

souterliedekens (Dutch metrical psalms). Composers honored with

424 • SUSA, CONRAD

volumes dedicated exclusively to their works include Josquin des

Prez, Thomas Crecquillon, Clemens non Papa, Orlande de Las-

sus, and Susato himself.

SÜSSMAYR, FRANZ XAVER (1766–17 SEPTEMBER 1803). Aus-

trian composer. In the late 1780s he moved to Vienna, where he per-

formed in the court chapel and taught music privately. In 1790 or 1791

he took occasional lessons in composition from Wolfgang Amadeus

Mozart, and assisted him as a copyist. After Mozart’s death he studied

with Antonio Salieri. His works include Italian and German operas, 3

regular masses, 2 requiems, Te Deum and Vespers settings, and can-

tatas. He is now best remembered for completing Mozart’s Requiem

(at Constanze Mozart’s request). He probably supplied the orchestra-

tion from the Kyrie to the end of the offertory (finishing work begun

by Joseph Eybler and probably Maximilian Stadler), and completed

the “Lacrymosa” from the ninth measure onward (ignoring Mozart’s

sketch for a fugal amen), as well as the Sanctus, Benedictus, Agnus

Dei, and the communion, for which he reused music from the Introit

(“Lux aeterna”) and Kyrie fugue (“Cum sanctis”), respectively.

SUZUKI, MASAAKI (29 APRIL 1954– ). Japanese organist, harpsi-

chordist, and conductor. After graduating from the Tokyo National

University of Fine Arts and Music (1977, 1979), he studied with

Ton Koopman and others in Amsterdam. In addition to extensive

concertizing on the organ and harpsichord, he has made his mark as

a conductor. In 1990 he founded the Bach Collegium Japan, an en-

semble of voices and period instruments specializing in the works of

Johann Sebastian Bach. In 1995 he began recording all of Bach’s

cantatas with this group, the results of which have been critically

acclaimed for their refinement and interpretive insight.

SVIRIDOV, GEORGY VASIL’YEVICH (3/16 DECEMBER 1915–

6 JANUARY 1998). Russian composer. He attended the Leningrad

Conservatory, where his teachers included Dmitri Shostakovich.

He focused especially on vocal music, forging a new national style

characterized by traditional harmonies (extended harmonies giving

way to more modal ones), lyric melodies, and Russian folk material.

In his late works he turned to religious and visionary texts.

Examples of his choral compositions with orchestra or instru-

mental ensemble include Poe˙ma pamyati Sergeya Yesenina [Poem

SVIRIDOV, GEORGY VASIL’YEVICH • 425

in Memory of Sergey Yesenin] (1956), Pateticheskaya oratoriya

[Oratorio Pathétique] (1959), Kurskiye pesni [Kursk Songs] (1964),

Derevyannaya Rus’ [Wooden Russia] (1964), the cantata Sneg idyot

[The Snow Is Falling] (1965), the oratorio Pyat’ pesen Rossii [Five

Songs about Russia] (1967), Vesennyaya kantata [Spring Cantata]

(1972), Pushkinskiy venok [A Pushkin Wreath] (1979), and Noch-

nïye oblaka [Night Clouds] (1981). Unaccompanied works include

Pyat’khorov na slova russkikh poe˙tov [Five Choruses on Words by

Russian Poets] (1958); Tri khora [Three Choruses] (1973), the vir-

tuosic choral concerto Kontsert pamyati A. A. Yulova [Concerto in

Memory of A. A. Yurlov] (1973), and the monumental Pesnopeniya

i molitvï [Canticles and Prayers], based on liturgical texts (1997).

SWAN, HOWARD (29 MARCH 1906–19 SEPTEMBER 1998).

American choral conductor. Sometimes referred to as the “Dean of

American Choral Directors,” he exerted widespread influence due

to his artistic command, personality, and humanitarian spirit. From

1934 to 1971 he directed choirs at Occidental College (California),

raising them to national stature. From 1971 to 1977 he was coordina-

tor of graduate music studies at California State University, Fuller-

ton, and he later served as lecturer in choral music at the University

of California, Irvine. His sense of integrity and high view of the

artistic and human role of the choral director is reflected in a collec-

tion of his writings and speeches entitled Conscience of a Profession:

Howard Swan, Choral Director and Teacher (Chapel Hill: Hinshaw

Music, 1987).

