When I was an undergrad at Western Michigan University, Dr. Joe Miller gave a lecture on the importance of owning quality choral CD’s (I guess now it would be MP3s). His lecture had two main points: 1) Recordings are always going to be expensive, so you should start collecting right away. 2) Quality recordings help you recreate the types of sounds you want your choirs to produce (i.e. more vibrato, less vibrato, forward placement, etc.). I should also say that he was adamant that you should only use the recordings as a starting point, and I have found this to be true. I like to listen to 3-5 different ensembles perform a piece before I start my analysis. This gives me a starting point while still allowing me to have my own approach to the piece. However, I have found that there are A LOT of recordings out there. Some are really great and others are not. Since I have found such a spread in quality I have made a list of ensembles that I trust. I have listed a few below. Happy listening!Monteverdi Choir: Created and directed by Sir John Eliot Gardiner, the Monteverdi choir is composed of world class musicians and is one of the leading forces on the international choral scene. I enjoy their recordings because they stay true to the performance style of each time period (they perform everything thing from medieval to the 20th century), often utilizing period instruments as well as tuning. They approach tone and texture through the controlled use of vibrato or straight tone, as some voice teachers like to call it. I highly recommend you buy any of their recordings of Bach masses or motets!
Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir: Founded in 1981 by Tonu Kaljuste, the EPCC can best be described as choral dark chocolate. Their rich, full-bodied sound highlights the strong choral tradition of Estonia. Their repertoire is incredibly varied and they often focus on new works composed by Estonian composers, most notably Arvo Part and Veljo Tormis. If you are looking for some beautiful sounds as well as some new pieces, then you should definitely check the EPCC out!
Conspirare: I must admit that Conspirare did not come to my attention until their CD titled Requiem came out in 2010. This American choir is based in Texas and is doing wonderful things for the choral art form. I not only like their sound, but I like that I can show my students what a professional American choir sounds like. In my opinion, Conspirare is doing a good job of breathing new life into the choral world. Founder Craig Hella Johnson often takes pop tunes and puts beautiful choral spins on them. A prime example is their take on Dolly Parton’s “Light of a Clear Blue Morning.” If you are looking for interesting new ways to visually showcase your choir, then please check out Conspirare’s PBS special!
The Sixteen: Conducted by Harry Christophers, The Sixteen is a professional ensemble based in the UK. They have been performing for about 33 years and stand as one of the world’s leading performance ensembles. Their discography ranges all over the choral spectrum. I particularly enjoy their attention to musicality and detail. This is one of those ensembles that consistently puts out top-notch recordings. In fact, I often purchase their recordings based on the ensemble and not the repertoire.
Jitro: A few years ago ACDA-MI hosted this all-female choir from the Czech Republic and they were outstanding! Jitro is a children’s choir and they are a wonderful resource for the choral educator. Not only do I get great repertoire ideas, I love to play their recordings for my students.
There are many more quality ensembles out there and by no means am I trying to imply that the five above are the best out there. I just enjoy listening to these ensembles and find their recordings to be at a consistent level of excellence. For those of you who are just starting out as choral directors, I hope this article helps you start your own library.
Matthew T. Snell is currently starting his fourth year of teaching at Northwest High School. He received a bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Western Michigan University in 2008. While at WMU, he was awarded the Michael Schubeck and Nancy Monsour College of Fine Arts Distinguished Student Award and the Beulah and Harold McKee Scholarship. He studied private voice with Carl Ratner and Choral Conducting with Joe Miller.
Prior to working at Northwest, Mr. Snell, was choral director at Portage United Church of Christ. He has enjoyed teaching in the Northwest Community for the past three years and would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their wonderful support.
