Founded in 1915 by the musicologist William Gillies Whittaker, the Newcastle-upon-Tyne Bach Choir is one of the oldest Bach choirs in the United Kingdom. This book celebrates the centenary of the choir with a multi-author account of the choir's contributions to musical life and the many personalities who made that possible. It contains almost 200 illustrations, many of them not previously seen.

Marvelous Rise of Superheroes in Cinema: Evolution of the Genre from Sequels to Universes addresses the superhero movie genre's transformation between 1978 and 2019. To emphasize and illustrate the conceptual and thematic transformation, the main conventions of the genre are scanned through several periods, focusing on the developmental age of the genre, including the dominant period of DC Comics-based superhero movies (1978-1997) and the Marvel "boom" (2000-2007), and the contemporary age. For this purpose, the book traces the fundamentals of superheroes from the first appearance of Superman in Action Comics #1 (1938) to the final installment of the MCU's Phase 3, Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019). The transformation has two significant points. First, the genre's main conventions have been in a change. Second, the genre's focus has changed from sequel filmmaking to the universe concept. The study investigates the Marvel Cinematic Universe's dominant, leading, and major role in the genre's evolutionary process. Besides, the future of the superhero movie genre is questioned through the multiverse concept to broaden an understanding of the genre's following directions.

The B-minor Mass has always represented a fascinating challenge to musical scholarship. Composed over the course of Johann Sebastian Bach's life, it is considered by many to be the composer's greatest and most complex work. The fourteen essays assembled in this volume originate from the International Symposium 'Understanding Bach's B-minor mass' at which scholars from eighteen countries gathered to debate the latest topics in the field. In revised and updated form, they comprise a thorough and systematic study of Bach's Opus Ultimum, including a wide range of discussions relating to the Mass's historical background and contexts, structure and proportion, sources and editions, and the reception of the work in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. In the light of important new developments in the study of the piece, this collection demonstrates the innovation and rigour for which Bach scholarship has become known.

Late medieval motet texts are brimming with chimeras, centaurs and other strange creatures. In The Monstrous New Art, Anna Zayaruznaya explores the musical ramifications of this menagerie in the works of composers Guillaume de Machaut, Philippe de Vitry, and their contemporaries. Aligning the larger forms of motets with the broad sacred and secular themes of their texts, Zayaruznaya shows how monstrous or hybrid exempla are musically sculpted by rhythmic and textural means. These divisive musical procedures point to the contradictory aspects not only of explicitly monstrous bodies, but of such apparently unified entities as the body politic, the courtly lady, and the Holy Trinity. Zayaruznaya casts a new light on medieval modes of musical representation, with profound implications for broader disciplinary narratives about the history of text-music relations, the emergence of musical unity, and the ontology of the musical work.

The first thorough examination of the most renowned and influential organist in early twentieth-century Germany and of his complex relationship to his country's tumultuous and shifting sociopolitical landscape. In the course of a multifaceted career, Karl Straube (1873-1950) rose to positions of immense cultural authority in a German musical world caught in unprecedented artistic and sociopolitical upheaval. Son of a German harmonium-builder and an intellectually inclined English mother, Straube established himself as Germany's iconic organ virtuoso by the turn of the century. His upbringing in Bismarck's Berlin encouraged him to develop intensive interests in world history and politics. He quickly became a sought-after teacher, editor, and confidante to composers and intellectuals, whose work he often significantly influenced. As the eleventh successor to J. S. Bach in the cantorate of St. Thomas School, Leipzig, he focused the choir's mission as curator of Bach's works and, in the unstable political climate of the interwar years, as international emissary for German art. His fraught exit from the cantorate in 1939 bore the scars of his Nazi affiliations and issued in a final decade of struggle and disillusionment as German society collapsed. Christopher Anderson's book presents the first richly detailed examination of Karl Straube's remarkable life, situated against the background of the dynamic and sometimes sinister nationalism that informed it. Through extensive examination of primary sources, Anderson reveals a brilliant yet deeply conflicted musician whose influence until now has been recognized, even hailed, but little understood.

An eye-opening reexamination of Handel's beloved religious oratorio Every Easter, audiences across the globe thrill to performances of Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus," but they would probably be appalled to learn the full extent of the oratorio's anti-Judaic message. In this pioneering study, respected musicologist Michael Marissen examines Handel's masterwork and uncovers a disturbing message of anti-Judaism buried within its joyous celebration of the divinity of the Christ. Discovering previously unidentified historical source materials enabled the author to investigate the circumstances that led to the creation of the Messiah and expose the hateful sentiments masked by magnificent musical artistry-including the famed "Hallelujah Chorus," which rejoices in the "dashing to pieces" of God's enemies, among them the "people of Israel." Marissen's fascinating, provocative work offers musical scholars and general readers alike an unsettling new appreciation of one of the world's best-loved and most widely performed works of religious music.