SWAYNE, GILES (30 JUNE 1946– ). English composer. His teachers

included Nicholas Maw, Harrison Birtwistle, and Olivier Messiaen,

but he was influenced most decisively by a visit to The Gambia and

southern Senegal in 1981–82. From 1990 to 1996 he lived in Ghana

with his second wife, a Ghanaian, after which he settled in London.

Many of his pieces, while undergirded with sophisticated structures,

are designed to be accessible to children or amateurs. Examples of

his diverse choral output include CRY, op. 27, for 28 amp. solo vv.

(1979); Count-Down, op. 30 (to a wordless text), for 16-part chorus

and 2 perc. (1981); Magnificat, op. 33, for SSAATTBB (1982);

Missa Tiburtina, op. 40, for SATB (1985); Nunc Dimittis, op. 44,

for SATB and org. (1986); O magnum mysterium, op. 45, for boys’

vv. and org. (1986); two settings of “Veni creator” with organ (both

426 • SWAN, HOWARD

1987); No Quiet Place, op. 55, for children’s vv., 2 solo vv., 6–12 xyl.,

vn., va., and vc. (1989); No Man’s Land, op. 56, for B, SATB, b. cl.,

1 perc., hp., vn., vc., and db. (1990); The Song of the Tortoise, op. 59,

for nar., SATB, children’s vv., descant recs., children’s perc. group,

and chbr. orch. (1992); The Tiger, op. 68, for SATB (1995); The Silent

Land, op. 70 (with text from the Latin Requiem Mass and Christina

Rossetti), for SATB and vc. (1996); and HAVOC, op. 83, for Ct., fl.,

chorus (incl. 2S, Mez., and T soloists), continuo group (mar., hp.,

cel., theorbo), 7 str., ww., brass, and perc. (1999, commissioned for

the 75th anniversary of the BBC Singers); and others, some of which

employ unison chorus.

SWEDISH RADIO CHOIR. Professional a cappella choir based in

Stockholm. Founded in 1925, it achieved international stature under

the direction of Eric Ericson (1952–82). Subsequent conductors

have included Anders Öhrwall, Gustaf Sjökvist, Tõnu Kaljuste, Ste-

fan Parkman, and Peter Dijkstra. The choir of 32 singers has often

been engaged by orchestral conductors such as Claudio Abbado and

Riccardo Muti for concerts, tours, and recordings.

SWEELINCK, JAN PIETERSZOON (?MAY 1562–16 OCTO-

BER 1621). Dutch organist, composer, and teacher, who assumed

his mother’s family name. Sometime before 1580 he succeeded his

father as organist of the Old Church in Amsterdam, a position he re-

tained until his death. He was one of the most celebrated organists of

his day, famous especially for his improvisations, and he was highly

sought after as a teacher and as a consultant on organ construction.

He pioneered the modern technique of treating the organ pedal as an

independent voice, creating fully worked-out fugues. These laid the

groundwork for the composers of the so-called north German organ

school, culminating in the works Johann Sebastian Bach. One of his

many students was Samuel Scheidt.

As a composer of vocal works (all of which were published), he

was one of the last in the line of Franco-Flemish composers. Surviv-

ing works include more than 150 French metrical psalm settings for

four to eight voices, which are based on the melodies of the Genevan

Psalter (evidently intended for private gatherings where French was

the preferred language, although some were later reissued in Ger-

man translation); nearly 40 Latin five-voice motets, without cantus

firmus—one volume with a continuo part that functions like a basso

SWEELINCK, JAN PIETERSZOON • 427

seguente; more than 30 French chansons; 19 Italian madrigals; and

8 canons.

SWINGLE, WARD (21 SEPTEMBER 1927– ). American conductor

and arranger. Born in Mobile, Alabama, he showed early musical

promise, becoming enamored particularly with jazz. After graduat-

ing from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, he studied in Paris

on a Fulbright scholarship (1951). In 1956 he settled there and began

performing with the Blue Stars (1957–61), a jazz group that was

succeeded by the Double Six (1959–61). In 1962, he and Christiane

Legrand formed the Swingle Singers, employing some of the same

studio musicians. Seeking to improve their musicianship and sight-

reading by performing intricate instrumental works vocally, the

group (with Legrand as lead singer) turned to the music of Johann

Sebastian Bach and other classical composers, applying the prin-

ciple of scat singing, and adding a light rhythmic instrumental back-

ground. Widespread recognition soon followed, through international

tours and recordings.

