Unger M.P. Historical Dictionary of Choral Music

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which allowed for various performance options, depending on the

availability of singers.

A prolific composer, he published some two dozen volumes of

primarily sacred works, ranging in scale from motets for a few

voices to large polychoral psalm settings. Examples of the former

include Cento concerti ecclesiastici (1602) and Concerti ecclesias-

tici, libro secondo (1607). Both are for one to four voices and con-

tinuo; the latter includes the Missa dominicalis, scored unusually for

solo voice and continuo. A third volume, Il terzo libro de’ concerti

ecclesiastici, for two to four voices and continuo, followed in 1609.

Larger-scale works are found in Motecta, for eight voices (1597);

Salmi campagnoli con li sicut erat, for four and eight voices with

continuo (1612); and Salmi per cantare e concertare, for five solo

voices, three four-voice choirs, and instruments—three organs and

chitarrone for the continuo part, plus strings, cornetts, bassoons, and

trombones to reinforce the vocal lines (1612). Also extant are two

published books of canzonettas (1590, 1594) and many individual

pieces in collections.

VICTORIA, TOMÁS LUIS DE (1548–20 AUGUST 1611). Spanish

composer, organist, and priest, active in Italy and Spain. He was a

choirboy at Avila Cathedral until c. 1565, when he was sent to the

Jesuit Collegio Germanico in Rome. There he enrolled as a singer

and probably came to know Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, then

maestro di cappella at the nearby Seminario Romano. For some 20

years he served Roman ecclesiastical institutions in various capaci-

ties, including that of singer and organist at Santa Maria di Monser-

rato (1569–?1575); teacher and later maestro di cappella at the

Collegio Germanico (1573–?1577); and chaplain at the Church of

San Girolamo della Carità (1578–85), where he worked with Filippo

Neri. By 1587 he was back in Madrid, where he served as chaplain

to the Dowager Empress María (sister of King Philip II) at the Mon-

asterio de las Descalzas (a convent). He was also the director of the

convent choir until 1604; from then until his death he served in the

less demanding position of organist.

Although less prolific than his contemporaries, Palestrina and

Orlande de Lassus, Victoria wrote a sizable body of works that

were highly regarded and widely disseminated, especially in Spanish-

speaking territories, including those in the New World. He evidently

452 • VICTORIA, TOMÁS LUIS DE

wrote only sacred works, all of them to Latin texts. Although he pub-

lished 11 volumes (covering almost everything he wrote), they often

repeat pieces from previous prints, so that the total number of his

works is actually smaller than would appear. In all, securely attributed

works total 20 masses (among them, 2 Requiems, one of these, a

famous six-voice setting for the Empress), 18 Magnificats, one Nunc

Dimittis, 9 Lamentations; more than 100 motets (including respon-

sories, antiphons, and psalms), 37 hymns, 2 Passions, and 3 exuber-

ant, polychoral sequences. Most of his masses, which are scored for

four to nine voices, are of the parody type (12 using his own works

for models). With the exception of two polychoral examples, all of the

Magnificat settings call for four voices, and are written for alternatim

performance (i.e., they include odd or even verses only). The motets

are mostly for four or five voices, notable exceptions being the 8

psalm settings, which call for eight or more voices (though in his later

editions Victoria also provided organ parts so that the organ could

substitute for one of the choirs, if necessary).

In style, Victoria’s music is less restrained (and hence, more ex-

pressive) than Palestrina’s. It makes more use of homophony, and

the harmonic colors (accomplished by means of signed accidentals,

and often prompted by the texts) are more interesting. Few works

are based on chant. The mood is usually cheerful, though devout.

Some works (e.g., Vere languores nostros) are highly poignant. His

writing also tends to be concise, with effective, sometimes surprising,

contrasts and is further characterized by functional modality, clear

cadences, and word-painting.

VIENNA BOYS CHOIR. See WIENER SÄNGERKNABEN.

