Richard and Eric take a break from their recent heavy lifting to rank the top 5 choral Requiems of all time. Some surprises are in store if you love the Office of the Dead! Tomfoolery and skullduggery ensue as the guys go full Requiem.
All in Programming
Richard and Eric discuss a recent article from The Spectator by Andrew Mahon, who was critical of Peter Sellars's staging of the St. John Passion of J.S. Bach. The article forms a jumping-off point to examine the role context plays in performance, performance practice, and artistic interpretation. There are a number of relevant issues surrounding the notion of context that play out in the work of the choral musician, with some that are worthy of deep consideration.
Richard and Eric try a new mode of discussion and ramble on in attempting to tip over a perceived 'sacred cow' of the current choral scene: closing concerts with 'crowd-pleasing' pieces. This seemingly simple idea has a surprisingly large number of factors and variables to ruminate on, and the boys end up perhaps having more questions than when they started.
Richard and Eric discuss the positive and potential negative ramifications of music saturation, which is becoming increasingly evident in modern society. Does this saturation impact how we make ideological choices when it comes to music making and how does the concept of a ‘primary experience’ shield us from the potential harmful effects of music saturation?