A Conductor's Guide to Nineteenth-Century Choral-Orchestral Works (review)

This new imprint represents another exceptional reference contribution by Jonathan D. Green. It is the fifth in a series of "Conductor's Guides," all Scarecrow Press books, written by Green, who has a substantial resume as a college faculty member and music director at east-coast colleges. He is presently dean of the college and vice president for academic affairs at Sweet Briar College in Virginia.

The series began with the 1994 publication based on Green's doctoral thesis (Uni versity of North Carolina at Greensboro), entitled A Conductor's Guide to Choral Orchestral Works. In 1998 came A Guide to Choral-Orchestral Works, Twentieth Century, Part 2: The Music of Rachmaninov through Penderecki, then A Conductor's Guide to the Choral-Orchestral Works of J. S. Bach in 2000. The publication of A Conductor's Guide to Choral-Orchestral Works, Classical Period, Part 1: Haydn and Mozart appeared in 2002.

The online version of Contemporary Authors cites Green by noting that he intends this set of companion volumes "as field guides to choral-orchestral repertoire, presenting the critical information necessary to program concerts and undertake initial research of each piece. I merely formalized my score-study notes and added bibliographic materials." (Contempo rary Authors, "Green, Jonathan David," http://galenet.galegroup.com/ [accessed 19 November 2008]).

Though the title specifies the nineteenth century as the topical framework of the work, Green notes in his preface that "the volume addresses works of the Romantic era from Beethoven through Scriabin" (p. xi). There seems to be a tacit (arguably quite reasonable) acceptance, without comment or elaboration, that some of these composers straddle either the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries or the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

This volume, like the others of the series, includes an impressive array of information helpful to conductors in researching and programming concerts. For each composer listed, there is biographic information. For each work included, there are the following: estimated duration required for the performance of the piece; a note on the origin of the text; the score requirements for both voice parts and for orchestration, called "Performing Forces;" date and place of first performance by conventional historical reckoning; a statement on editions of the score; a "Notes" section; a "Perfor mance Issues" section; and a selected bibliography and discography, intended by the author as aids to further research. Among these the sections richest in content are the "Notes" and the "Performance Issues."

"Notes" sections can vary from short reports on variations of opus numbers within the publication history of the same work, to backgrounds on the composer's dedications of a work, to substantial listings of the different sections of a work, etc. The following is a "Notes" example of typical helpfulness but stunning specificity. Regarding the Kalmus full-score edition of Beach's Grand Mass in E flat, Green notes that some pages in the Graduale section are out of order: "The page numbers are in correct sequence, but the measures are not. It should read pages 94, 96, 95, 97" (p. 3).

The typical "Performance Issues" is much more of a mixed bag than all the other sections. Often it is heavy with technical and analytical statements about elements within the score, especially those most relevant to the performance of that score before an audience. Sometimes, Green provides recommendations on tempi, on elements of the score to de-emphasize or even excise. Occasionally, Green will suggest the best kind of choral group, performance hall, or program partners for the performance of a work. Now and then Green takes on the role of reviewer and chooses to include elements of praise for a work, or more negative reactions such as "bombastic" or "over blown." Finally, under the subheading of "Soloists," a detailed annotation of the range and tessitura for each vocal part is given, as well as a rating of difficulty, e.g., "medium easy," for both chorus and...