VIENNA SINGAKADEMIE. See SINGING SOCIETIES.

VIERNE, LOUIS (8 OCTOBER 1870–2 JUNE 1937). French organist

and composer. Although nearly blind, he was appointed titular organ-

ist of Notre Dame Cathedral in 1900. He taught many of France’s

leading organists, but was passed over twice for a professorship at the

Conservatoire (first in favor of Eugène Gigout, then in favor of his

former student Marcel Dupré). He is best remembered for six solo

organ symphonies. His choral works include Messe solennelle, op.

16, for chorus and two organs (1900), in which he omitted the Credo,

focusing on the more emotive texts of the Ordinary; Praxinoé, op. 22,

VIERNE, LOUIS • 453

for solo vv., chorus, and orch. (1905); and Cantique à Saint-Louis de

Gonzague (1926).

VILLA-LOBOS, HEITOR (5 MARCH 1887–17 NOVEMBER

1959). Brazilian composer who melded European styles (including

some Baroque harmonic and contrapuntal procedures, in homage

to Johann Sebastian Bach) with Brazilian melodic and rhythmic

elements to create a national style. He learned the idioms of urban

Brazilian popular music as a youthful guitarist in Rio de Janeiro

street bands, and later as a cellist in a theater orchestra. Between 1905

and 1913 he made numerous treks into Brazil’s interior, where he en-

countered native folk music. Once back in Rio, he composed prolifi-

cally, and soon established himself as a controversial, antiestablish-

ment figure, whose nationalist musical efforts were both criticized

and praised. He became friends with Darius Milhaud (who lived in

Rio from 1917 to 1918) and in 1919 met the pianist Artur Rubinstein,

who began playing his music in concerts around the world. Having

already composed a large number of works, Villa-Lobos moved to

Paris in 1923. There he met Maurice Ravel, Vincent d’Indy, Man-

uel de Falla, Igor Stravinsky, Sergei Prokofiev, Edgar Varèse,

and others, and solidified his international reputation.

In 1930 he moved back to Brazil, where he held a series of official

positions in music education. In 1942 he became the director of the

newly established National Conservatory of Orpheonic Singing, and

in 1945 he helped found the Brazilian Academy of Music. From the

mid-1940s on, he promoted his own works internationally by travel-

ing tirelessly as a conductor, and his fame increased steadily until

his death.

Aside from works for children, choral compositions feature less

prominently in his vast output than other types. Examples include

Chôros no. 3, for male vv., cl., sax., bn., and 3 hn. (1925); Chôros no.

10, for chorus and orch. (1926); Chôros no. 14, for chorus, band, and

orch. (1928); Missa São Sebastião, for 3 vv. (1937); Descobrimento

do Brasil no. 4, for chorus and orch. (1937, from film score); Sym-

phony no. 10 (Sumé pater patrium), for T, Bar., B, chorus, and orch.

(1952); and dozens of unaccompanied sacred pieces.

VILLANCICO. A Spanish poetic and musical form in which several

stanzas are framed by a refrain (similar to the Italian ballata and the

French virelai). Originating in the late 15th century, it was typically

454 • VILLA-LOBOS, HEITOR

rustic or popular in nature. Early examples were often homophonic

and treble dominated. In the 16th century, composers began employ-

ing imitative polyphony. The genre was soon cultivated widely, and

after 1550, under the influence of the Counter-Reformation, villanci-

cos with religious texts became common, being performed on feast

days in processions or during the liturgy. Christmas villancicos were

particularly popular—“Ríu, ríu, chíu” (1556) being a well-known ex-

ample. After 1600 composers in Spain, Portugal, and Latin America

wrote villancicos in great numbers. Dominant characteristics during

this time included triple meter (with hemiolas and syncopations), syl-

labic declamation, and homorhythmic textures. By 1700 villancicos

had become large in scale, with structures, forms, and instrumenta-

tion similar to those of Italian vocal concertos, often with narrative

or dramatic elements. Toward the end of the 18th century, when

religious authorities began banning vernacular works in church, the

genre declined. Eventually, the only religious genre with vernacular

texts to remain was the oratorio. After the 19th century the term vil-

lancico simply came to mean a Christmas carol.