Providing a detailed analysis of Bach's Passions, this 2010 book represents an important contribution to the debate about the culture of 'classical music', its origins, priorities and survival. The angles from which each chapter proceeds differ from those of a traditional music guide, by examining the Passions in the light of the mindsets of modernity, and their interplay with earlier models of thought and belief. While the historical details of Bach's composition, performance and theological context remain crucial, the foremost concern of this study is to relate these works to a historical context that may, in some threads at least, still be relevant today. The central claim of the book is that the interplay of traditional imperatives and those of early modernity renders Bach's Passions particularly fascinating as artefacts that both reflect and constitute some of the priorities and conditions of the western world.

This survey of choral literature, written by American composers from 1760 through the 1990s, examines nearly 3,000 pieces of choral music written by over 300 composers. Along with a descriptive analysis, the literature is placed within a historical perspective. Familiar and less well-known composers and their music are examined. The study seeks to remedy the superficial treatment choral music is often given in standard textbooks on American music and to acknowledge and expose the varied richness of the literature.

Choral conductors and musicologists will appreciate the vast repertory of choral music literature examined. Organized chronologically, this study uniquely traces the development of choral music literature throughout the centuries. A select bibliography provides a useful guide for further research.

Choral Voices: Ethnographic Imaginations of Sound and Sacrality is about sacred and secular choirs in Goa and Shillong across churches, seminaries, schools, auditoriums, classrooms, reality TV shows, and festivals. Voice and genre emerge as social objects annotated by tradition, nostalgia, and innovation. Piety literally and metaphorically shapes the Christian lifeworld, predominantly those belonging to the Presbyterian and Catholic denominations. Indigeneity structures the political and cultural motifs in the making of the Christian musical traditions. Located at the intersection of Sociology, Anthropology, and Ethnomusicology, the choral voices emplace 'affect' and the visual-aural dispatch. Thus, sonic spectrum holds space for indigenous and global musicality. This ethnographic work will be useful for scholars researching music and sound studies, religious studies, cultural anthropology, and sociology of India.

for SATB and piano Mack Wilberg's calming and pensive Meditation is an adaptation of Charles Gounod's famous Ave Maria which is itself based on J.S. Bach's Prelude in C Major from the first book of The Well-Tempered Clavier. The accompaniment is derived from the piano solo transcription of Gounod's work by Georges Bizet. To the piano's rising arpeggios and Gounod's melody, Wilberg has added a gently weaving choral texture, setting the words 'Alleluia, Amen'.

for SSA, piano, and cello This setting of Langston Hughes's poem In time of silver rain uses uplifting melodies and a supportive piano accompaniment featuring oscillating semiquavers and broken chords. The solo cello carries a lyrical melody that bridges the vocal passages. At the end of the piece, singers are instructed to click their fingers to imitate the sound of rainfall.

for SA and piano Commissioned by the English Montreal School Board Chorale for its 40th anniversary, Be like the bird sets an English translation of a text by Victor Hugo. Quartel uses lyrical melodies and rising sequences that reflect the uplifting message of the words, supported by a glittering piano accompaniment. A passage from the original French text is set to the same melody, before interweaving with the English text as a countermelody.

for SATB and piano In this poignant ballad Toby Young has set an adaptation of Emily Dickinson's poem My Letter to the World to heartfelt melodies with a pop-style piano accompaniment. The song reflects on the pain of being separated from loved ones during the COVID-19 pandemic and the power that music has to unite us. A version for SSA and piano (ISBN 978-0-19-356721-4) is also available.

for SSA and piano In this poignant ballad Toby Young has set an adaptation of Emily Dickinson's poem My Letter to the World to heartfelt melodies with a pop-style piano accompaniment. The song reflects on the pain of being separated from loved ones during the COVID-19 pandemic and the power that music has to unite us. A version for SATB and piano (ISBN 978-0-19-356693-4) is also available.

A collection of essays by 20th-century American, English, and European composers in which each composer discusses a large choral work or works he has written, along with the principles that guided the composition.

for SATB unaccompanied This gentle anthem, written for the Choir of St Chad's College, Durham, sets a text that is adapted from several prayers of St Chad. Warm dynamic swells and rich harmonies emphasize the meaning of these prayers. Bednall has added movement to this calm and reflective piece through the use of melismatic vocal phrases and falling triplet figures.

for SSAATTBB and piano Rebecca Dale's reimagining of Cesar Franck's Panis Angelicus was commissioned for the second instalment of Sonoro's Choral Inspirations project. Dale has drawn upon the harmonic framework of the original setting, as well as playing with fragments of the well-known melodies. She cleverly sets this within a modern sound-world, supported by a rippling, arpeggiated piano accompaniment, original melodic material, and subtle layering of the divisi vocal lines.

The Oxford Book of Choral Music by Black Composers is a landmark collection of non-idiomatic compositions from the sixteenth century to the present day, providing a comprehensive introduction to an area of choral music that has been historically under-represented. This unique anthology seeks both to improve representation in the historical canon and to showcase the music of some of the best names in choral music today.

for SATB, unison voices, and organ This celebratory anthem sets Psalm 100 'O be joyful in the Lord' from the Book of Common Prayer and uses organ flourishes, dancing vocal melodies, and lively articulation to emphasize the exultant message of the text. Jubilate Deo was commissioned by Saint Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church, Dallas, Texas and was premiered at Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee concert in 2022.