In 1973 the French group disbanded, and Swingle formed a new,

smaller group in England, Swingles II. With this ensemble he per-

formed a more diverse repertory, including madrigals, early jazz,

and popular songs, as well as new music by contemporary composers

such as Luciano Berio, whose Sinfonia (originally commissioned by

the New York Philharmonic) the group performed many times. They

also began performing without instruments.

SWINGLE SINGERS. See SWINGLE, WARD.

SYLLABIC STYLE. A type of text setting employing one note per

syllable. It contrasts with melismatic style, in which single syllables

are prolonged over florid passages of many notes. The term is applied

especially to chant and polyphony.

SYMPHONIC CHORUS (PHILHARMONIC CHORUS). A choir

affiliated with a symphony orchestra. In the wake of Ludwig van

Beethoven’s Choral Symphony, the growth of large-scale works

for choir and orchestra intended for public concert halls gave rise

to a proliferation of choral societies that could supply the vocal

forces required. Today virtually all major orchestras have affiliated

choruses. Notable examples include the London Philharmonic Choir;

the Atlanta, Cleveland, Dallas, Houston, San Francisco, and Chicago

428 • SWINGLE, WARD

Symphony Choruses; the Tanglewood Festival Chorus (affiliated

with the Boston Symphony Orchestra); and the Los Angeles Master

Chorale.

SZYMANOWSKI, KAROL (3 OCTOBER 1882–29 MARCH 1937).

Polish composer. In 1901 he left his family home in the Ukraine to

study music in Warsaw, where he helped found Young Poland in

Music, a group dedicated to encouraging progressive trends and lofty

ideals in Polish music. He immersed himself in the music of the “New

German School,” traveling widely and composing in a style reminis-

cent of Max Reger and Richard Strauss. A 1914 visit to Sicily and

North Africa kindled an interest in exotic idioms, which, reinforced by

encounters with modern French and Russian music (Claude Debussy,

Maurice Ravel, and late Alexander Skryabin), served to broaden his

style (while still leaving traces of German post-Romantic language

with its attendant transcendentalism). However, the Russian Revolu-

tion of 1917, which saw the destruction of his family home, caused

him to abandon music for some years. By 1920 the family had moved

to Warsaw. Dogged by financial difficulties, the composer visited

Paris, London, and New York.

Once back in Poland, he began developing a nationalist musi-

cal style, incorporating Polish folk idioms in his compositions—an

approach he had opposed before. As his works began receiving in-

ternational exposure (he visited Paris regularly), his artistic stature

grew, leading to short-lived appointments as director of the Warsaw

Conservatory (1927–29), and as rector of the Warsaw Academy

(1930–32). Unfortunately, his final years were beset with deteriorat-

ing health and severe financial difficulties.

Of Szymanowski’s relatively few choral works, three call for

female chorus: the cantata Demeter, op. 37b, for A, female chorus,

and orch. (1917, reorchd. 1924); Agave, op. 39, an incomplete cantata

for A, female chorus, and orch. (1917); Veni creator, op. 57, for S,

chorus, org., and orch. (1930); and Litania do Marii Panny [Litany

to the Virgin Mary], op. 59, for S, female chorus, and orch. (1933).

Other works include the Symphony no. 3, “Pieśń o nocy” [The Song

of the Night], op. 27, for T/S, chorus, and orch. (1916); Stabat mater,

op. 53, for solo vv., chorus, and orch. (1926)—the most often per-

formed of his choral pieces; and Pies

ni kurpiowskie [Kurpie Songs],

for unaccompanied chorus (1929).

SZYMANOWSKI, KAROL • 429

– T –

TAKEMITSU, TORU (8 OCTOBER 1930–20 FEBRUARY 1996).