VILLANELLA (VILLANESCA). A generic term for the light, secu-

lar, strophic vocal pieces originating in Naples and flourishing from

about 1540 to about 1650. Before c. 1565 such works were called

villanescas. The subject matter was usually rustic and amorous, and

the tone, comic or satiric. Some of the earliest publications were

by Giovanni Domenico da Nola (two books, 1541, reprinted 1545),

Vincenzo Fontana (1545), Giovanthomaso Cimello (1545), Giovan

Tomaso di Maio (1546), and Rinaldo Burno (1546).

The early villanella usually had three relatively high, unaccompanied

voices. It was homophonic in texture, treble-dominated, and had lively

rhythms with syllabic text declamation. The lower voices were triadic,

often moving in parallel motion (producing consecutive fifths).

The genre was very popular, influencing the canzonetta and later

the madrigal. It spread to England, where Thomas Morley called his

pieces canzonets, and to Germany, where Jacob Regnart published

several volumes entitled Kurtzweilige teutsche Lieder . . . (some of

which are for as many as five voices). Later composers of the genre

from outside Naples who wrote in expanded texture of four or more

voices included Adrian Willaert, Orlande de Lassus, Luca Maren-

zio (who published 115 of them between 1584 and 1587), Leonhard

VILLANELLA • 455

Lechner, and Adriano Banchieri, among others. In the 1600s the

term villanella was sometimes used to describe solo songs as well as

partsongs. See also BALLETTO; CANZONETTA; MADRIGAL.

VINCI, PIETRO (C. 1525–AFTER 14 JUNE 1584). Italian composer

and teacher, best known for his madrigals. He is considered the

founder of the Sicilian polyphonic school (one of his students was

Antonio Il Verso). Although originally from Sicily, Vinci probably

lived in Naples around 1560. He then served as maestro di cappella

at Santa Maria Maggiore in Bergamo (1568–80), before returning to

the island. His surviving works include 1 book of masses for four

voices (including both parody and cantus firmus types), 6 volumes

of motets for four, five, and eight voices (including Lamentations),

and 11 volumes of madrigals for three to six voices (among them, one

book of madrigali spirituali), which are of great stylistic range.

VIRELAI. One of the French formes fixes, with the pattern Abba-

Abba-Abba-A (where letters designate musical units, and the use of

uppercase letters indicates repetition of text as well as music).

VITRY, PHILIPPE DE (31 OCTOBER 1291–9 JUNE 1361). French

diplomat, political advisor, and administrator; composer and musical

theorist. He is traditionally credited with writing Ars nova (c. 1320),

a treatise whose title was later applied to French music from c. 1315

to 1375. It elucidated a new system for notating rhythms that allowed

composers to specify complex rhythmic patterns, which characterize

his own motets as well as those of Guillaume de Machaut and other

contemporary composers.

VIVALDI, ANTONIO (4 MARCH 1678–27/28 JULY 1741). Ital-

ian composer and violinist, recognized for establishing the Baroque

concerto. The son of a violinist at San Marco (St. Mark’s Basilica)

in Venice, he was ordained a priest in 1703. For three separate terms

he served as maestro di violino at the Ospedale della Pietà (1703–9,

1711–16, and 1735–38). When Francesco Gasparini, the maestro di

coro, took a sick leave in 1713, never to return, Vivaldi was given the

opportunity to compose sacred vocal music.