Japanese composer, who encountered Western music during and af-

ter military service in World War II. From 1951 he worked with other

Japanese composers and artists in an experimental workshop, col-

laborating on mixed media projects. Writing prolifically for various

media (especially also for film, radio, and television), and collaborat-

ing regularly with leading performers, he soon gained international

recognition. In his early work he avoided references to traditional

Japanese music, but under the influence of John Cage he began using

native instruments. A masterful manipulator of instrumental timbres,

he developed a style that draws on diverse influences, including jazz,

popular music, avant-garde procedures, and traditional Japanese mu-

sic, in a harmonic idiom influenced by his early preoccupation with

the music of Claude Debussy and Olivier Messiaen. Nevertheless,

his works reflect a Japanese aesthetic, characterized by slow organic

growth.

Takemitsu composed relatively few choral works—about 20 in

all. Almost all are for unaccompanied mixed chorus. Works include

Sayonara (1954, rev. 1984); Kaze no uma [Wind Horse] (1966);

Chiisana sora [Small Sky] (1981); Chiisana heya de [In a Small

Room] (1981); Koi no kakurenbo [Hide-and-Seek in Love] (1982);

Mienai kodomo [An Invisible Child] (1981); Shibafu [Grass], for

male chorus (1982); Tsubasa [Wings] (1983); Shima e [To Islands]

(1983); Shinda otoko no nokoshita mono wa [What a Dead Man Left

Behind] (1965, rev. 1984); 䊊 to 䉭 no uta [Song of Circles and Tri-

angles] (1984); Tezukuri kotowaza [Handmade Proverbs], for male

vv. (1987); My Way of Life: In Memory of Michael Vyner, for Bar.,

chorus, and orch. (1990); and Asu wa hare kana, kumori kana [Will

It Be Sunny or Cloudy Tomorrow?] (1992).

TALLIS, THOMAS (BORN C. 1505; DIED 20/23 NOVEMBER

1585). English composer. He held positions at various churches in

Dover and London, then around 1543 he became a Gentleman of the

Chapel Royal, serving under Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary Tudor,

and Elizabeth I. As organist, he shared his duties with William Byrd.

In 1575 the two composers were granted a 21-year monopoly to print

music and music paper. They immediately issued their first publica-

430 • TAKEMITSU, TORU

tion, Cantiones sacrae, a volume of 34 motets (mostly for five and

six voices), dedicated to Queen Elizabeth—each composer contribut-

ing one piece for every year of her reign.

Tallis’s career spanned the turbulent religious transitions of 16th-

century England. It is possible that he remained a secret Catholic

throughout his career. Nevertheless, he provided music in accordance

with the changing liturgical and doctrinal demands of the time; he

also seems to have been influenced by developing trends on the

Continent.

His works include more than 40 Latin motets (most of them for

five voices), 3 masses (for four, five, and seven voices), 2 Magnifi-

cats, and 2 sets of Lamentations, ranging in style from melismatic,

imitative polyphony to syllabic homophony. Some works alternate

sections in contrasting styles. His most famous motet, the 40-voice

Spem in alium (whose structure suggests that it was intended to

be sung “in the round”) may have been inspired by Alessandro

Striggio’s similarly monumental work, for the two men probably met

when the latter visited London in 1567.

Tallis was one of the first composers to write for the new Angli-

can rite (both before and after Mary Tudor’s reign), leading the way

toward a simpler, more chordal and syllabic style, as demanded by

the reformers. English works in this manner include 9 psalm set-

tings in four voices. His English service music includes a litany for

five voices, the Preces and Responses, and some simple polyphonic

psalm settings for Christmas. Of some 22 English anthems that

survive complete, many are contrafacta of previously composed

Latin motets. See also ENGLISH CATHEDRAL MUSIC OF THE

REFORMATION AND RESTORATION.

TALLIS SCHOLARS. British vocal ensemble, specializing in unac-

companied performance of Renaissance sacred polyphony. Founded

in 1973 by Peter Phillips, the group has gained international recog-

nition for its performances and its recordings, which are issued on its

own label, Gimell.

TAMBERG, EINO (27 MAY 1930– ). Estonian composer, whose

works combine neo-Classical features with a forceful expres-

siveness. His choral compositions include several with orchestra:

Rahva vabaduse eest [For Freedom of the People] (1953), the two

TAMBERG, EINO • 431