He established his early reputation primarily with the publication

of concertos (especially his L’estro armonico, op. 3 [1711], a collec-

tion of 12 concertos—four each for one, two, and four solo violins),

but he soon entered the world of opera. Travels took him to Mantua

456 • VINCI, PIETRO

(where he briefly served at the court of the Hapsburg governor),

Rome (during which time he was asked to keep writing music for

the Pietà in Venice), and other important centers, including perhaps

Prague and Vienna. His most famous works, the four programmatic

concertos known as “The Seasons,” appeared by 1725 as part of Il

cimento dell’armonia e dell’inventione, op. 8. His continued travels

probably contributed to the brevity of his final term at the Pietà,

although the institution’s governors occasionally still invited him to

provide works for performances there. His final travels took him as

far away as Amsterdam and to Vienna, where he died.

Known in his own day as a virtuoso on the violin, Vivaldi is now

best remembered for his approximately 500 concertos, nearly half of

which are for solo violin and strings. In his own day, he was also suc-

cessful in opera; some 50 works still survive. Although he composed

a considerable body of additional vocal music, most of it is for solo-

ists. Works with chorus are often written in the so-called Neapolitan

or cantata style, in which the text is segmented into self-contained

movements. These works, too, rely a great deal on vocal soloists.

Furthermore, in the choral movements, primary melodic material is

often given to the violins, while the vocal ensemble is relegated to

providing a homophonic background.

Surviving choral works include several mass movements: Kyrie,

RV 587, for two choirs (both for S, A, 4 vv., str., and bn.); Gloria,

RV 588, for S, S, A, T, B, 4 vv., tpt., 2 ob., 2 vn., 2 va., 2 vc., str.,

and bn. (three movements adapted from a Gloria by Giovanni Maria

Ruggieri); the ever-popular Gloria, RV 589, for S, S, A, 4 vv., tpt.,

ob., vn. (ad lib.), str., and bn. (the first movement adapted from a

Gloria by Ruggieri (rv Anh.23); and Credo, RV 591, for 4 vv., str.,

and bc. Psalm settings and other Vespers music with chorus include

Domine ad adjuvandum me festina, RV 593, for two “choirs” (S, 4

vv., 2 ob., str., and bn.; 4 vv., str., and bn.); Dixit Dominus, RV 594,

for two “choirs” (S, A, T, B, 4 vv., 2 tpt., 2 ob., str., and bn.; S, 4

vv., str., and bn.); Beatus vir, RV 598, for S, S, A, 4 vv., str., and

bn.; Laudate pueri Dominum, RV 603, for two “choirs” (S, 4 vv., fl.,

str., bn.; 4 vv., str., and bn.); In exitu Israel, RV 604, for 4 vv., str.,

and bn.; Credidi propter quod locutus sum, RV 605, for 5 vv., str.,

and bn. (mostly adapted from Rv Anh. 35); Laudate Dominum omnes

gentes, RV 606, for 4 vv., str., and bn.; Laetatus sum, RV 607, for 4

vv., str., and bn.; Lauda Jerusalem, RV 609, for 2 choirs (S, 4 vv.,

VIVALDI, ANTONIO • 457

str., and bn.; S, 4 vv., str., and bn.); and Magnificat, RV 610, for S, S,

A, T, 4 vv., 2 ob., str., and bn. (surviving in three additional arrange-

ments, one [RV 610a] calling for two “choirs”; another [RV 611, for

S, A, 4 vv., str., and bn.] containing several substituted movements.

His one surviving oratorio is Juditha triumphans devicta Holofernes

barbarie, RV 644 (1716).

VULPIUS [FUCHS], MELCHIOR (BORN C. 1570; BURIED 7 AU-

GUST 1615). German composer, teacher, and writer, who preferred

the Latin form of his family name (Fuchs). From 1596 until his death,

he worked in Weimar as the municipal Kantor and as a teacher at

the Lateinschule (grammar school). A prolific composer of Lutheran

church music, he wrote some 200 motets (Latin and later German) and

400 hymns. Four volumes of his Latin motets survive, three of which

are entitled Cantiones sacrae. Scored for four to eight or more voices,

they employ the styles of Orlande de Lassus and Venetian poly-

phony. He also wrote three volumes of German Spruchmotteten—mo-

tets on scriptural texts related to the liturgical lessons of the church

year (1612–21). Calling mostly for four voices, they complement an

earlier cycle for five and six voices by Andreas Raselius (1594).

Especially significant for the development of the Lutheran hymn

was Vulpius’s Kirchen Geseng und geistliche Lieder . . . , for four

and five voices. First published in 1604, it was expanded for a second

printing in 1609, the latter edition containing 31 melodies by Vulpius

himself. Also extant is a responsorial St. Matthew Passion (1613).

– W –

WAGENSEIL, GEORG CHRISTOPH (29 JANUARY 1715–1

MARCH 1777). Austrian composer, keyboard player, and teacher.

In 1739, on the recommendation of his teacher Johann Fux, he was

appointed composer at the Hapsburg court in Vienna, where he also

served in other musical capacities, remaining there for the rest of his

life. While he was particularly important for his role in developing

the Classical symphonic style (his symphonies gaining international

recognition), he also established a reputation in opera. Significantly,

his theatrical works foreshadowed some of Christoph Willibald von

Gluck’s operatic reforms.

458 • VULPIUS, MELCHIOR

Most of his choral works were written early in his career. Among

surviving works are 19 masses (including one Requiem), which

range stylistically from unaccompanied pieces to brilliantly scored

concerted works, while consistently demonstrating a mastery of con-

trapuntal techniques. Some 90 additional liturgical works include

antiphons, offertories, hymns, graduales, sequences, introits, and

canticles.

WAGNER, RICHARD (22 MAY 1813–13 FEBRUARY 1883).

German composer who revolutionized the course of Western mu-

sic, because others either emulated and extended his techniques or

reacted to them. He is remembered for his music dramas (operas),

which are notable for their grandness of conception, integration of

poetic, visual, musical, and dramatic elements (resulting in a Gesamt-

kunstwerk, “total artwork”), continuous (often contrapuntal) vocal-

symphonic fabric, orchestral expansion, use of symbolic leitmotifs

in cyclical (often dramatically developmental) ways, and highly

chromatic harmonic language. He wrote almost only operas, the most

famous being Der fliegende Holländer (1841), Tannhäuser (1845),

Lohengrin (1848), the four works of Der Ring des Nibelungen (Das

Rheingold [1854], Die Walküre [1856], Siegfried [1869], and Göt-

terdämmerung [1874]), Tristan und Isolde (1859), Die Meistersinger

von Nürnberg (1867), and Parsifal (1882). Among his seven choral

works are occasional pieces for court performance, including Das Li-

ebesmahl der Apostel, a scene for male voices and orchestra (1843);

Der Tag erscheint, for TTBB and brass, written for the unveiling of

a royal monument (1843); Gruss seiner Treuen an Friedrich August

den Geliebten, another royal tribute for male voices and brass (1844);

and An Webers Grabe, a work for unaccompanied male voices, writ-

ten in honor of the German opera composer, Carl Maria von Weber

(1844). A few of his opera choruses have also gained a place in

the choral repertory, the most famous probably being the “Pilgrim’s

Chorus” from Tannhauser.

WAGNER, ROGER (16 JANUARY 1914–17 SEPTEMBER 1992).

American choral director of French birth. Brought to Los Angeles at

age seven, he returned to France in 1931 for further musical studies,

which included organ lessons with Marcel Dupré. In 1937, after

service in the French army, he returned to Los Angeles, becoming

WAGNER, ROGER • 459

organist and choirmaster at St. Joseph’s Church. From 1942 to 1949

he also served as music director at St. Charles Borromeo Church in

North Hollywood. In 1946 he established the Roger Wagner Chorale,

later the source of the Los Angeles Master Chorale (which he con-

ducted until 1986, when he became conductor laureate). He toured

and recorded extensively with the Wagner Chorale, and made many

appearances on radio, television, and motion picture soundtracks. His

influence was further extended through the publication of his choral

arrangements. Recognized as an authority on the music of Josquin

des Prez, he was particularly admired for his performances of early

music and the French repertory. From 1951 to 1966 he was head of

the music department at Marymount College, Los Angeles, and from

1959 to 1981 he was director of choral music at University of Cali-

fornia at Los Angeles (UCLA). For his contribution to sacred music

Pope Paul VI honored him in 1966 with a knighthood (Commander

in the Order of St. Gregory).

WALKER, GWYNETH VAN ANDEN (22 MARCH 1947– ). A

prolific American composer whose choral output includes some 200

pieces (including some 50 for treble choir), which often identify

with people in ordinary walks of life. Most are three to five minutes

in duration and have a piano or small-ensemble accompaniment.

Lengthier works include New England Journey, for SATB, pf., and

opt. perc. (2006); Songs to the Lord of Peace (2006), for SATB and

pf. (2006); and The Golden Harp, for SATB and str. qt. (1999).

WALTER, JOHANN (1496–25 MARCH 1570). German composer.

A personal acquaintance of and musical advisor to Martin Luther,

Walter made his most significant musical contribution with Geyst-

liches gesangk Buchleyn, a German hymnal (1524) that became very

popular and was reprinted in many new editions.

WALTON, [SIR] WILLIAM (29 MARCH 1902–8 MARCH 1983).

English composer best remembered for his orchestral music. Born

into a poor family, he was taken underwing by Osbert and Edith

Sitwell, who provided him with a cultural education, which included

a trip in 1920 to Italy. As a composer he was largely self-taught,

though his experiences as a choirboy in his father’s church choir and

later at Christ Church Cathedral at Oxford informed much of his later

style.

460 • WALKER, GWYNETH VAN ANDEN

The total number of Walton’s choral works is only 20, the most

famous being Belshazzar’s Feast, a dramatic cantata for Bar., eight-

part choir, and orch. (1931, rev. 1931, 1948, 1957). Commissioned

by the British Broadcasting Corporation, it established his reputation

in England and abroad. With a cleverly constructed biblical libretto

by Osbert Sitwell, the work implied parallels between the decadence

and downfall of Belshazzar, King of Babylon, and conditions in Ed-

wardian society.

Among Walton’s other works are an impressive unaccompanied

piece from his youth, A Litany (1916, rev. 1930); Set Me as a Seal

upon Thine Heart (1938); The Twelve, for SATB and org. (1965);

Missa brevis, for SSAATTBB and org. (1966); Jubilate Deo, for

SSAATTBB and org. (1972); and Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis,

for SATB and org. (1974).

WARD, JOHN (C. 1589–BEFORE 31 AUGUST 1638). An English

composer who wrote serious madrigals and sacred music (some

accompanied by viols) and much music for viols alone (which was

widely disseminated during the 17th century). In 1613 he published

The First Set of English Madrigals . . . apt both for Viols and Voy-

ces, with a Mourning Song in Memory of Prince Henry for three to

six voices, dedicating the work to his patron, Sir Henry Fanshawe.

Among his sacred works are two long services plus some individual

service movements, and about 20 anthems. His style in both sacred

and secular works is generally serious, with much word-painting,

effective dissonances for moments of pathos, and frequent passages

in parallel thirds and sixths. Among his most expressive madrigals

are Come, Sable Night and If the Deep Sighs.

WARING, FRED (9 JUNE 1900–29 JULY 1984). Popular American

bandleader, choral conductor, and radio and television personality. Al-

though he began his career as a bandleader, he is remembered primarily

for the choral performances of his group, The Pennsylvanians. Waring’s

influence on American choral music has also been felt through Shawnee

Press, which he founded, and through his summer choral workshops,

which stressed deliberate diction, among other techniques.

WARLAND, DALE (14 APRIL 1932– ). American choral conductor,

founder and music director of the Dale Warland Singers, a profes-

sional choir based in Minneapolis-St. Paul. A strong supporter of new

WARLAND, DALE • 461